Sammie Szmodics believes the Blues have made a positive start to the Premier League season, despite Town having yet to register a win so far this campaign.
The Blues sit 17th in the early season readings after four matches having picked up two points, drawing their last two fixtures against Fulham and Brighton and Hove Albion.
Town’s summer arrival from Blackburn Rovers is also making the step up to the Premier League having played his football in the Championship last season, where he was the division’s top goalscorer.
Szmodics highlighted the step-up in the quality but says the group are relishing that challenge ahead of Saturday’s trip to fellow promoted side Southampton.
"It’s been really good and really positive,” he said when asked to summarise the opening month of the campaign.
"Obviously we had the tough start with the two big games in Liverpool and Man City, and they don’t really get any easier, but we weren’t surprised with the challenge we faced with them and we’ve played two good teams in Fulham and Brighton and the challenges just keep getting harder.
"We’re ready, we’re not here to make the numbers up, we’re here to really compete. I’ve found it a bit tougher than the Championship with the intensity side of things, but it’s nothing that me and the team can’t cope with.”
Szmodics netted the Blues’ first Premier League goal for more than 22 years in last month’s defeat at Manchester City, a moment the frontman says is a moment to cherish.
"It was probably one of the best feelings of my career to date. My first Premier League start and a goal at the Etihad probably doesn’t get much better than that.
"Just to get one was the first one so obviously that’s been ticked off. To help the team with as many as I can, goals and assists are massive for us. Every goal needs to be worked for in this league so I’ve not really set myself any goals or targets.
"Every game is different and every tactic for the game will be different so I’m just taking every game as it comes.”
Reflecting on the toughest opponent so far, Szmodics said: "For different reasons, City are obviously the champions, tough. Coming on as a sub against Liverpool for my first game was difficult, and Brighton are a very good team on the ball.
"Every game has got its different challenges and every game’s going to be tough. They’re probably four of the toughest games that we’ve had.
"I’m going to come up against a lot of good defenders. Rico Lewis at City was really good, and I think I speak for everyone when I say [Erling] Haaland obviously with his hat-trick. He’s a beast, that’s why you work hard to play against teams and people like that.
"I think he watched me last season, obviously I scored 33 so he’s been taking a couple of tips off of me! But he’s an exceptional player.”
This weekend’s clash with Southampton at St Mary’s will see two of the division’s winless sides go head-to-head, with the Saints currently without a point having lost all four matches so far this season.
Town will be looking for a similar result to those achieved in both clashes with Southampton last season in the Championship, and Szmodics knows how difficult a task the trip will be for the Blues.
He said: "It’s a team I played against twice last season and they’re a very good team on the ball. I’m sure the manager has said their build-up play is probably one of the best in the league, Russell Martin gets them playing.
"They’ve had a tough start to the season, but it doesn’t epitomise the team they are and what season they’re going to have. It’s a tough place to go and play football, it’s going to be a really intense game that both teams want to get something out of.
"Russell Martin’s a great manager and has got really good ball playing midfielders and players and look to build out from the back. We’ve worked on things this week on how we can stop them and punish them.
"Sometimes you have a working week and the games are completely different to what you’ve prepped for, but hopefully the work we’ve put in can be very similar to how we think the game is going to pan out.”
The Blues have appeared very fluid with their system so far this season, with Kieran McKenna regularly switching between a back three and a back four at times whether in or out of possession with Szmodics regularly featuring on the left of the attacking unit.
Despite the adaptability in shape, Szmodics says Town’s approach to each game this season does not differ significantly depending on the opponent they are coming up against.
"It doesn’t really change,” Szmodics said. "Obviously every game is different, but we have good working weeks where we can really focus on the opponent, how we’re going to hurt them and how we stop them.
"Every game is very similar in terms of intensity and everyone uses the ball well in the Premier League, so we know them types of games are the same.
"We all know our jobs to do, we have good working weeks so everything tactically is down to a tee so everyone knows their jobs. Every game is going to be tough.”
In addition to stepping up to being a Premier League player for the first time in his career, Szmodics has recently become a full international, making his debut for the Republic of Ireland in March.
