The club’s joint leading marksman, eight-goal Conor Chaplin, believes Town had no alternative but to lick their wounds after Saturday’s 4-0 defeat at promotion rivals Leeds and look to bounce back this evening when league leaders Leicester visit Portman Road in another top-of-the-table clash.
Looking back on the heaviest defeat suffered by the Blues in the two years and 107 games of Kieran McKenna’s managerial reign, Chaplin admitted: "It was a tough game, a really tough game. We were poor on some big moments in the first half, which ultimately cost us.
"You probably can’t go to a place like this and concede [from] the first corner. I think we know that. It’s one where we have to lick our wounds – we had a little bit of hurt on the way back on Saturday – and we’ve had some family time to try and concentrate. It was a tough day for sure.”
Asked how easy it is to get a result like that out of the players’ systems, Chaplin added: "It’s not nice and you’ve got to let it hurt for a little bit, for sure. But, look, we’ve been on an incredible run in the last God knows how many games when we’ve stuck together as a team. I think we stuck together at Leeds brilliantly well as well.
"Even at 4-0 down in the second half, subs are coming on, no one shies away from it, everyone’s running around, such trust in the lads for that. Yes, it’s just about licking your wounds and on to the next as soon as you can because it was a tough day.”
While the heavy loss has to be seen as a setback, the fact is that Leeds are still seven points behind second-placed Town, who have taken to life back in the second tier far better than anyone could have imagined following last season’s promotion from League One.
Chaplin, who is alongside Nathan Broadhead at the top of the scoring chart, agreed that had anyone suggested before the opening-day win at Sunderland that the Blues would go on to sit second at the half-way point in the campaign he and his colleagues would have gladly settled for that.
"Yes, of course we would,” he said. "I think there’s a little bit of context behind it. Definitely, we’ve had a brilliant first half of the season and that’s all it is at the moment, the first half of the season. We’ve got to approach every single game the same and I think we’ve done that so far.
"At Leeds it was no different but we came out the wrong side of big moments, definitely, and then in the second half they looked miles the better team because they’re 4-0 up and it’s a completely different feeling for both teams. But we’re not silly and all the prep since Leeds has been on the next game.”
Asked how much he relished the visit of Leicester, the 26-year-old added: "It’s what you want. I think you need to stand up to it and you need to show that you belong, for sure. As a group we’ve done that throughout the whole season and I’m proud of the lads for that, definitely, and I think we need to continue to do it.”
What has been the key to that? He continued: "It’s just what we do. The key to that is what we do every single day, definitely. How hard we work each and every day, the standards we hold ourselves accountable to every single day, not just game day but training as well – I think that’s what the reason is.”
It will be Town’s first clash with the Foxes this season as they embark on the second half of the Championship programme and Chaplin know tonight’s game will provide a further test of the team’s ability to stay in the forefront of the promotion race.
He was asked if he has seen much of the team relegated from the Premier League last term, he added: "Yes, a bit, but probably only the telly games so far, same as everyone else, same as all the other teams.
"Obviously, a good side, much like Leeds. They’ve got Premier League players, Premier League experience and it’s a good test, one that we’re all really excited for.”