Daryl Murphy has good reason to remember Town’s trip to Brighton earlier this season. He scored his first goal of the campaign in the 1-1 draw on the south coast in October and will be seeking number six when the Seagulls visit Portman Road today.

Murphy said: “We know what to expect from Brighton. They’re a good passing side and they try to play through you. They have some very good players who can hurt you but with the form we’ve been in we don’t fear anyone at the moment and especially at home.”

Ipswich have taken 23 points from a possible 36 under Mick McCarthy, a run that has taken them off the bottom of the Championship and eight points clear of the drop zone.

Murphy added: “It’s nice for a change that we are looking up the table instead of down. We’ve been down there and we don’t want to go back that way. But as the gaffer says, the situation can soon change.

“It’s a crazy league, as you can see from the results every week, but I think we are going in the right direction. I think it has benefited us a lot to keep the same team together.”

Despite the heavy workload over the festive period McCarthy has fielded an unchanged line-up in the last five games and Murphy said: “I feel good.

“When you get a run of games, as much as you run in training it’s playing that gives you the match sharpness. We’ve got a fully-fit squad and when you look at the number of games we have had recently it’s quite rare.

“The backroom staff — fitness coach Andy Liddell and the medical department — deserve a lot of credit for the way they have been looking after us.”

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