Town defender Leif Davis believes increased expectation levels will ramp up the pressure on the Blues as they return to the Championship next season.
After just a single season in the top flight, Town were relegated with four matches to spare following last month’s defeat at Newcastle United, joining Southampton and Leicester City in making an immediate return to the second tier.
Kieran McKenna’s side will be in receipt of the Premier League’s parachute and solidarity payments, with the Blues set to be among the favourites for the Championship title.
Davis hopes the playing squad embrace the challenge of having that target on their backs in a completely different way to when they were promoted in 2024.
"It’s more pressure on us in the Championship,” he said. "We’re going to be the team that has to win every game in that league with the players that we’ve got. It’s pressure but the lads in the changing room can deal with it.”
Davis agreed that he will return to the division a much better player than when he departed the division 12 months ago for this year’s experience.
The left-back was named in the Championship Team of the Season last term having registered 18 assists, but the 25-year-old has only been able to add two to his tally this season.
"One hundred per cent,” he said. "Playing against the best players in the world and the best right wingers in the world such as [Mohamed] Salah.
"I’ve got to go into the season next year with my head held high, confident, knowing what I can do because I performed well last year in that league. I’ve got to block out the pressure, block out the noise from fans and the media and go all guns blazing.
"We’ve still got one game left [against West Ham United]. If I do get the opportunity to play, I would like to put a few more numbers on the board to finish the season well.
"The summer is close now, I’m going to switch off for a few weeks and then get back at it, I know what I can do to perform next year.”
Another player who was named in last season’s select Championship XI was fellow defender Jacob Greaves, who was then of Hull City.
Now with the Blues, Greaves has recently filled in at left-back in the absence of Davis through suspension and Conor Townsend through injury, with the traditional centre-back tasked with a new role for the matches against Arsenal, Newcastle, Everton and Brentford.
Davis revealed he has spoken with Greaves about the position for much of his forced time on the sidelines, praising the former Tigers man for his ability to adapt.
He said: "I know his quality, a very good defender and he lacks what me and Conor give going forwards.
"In this league, the way the games have gone having him at left-back has probably been a better option for us because we defend a lot of crosses and he’s better than me in that area of the pitch defensively. He’s done really well, I can’t fault him for anything and he’s given his all every time he’s played there.
"He’s enjoyed it, I’ve spoken to him on the training pitches to help him along in positioning where I’d be and pushed him going forward in training a few times which he didn’t like because he was blowing at the end of it.
"He’s even said to me it’s harder than it looks, the first game he done it against Arsenal and then the next morning he said he couldn’t walk and I was saying ‘I told you it’s a tough position to play’. He’s done excellent, he’s dug in well and is another position he can play.
"At Hull he played left of a back three so he knows roughly the positioning and what he has to do in that area of the pitch. A back three is probably easier than a single left-back in a four.
"He’s done great, I was happy for him and always had a laugh with him in training when he was bombing forward I would just stand there and laugh at him while his long legs are trying to get up the pitch. I know his quality and I know he can play in any position in the backline.”
Town teammate Kalvin Phillips is a player Davis knows well, with the duo going back to their days together at Leeds United.
McKenna revealed it is unlikely Phillips will be fit to feature in the season finale against West Ham this weekend, meaning he appears certain to have played his final game for the club.
Phillips has struggled to maintain consistency in the side, with the Manchester City loanee accumulating five different injuries in his stop-start spell at Portman Road.
Despite this, Davis has enjoyed having his long-time best friend in football around.
"It’s a nice face to see every day knowing I was with him at Leeds,” he said. "I would say Kalvin is probably the closest person I’ve met in football, one of my best friends for a long time now so seeing him here was nice.
"He’s played good games when he’s played here, obviously disappointing with injuries. He’s brought a lot of experience because he’s played with top players in the world – the likes of [Kevin] De Bruyne, [Erling] Haaland and also played against.
"He also helped us along in positions and all that kind of stuff. It’s been good to have him here, but he probably won’t be there for the next game which will be disappointing.
"He just wants to keep playing, that’s all he wants to do and all he talks about is playing games.
"That’s what any footballer wants to do, they want to be going out there on a Saturday or Sunday and playing the games that you want to be playing in and try and play consistently and keep the momentum going and keep the levels high.”