Captain Sam Morsy has stressed that he and his colleagues know only too well what is riding on tomorrow’s long-awaited East Anglian derby clash with Norwich City and how supporters have been starved of any success in the fixture for more than 14 years.
Not since April 2009, in what proved to be then boss Jim Magilton’s last game in charge, have Ipswich beaten their bitter rivals, the Canaries avoiding defeat in the 12 subsequent league fixtures between the clubs, winning by an aggregate of 24 goals to Town’s eight as Norwich won seven meetings and the other five ended all-square.
But the day has finally arrived that those of a blue and white persuasion have been waiting for, with Town sitting higher in the EFL pyramid than their Norfolk neighbours and confidence sky-high in current manager Kieran McKenna’s current side to end the long wait to turn the tables on their arch-rivals.
A packed Portman Road is the place to be tomorrow lunchtime but skipper Morsy is also urging caution in the build-up to the most eagerly anticipated derby, at least from an Ipswich perspective, since the clubs met head-on in the Championship play-offs at the end of the 2014/15 season.
Morsy, 32, seems to be avoiding the pre-match hype and keeping a lid on the emotion while trying to treat tomorrow’s live-on-Sky Sports game the same as he and his teammates look to approach every single game they play.
"I think that’s the most important thing,” he said. "If you look at our record over the last six months, the last year, we haven’t lost too many games just being ourselves. So that’s the key for me.
"If we can be ourselves we can have a great chance and win, lose or draw we can be proud of ourselves. That’s the most important thing, being able to be reliable for one another, to rely on each other and that’s the most important thing.”
Second-placed Town are 21 points ahead of the men from Carrow Road in the Championship table and firm favourites to triumph tomorrow in what will be a brand new experience for most of the players on both sides of the great divide.
Asked if it felt any different to the usual build-up to a game, Morsy added: "Not really, because we had Watford on Tuesday and the day after you’re recovering and starting to gear up. It will be great for our fans because these are the games they really love and we know that and we know our responsibilities.
"But yes, when you get on to the pitch it’s got to be ice cold upstairs and play our normal game. The home record speaks for itself so just play our normal game.”
Are local lads Harry Clarke and Luke Woolfenden, who both attended East Bergholt High School and came through the club’s academy, especially looking forward to facing the Canaries.
"Yes, definitely, they are obviously Ipswich fans and again it’s going to be a special moment for them and their families,” said Morsy, who is scheduled to play make his 99th league appearance for Town tomorrow.
"But I’d even go as far as to say even the lads who have come into the club. They’ve really bought into everything in the community, in the club, in the area, and it does feel like we have a really special bond with the fans, which is quite unusual.
"You don’t find it that often, so we all know how important of a game it is, but again we have to be really professional because we have to do and apply ourselves what will give us the best possible chance to win the game and that is being calm and being us and not getting too emotional. Just playing our own game really.”
While a sell-out crowd is nothing new for the club, the Portman Road atmosphere should be at its most raucous in many years as rival fans, no doubt trading insults, pump up the volume to another level.
"It’s amazing,” added Morsy. "It’s why you’re in football, these moments don’t come around that often, so we have to enjoy it. We have to enjoy it, take it in our stride, take it all in and enjoy the occasion – play the game and see where it takes us.”
Norwich suffered a run of just one win in nine league games that put a question mark against the future of boss David Wagner, but the German survived and has led his side to a recent mini revival featuring just one defeat in six, banking 13 points from a possible 18.
Town’s record, not just this season but throughout McKenna’s two years in charge, has been at a different level. They have broken a string of records and the recent 2-0 defeat West Bromwich Albion was quickly forgotten as they won their next four on the bounce, meaning they are seeking a ninth consecutive home league win tomorrow.