"It’s been amazing,” he said regarding his international career. "Being an international footballer is a completely different type of world. I dreamed about playing in the Premier League but international football is something you never dream of because you don’t think you’re ever going to get there.
"To represent Ireland is amazing, you get to play against big countries like England and against superstars. You’ve worked all your life to get to this stage and you’d be stupid to not take it all in.
"Now is probably the time in my career that I’ve got to work the hardest and learn the most – I’ve got to where I want to be and I want to stay here, I don’t want to be going back down to the Championship.
"You want to stay in this league and play at this level that you’re at, so a lot of hard work still needs to go in.
"Playing against England was amazing, they’re a really good team with really good individual players so it was a tough test for us.
"The new manager has come in at Ireland and some camps are only one week long with two games, so we don’t get a lot of time on the grass to train and plan for these games.
"It’s a great experience and we’ve got two tough games coming up in the Nations League in October and then hopefully England at Wembley, which is something everyone will look forward to.”
Szmodics is not the only Irish representative in the Blues squad, with Chiedozie Ogbene and Dara O’Shea also featuring for the Boys in Green during the recent international break.
In addition, Liam Delap is also eligible to play for Ireland and Jack Taylor has spoken about his ambitions to break into the national team setup.
Szmodics said: "I think it will be quite good for us with Chieo, Dara and Rene Gilmartin. Ireland are taking over, it’s the Republic of Town now I think! It can only help the country when you’ve got three players playing for the same club.
"Liam’s obviously doing really well with England U21s, but I think he’s eligible to play [for Ireland], so I’ll have to have a word in his ear.
"Jack can play. I’m not really sure what’s going on with Jack, he needs to get a lot of minutes in his belt and the new manager wants players that want to play for Ireland and are doing well at club level. I definitely think Jack should be in consideration for what he does.
"He’s one of my best mates in football, I was with him at Peterborough and got promoted to the Championship with him. Even when he signed here it’s a pinch me moment that we done it in League One and now we’re playing together in the Premier League, it’s bittersweet for both of us.”
The 28-year-old is also eligible to represent Hungary through his grandfather, but Szmodics says that was never something that he had considered and dismissed rumours that there was any negative comments made during conversations earlier this year.
"It was an option,” he said. "The manager came out and said some words about me in the press and I’ve always been honest, there was a conversation. I wasn’t getting in the Ireland team under the last manager for whatever reason, and they just rang to see if I was ever interested and I wasn’t.
"It was something that didn’t interest me, but there was a conversation. The new manager came in at Ireland and since then I’ve never looked back, John O’Shea gave me that first cap and he’s now the assistant manager.
"It’s a big trust to go in and play for a country and he’s shown trust in me, hopefully I’ve shown in my performances that it’s somewhere I want to be.
"It was just a conversation from their boss or one of their players that I used to play with, asking what was going on with Ireland and I was just not getting picked for the squad and that was it.
"It was never a case of I want to play for Hungary or what are the options, I wanted to play for Ireland and if I’m not playing for Ireland then I’m not playing.
"Things can be put out in the press that I said stuff about the country or the manager said some stuff, it’s nothing to do with that and it’s all nonsense. I never look back on those things, I’m a Republic of Ireland player and I’ve played six games now and hopefully many more.”
For sides such as Town not competing in European competition, the Premier League schedule is notably less intense from that of the EFL, where eight extra league games are played per season.
Szmodics was asked whether the calmer calendar could be of a benefit with more time available on the training ground to work and prepare for matches at the weekend.
"Yeah, definitely,” he responded. "In the Championship you’re playing Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday and then you have a cup game thrown in there so it’s a very intense schedule and not a lot of time to train on the grass. It’s more playing a game, then recovering, day off then back into a game again.
"We’ve had a good working week and you get weeks between games where you can really focus on the opposition as opposed to in the Championship where it’s just game after game. We get a lot more time on the grass for the tactical side of things and a lot more time to recover.”
In light of recent comments by Man City midfielder Rodri, Szmodics was asked whether he feels players play too many matches. Town’s summer signing brushed off those suggestions and says he would not have it any other way.
He said: "It’s what we love doing, we love playing football. At 28, I love playing football more now than I did when I was 20. To represent Ireland is massive for me and my family, so I would never complain about playing games of football.”