Town defender Tommy Smith will be on a revenge mission when in-form Wigan visit Portman Road in a battle of the play-off contenders this weekend.

The Latics, also FA Cup semi-finalists and with seven straight wins in all competitions behind them, are very much in the driving seat at the moment.

They only trail sixth-placed Reading on goal difference and have what could prove a significant advantage of two games in hand on the Royals as well as Town, who are currently four points off the pace.

Smith said: “I think the next four games are massive for us now. We are playing teams — Wigan, Brighton, Derby and Nottingham Forest — in and around us and if we can take points off them there’s every chance we can sneak in there.

“If we lose to Wigan it will make it very tough, although still not impossible, but we want to take all three points and bring them that much closer to us. It’s all we can do, worry about our own performances and picking up as many points as we can.

“We put in a good performance at their place soon after the start of the season, even if it ended 2-0 to them, so we’ll be looking to avenge that. We don’t want to lose twice to them in one season and we feel like we owe them one for sure.”

Town have not fared too well in terms of results against the teams above them in the Championship table, losing twice to leaders Leicester and QPR, as well as at Reading and Wigan, although they defeated both the Royals and Brighton at Portman Road, and also gained draws at both Derby and Forest.

Smith added: “If you look at our performances against the top teams they haven’t really warranted defeats on most occasions. We feel as if we have been doing well enough against them and it’s just about taking that next step and actually winning games.

“As I’ve said the next four games are really important since they are against the teams in and around us and we want to start on Saturday with three points. The crowd have been great all season and we’ve given them a bit more to shout about than we have in previous seasons.

“Their support at Yeovil the other night was fantastic — there were over a thousand of them down there on a Tuesday night, which is amazing for the distance they had to travel. We are really appreciative of all their support.”

The New Zealand international played a key part in the only goal at Huish Park, his flicked-on header paving the way for defensive partner Christophe Berra to take his tally for the club to four.

Smith said: “I’d have liked to have put it in myself but that’s twice I’ve set him up for goals so I’ve told him he owes me a couple now.

“But seriously, we’ve developed quite a good partnership. Previously it was a good partnership with Chambo and it was going to be tough to match that but I think we’re getting close to that now.

“Christophe brings a wealth of experience to the side after his time in the Premier League and at international level and it’s great to be playing alongside him at the moment.

“Obviously, it was a massive win at Yeovil as it keeps us in with a shout. If we can stay four or five points away, with the remaining games to go there’s always that chance of sneaking in there.”

Photo: Action Images

biddyboy added 06:11 - Mar 14 Well you've matured into an established part of the side Tommy and even though that partnership with "chambo" was broken the berra smith "back two" looks solid. To stand a chance of a result on Saturday though IMHO we have to link that midfield to the forwards with some creativity as skuse and hyam don't do it for me, skuse to hold and Williams to start
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tractorboyz82 added 07:52 - Mar 14 I'd like see hyam skuse Williams in the middle with Anderson and hunt out wide murphy up front
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commuterblue added 07:52 - Mar 14 COYB!! A massive four game spell. If we can get 8 or more points then we will have a real shout. Althouugh it might actually be us and wigan instead of Reading and QPR. Let's make it a fantastic atmosphere from start to finish. Well up for it. (New type of coffee this morning...)
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whosroundisitanyway added 08:13 - Mar 14 Really hope we get a decent crowd with the right attitude. Definately gonna need a "Twelth Man" for this one.
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commuterblue added 08:16 - Mar 14 I actually wonder if mick will be a bit more attacking in these four games - he's done it before at Wolves, he played some games 4-2-4 when he had too. i like the idea of hyam, skuse, williams in the middle, but think we need a finisher such as SEB. so front three of murphy (left), SEB and hunt/ taylor (right)
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Bergholtblue added 08:24 - Mar 14 The next 4 games will define our season. With 3 of them being at home you would hope to be able to pick up some valuable points, but with our current form and the quality of the opposition, we could just as easily lose all 4. Here we go then! All aboard and hold tight for the roller coaster ride that it supporting Ipswich Town is about to start.
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Keaneish added 08:40 - Mar 14 But we're not going to lose are we Tommy? We're going to win 2-nil and we're going to do it in some style in both halves for the first time this season! Nothing rugged. Open free flowing attacking football…. Time to turn it on and go for bust MM. The next 4 games are do or die.
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Ipswich121 added 08:42 - Mar 14 I'd like to hear chambers honest view on the topic of the defence partnerships.
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gainsboroughblue added 09:30 - Mar 14 Is this the only picture we have of our Tommy?
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BlueandTruesince82 added 10:31 - Mar 14 I expect (hope) that a righ back will be signed in the summer or Hewitt/Veseli will be ready to make the step up, my feeling is we need someone with experiance to help nurture them both. That then leaves Smith, Chambers and Berra competing for 2x CB spots, plus mings thats good competition at the back. Perhaps we should move to a central back 3 with cressie at left wing, then a RW in a similar mould both to chase back and compliment either the back 3 as required or the attacking 4, leaving skuse to protect the said back 3 and break up play/distribute. EG (Next season hence no williams) Gerkin Chambo, Berra, Smith TBC(RW), Skuse, Cressie Taylor (in the hole with liscence to roam) SEB, Murph, McG That leaves as it stands Anderson at RW (who I think is very capaple at tracking back) 2 young fit wingers capabe of covering lots of ground with Hunt and Carlos (who I would like to see added to the coaching staff) as impact players, (and cover for the wings) Mings as bench cover at the back, Nouble and Marriot (fingers crossed) ready to come in and add fresh legs to the front three and and Hyam as cover for Skuse. Thats without any additions this summer, which hopefully will offer even more options, plus a really good blend of youth and experiance Total footaball is really whats needed to play this way though. COYB, I belive!

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Michael11 added 10:32 - Mar 14 Think Tommy deserves huge credit for the way he's matured and developed in such a short space of time. His career was going no where with Jewell in charge but thankfully Mick saw his potential and gave him his chance and he hasn't looked back. I went to that game away at Wigan, we absolutely hammered them for 90 minutes and lost 2-0. They're a much better side under Use Rosler though, so we'll have to be on our best game to win.

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tractorboybig added 11:18 - Mar 14 "Battle of the play off contenders?" Are Wigan playing themselves?
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essexboy added 11:48 - Mar 14 Cresswell in midfield Saturday,with Mings at LB.
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essexboy added 11:52 - Mar 14 My team for Saturday...Loach,Mings,smith,Berra,Richardson. Cresswell,Skuse,Hyam,Williams. SEB.Murphy.Wishful thinking.!!
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TimmyH added 13:06 - Mar 14 Yep big 4 games coming up and this will really test where we are at present as these teams are all above us, so far this season we have struggled against the 'better' teams so about time for Mick's team to get some fire in their bellies and give it 100% and then if we do ok (maybe 7 points+) we can consider ourselves genuine play off contenders, as so far I don't feel we warrant it!

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Cloddyseedbed added 20:15 - Mar 14 TimmyH I agree with you post to a certain extent but don't you think we've struggled against the poorer teams too? In fact we've struggled against everybody this season the way we set our team to play.
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TimmyH added 20:31 - Mar 14 yes true @cloddy - we've let slip many a point go at home against the strugglers, it seems quite a few of the mid-table'ish teams we've done ok against but away from home picked up the wins against the poorer teams, so maybe too defensive at home?
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josephgarrett added 11:17 - Mar 15 Christ
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josephgarrett added 11:18 - Mar 15 Mustard
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josephgarrett added 11:18 - Mar 15 Hindus success on a plate for u
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