He may not have played a great deal of competitive football but new Town loanee Conor Sammon insists there are no doubts about his fitness.

Sammon, signed from Derby on a season-long deal, not only completed the Rams’ entire pre-season programme but was also involved in a number of warm-up fixtures.

The nine-cap Republic of Ireland international said: “I’ve done everything at Derby. The manager there was very good. With the pre-season games he spread the minutes amongst all the players in the initial part so I got plenty of game time, as well as good training, under my belt.

“I didn’t miss any sessions so I feel physically strong and now it’s just about getting that match sharpness, which comes from playing in competitive games, like on Saturday at Reading and hopefully at Birmingham as well.”

Sammon cost Derby a fee of £1.2 million when he joined them from Wigan in August 2012 and he has scored 13 goals in a total of 89 appearances, of which 49 have been starts.

The Rams were beaten in last season’s play-off final by Bobby Zamora’s last-gasp goal for QPR, with Sammon an unused substitute, and he added: “It was a bit of a cruel kind of ending to what was a very good season at Derby.

“When the new manager [Steve McClaren] came in he really put his own stamp on things. He got us playing a certain way and we got a real winning mentality, if you want to call it that, which led us to the play-offs and to Wembley.

“On the day we were probably the better team but football’s a cruel game, as was shown that day. It’s in the past now, it was a great experience, so I’m just looking forward to the future now.”

Like most, if not all, Town signings Sammon is impressed by his new club, adding: “Ipswich is a massive, massive club. I’ve always seen that from playing against them during my time at Derby.

“They have great facilities — nice training ground, good stadium — and they look like a really good bunch of lads here. Not only on the pitch, but off the pitch, they seem like a really good group.

“They have made me feel welcome right from the word go and I’m looking forward to settling in and getting to know them even better.”

Photo: ITFC

Photo: Action Images

charsfield added 13:40 - Aug 19 i wasn't doubting his fitness till i read this
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oscarwhiting added 13:53 - Aug 19 Not your fitness I doubt…
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SteddyJ added 13:58 - Aug 19 NO BAJNER NO PARTY!
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tomself19 added 14:24 - Aug 19 He is one donkey the white heskey
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cats_whiskers added 14:53 - Aug 19 This guy has only just come in and not played a complete game and already the above "TWITS" are already slagging him off.. If there's one 'Donkey' in the side then it's Skuse.. He of "NO GOAL SCORED" He's had a whole season to achieve that, he's not a ball winner or much anything else... A player about as good as Jaime Peters was, and where is he now! Drifted into obscurity since he was released.

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jamesmostevens added 15:26 - Aug 19 Is he leaning or is his head lopsided? Quite handy for headers from the far post on the left hand side. Wouldn't mind if he was the 'white Heskey', old Emil would probably have netted 15+ a season at this level, a bit like the Irish Daryl Murphy....or Daryl Murphy as he's also known.
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dubblue added 15:41 - Aug 19 All respect to hyperbole but are we really 'a massive, massive club'? More realistic comments in relation to the training facilities and the ground. Welcome on board anyways!
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itfcinwales added 15:51 - Aug 19 is it the photo or is his head actually that wonky??
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Gooders7592 added 16:07 - Aug 19 cats_whiskers your opinion on Skuse is utter ridiculous.
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tags added 18:19 - Aug 19 As usual, some dodgy comments about the guys appearance. Some peeps aren't happy unless a super stud signs.
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connor_wilgrove added 18:40 - Aug 19 i like sammon
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siebdykstra added 19:15 - Aug 19 Could all the doubters please give the guy a chance before they slate him? Hasn't touched a ball for us yet and already being rubbished. So many people on here have opinions on players we sign before they touch a ball. Christophe Berra got plenty of abuse because he was at Wolves when they went down, and he ended up being our player of the year. Not saying that Sammon will be, but at least give him some time!

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kesgrave_bluey added 20:17 - Aug 19 if there's a ITFC striker whose scoring record you should question its Murphy, Scored 50 goals in his whole career. that's 14 seasons in all competitions.
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