Paul Anderson believes there is no substitute for hard work and has pointed to one of the most successful clubs in Europe as the perfect example to illustrate his point.

The 25-year-old winger said: “You look at Barcelona. People talk about how they play and how fantastic they are on the ball. But if you watch them off the ball they are probably the best team in the world when they don’t have it. That’s why they are so successful.

“Basically, if you don’t work hard in football you are not going to get anywhere. I’ve always believed that working hard is one of the hardest things in football and we have that in the Ipswich team.

“We also have lots of individuals who have great ability. Cole Skuse is one of the best technical players I’ve seen at this level and David McGoldrick does things on his own here and there. He’ll make something happen out of nothing.

“Every team has different players. We’ve got a back four who are prepared to fight for us and you need that. You don’t need a back four to be bringing the ball down and doing tricks.”

Unsurprisingly, Anderson does not subscribe to the view that Town’s current success masks a lack of individual ability, adding: “We’ve got a great squad and I think it would be harsh to comment on ability because I think everyone in the squad has good ability.

“When I was at my first club, Liverpool, the manager was Rafael Benitez and it was drummed into us that ability alone was never enough and that we had to work hard. I wasn’t always in and around the first team but I was now and again and the top teams always work hard.”

With boss Mick McCarthy having only recruited free transfer signings this season Town could never be accused of spending their way into the top six of the Championship.

Anderson said: “It’s great credit to us. We have a few lads who were relegated with Bristol City last year — I’m one of them — and that shows what a tough league this is. No disrespect to League One but I didn’t want to be playing there.

“I was fortunate to be given a second chance at this level. I feel as if I’ve done my part within the squad and I’m thankful to the manager for his belief in me.

"We’re working hard, we’re in a great position and we have no reason to doubt ourselves in any way whatsoever. We believe in ourselves and that we are good enough to be up there.”

Photo: Action Images

DiamondGezzer added 06:22 - Jan 11 PMA.
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