Wes Burns has revealed how Town’s recent draw at Cheltenham played a big part in the team’s thinking as they prepared for Saturday’s home clash with Charlton, which saw them achieve a thumping 6-0 win and provide a huge boost to their automatic promotion challenge.
The Blues go into tomorrow’s visit of Port Vale at Portman Road looking to strengthen their position further, although the 1-1 stalemate in the Cotswolds was a rare blemish on a run that has seen them achieve nine wins from their last 10 games and also keep clean sheets in 10 of their last 11, an outstanding achievement in any level of football.
Burns, 28, said: "We’re in a very good spot. I think it was very important, after the Cheltenham game, to bounce back and show everyone that the point we took from that game was probably a very good point for us going forward.
"It hasn’t had any lasting effect on us, really, because of what we did on Saturday against Charlton. We didn’t just bounce back, we also scored six against a very good Charlton team, which is obviously a very good statement.
"I think the result at Cheltenham spurred us on against Charlton, because obviously we spoke about it after the game. The run we had been on until then — it was eight wins in a row without conceding and nine successive clean sheets — had been superb.
"Drawing at Cheltenham had the effect of keeping us grounded and showing that one little slip-up, or a mistake here and there, could cost us points. It was probably one of those type of results that we needed to keep us focused on the task ahead.”
It certainly seemed like that against Charlton, who were sitting third in the League One form table, as Kieran McKenna’s men came out of the traps at lighting pace, forcing three corners in the first two minutes and two goals in the space of seven minutes from Conor Chaplin earned them a 2-0 lead with just 14 on the clock.
Chaplin later completed his hat-trick, the first in his time at the club and also the first of the McKenna era, to make his season’s tally 25, and with 22 of them coming in league fixtures he is second only to Peterborough’s Johnson Clarke-Harris, who leads the chase for League One’s Golden Boot award with 24.
Burns, not just a teammate but also a close personal friend of dad-to-be Chaplin, couldn’t resist poking a bit of fun in his pal’s direction. "It was about time he got that hat-trick, wasn’t it?” he laughed, before adding: "He’d had a few braces this season and it was good to see him get the extra one to finally give him the hat-trick.
"The other thing is that he scored his first two so early in the game that if there was ever a chance for him to get a third it was on Saturday. But he’s been superb all the way through the season to be fair. I’m just over the moon for him that he’s starting to see the results of all his hard work.”
Asked if former Portsmouth, Coventry and Barnsley player Chaplin was as good a finisher as he had ever played alongside, Burns added: "Yes, for sure, definitely he would be up there, especially for the way he operates in tight spaces inside the box. One of the very best, I would say.”
Burns also revealed how he exchanged words with Chaplin during Saturday’s rout, explaining: "I said to Chappers out on the field after he got his second one ‘You’ve got to make sure you get your hat-trick today’ and he just said ‘It doesn’t matter who scores as long as we get the result and get the job done.’
"That said it all for me. We’re in the middle of the game and he comes out with something like that. It just goes to show the togetherness that we have in the squad and how everyone is buzzing. Whoever plays, starting or coming on from the bench, as long as they have a positive impact on the game and the team, we’re all buzzing for them.”
Burns also spoke of the pleasure that comes from performing before near-capacity crowds at Portman Road this season, with the current average attendance of 25,962 second only to Derby (26,948) and ahead of promotion rivals Sheffield Wednesday (24,964).
"We definitely feel it in the stadium, for sure,” he said. "I think everyone is now seeing us playing what we call our best football of the season.
"We’re showing how dominant we can be in games and the fans are appreciating that. They’re kind of really pushing us along when we need it. As I said, we’re in a very good spot and the fans are just adding to the feel-good factor around the club.”
It was at the recent Fans’ Forum, which was held in the Sir Bobby Robson Suite, that manager McKenna confirmed one of the main reasons why the players arrive from the training ground by coach to the stadium beforehand is so that they can see the fans arriving for the game.
Burns added: "That’s right and it’s another thing that shows the togetherness between the squad, along with the manager and the backroom staff, plus the supporters of course and everybody else associated with Ipswich Town. It’s great for us to see and hear, and we’re definitely feeding off all that positive energy they generate.”