Town full-back Chris Makin can't wait for the season to begin at the Stadium of Light on August 18th. The former Sunderland player sees it as the biggest game of his career and looks forward to a good reception from his old fans.

He remembers his time in the north-east warmly: "They were wonderful to me and I was sad to go. But Ipswich is a terrific club and I have ended up looking forward to European football in the UEFA Cup as a result of my move south. There could be no bigger match for me to start the season than back at Sunderland and I’ll be very proud to go back there as an Ipswich player. There will be a 48,000 full house at the Stadium of Light and to be honest, I’m expecting a good reception. I always gave my all for the club and loved the place during my time there, but the move to Ipswich was right for me at the time."

When the fixtures came out Makin was astonished to discover he was returning to his old haunt: "When the fixtures were announced I couldn’t believe I was going back to Sunderland and neither could Michael."

Former colleage Michael Gray was on holiday with Makin in Spain when they learnt of the early meeting. Makin is looking forward to a successful first full season at Portman Road: "The Sunderland match will mark the start of what I hope will be a successful first season with Ipswich. A win at the Stadium of Light on Saturday week would set me off nicely and I can tell you this, I’ll be thinking of nothing else all next week."

Hermann Hreidarsson hopes that Town will draw a club from Iceland in the UEFA Cup. The defender wants to play for Town in his home land and there is a chance it could happen.

Hreidarsson explains: "There are three Icelandic clubs battling in the UEFA Cup qualifiers right now. They are KR Reykjavik, Fylkir Reykjavik and IA Akranes. To go back and play there against one of these clubs for Ipswich would be a dream, but quite honestly I’m just looking forward to the new season."

Hermann rates last season as his best ever and is eagerly anticipating this one: "We have been building up nicely in the pre-season. I have had a bit of an achilles injury early on but I am OK now. I have never looked forward to a season more and I think that we can acquit ourselves well again."

Town's players went to the theatre last night to watch a production of Martin McDonagh's The Lonesome West.

The Daily Telegraph described The Lonesome West thus: "The play combines manic energy and physical violence in a way that is both hilarious and viscerally exciting."

Any similarities with Manu Thetis are presumably coincidental. George Burley had a good time: "I certainly enjoyed it and the lads seemed to as well. It was nice for us all to get together on such an evening."

While Mike Salmon was equally tickled: "The play was much funnier than we thought it would be. It was a good night out and a bonus on the trip."

Photo: Action Images

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