Town goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski has promised supporters “something special” in the months ahead.

The Pole, who has played 38 times since arriving from Notts County last summer, stopped just short of tipping Town to win promotion to the Premier League.

But having only narrowly missed out last term, Bialkowski is clearly confident about the team’s prospects this time round and said: “It’s looking good, very promising. I think we are capable of doing something special this season.

“I hope for a top two finish but it is a long season and I am not going to make any promises now because in football you never know what is going to happen.

“The Championship is a tough division. Three quarters of the clubs in the league probably believe they can go up.

“It is certainly not going to be easy but we are going to be up for it and we are ready to fight for it. I think we are going to do alright.”

Mick McCarthy’s summer signings have increased Bialkowski’s optimism about achieving his long-term ambition to play his football in England’s top tier, rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in the game.

He added: “Ever since I first came over here I have wanted to play in the Premier League. It is probably every footballer’s dream to play there because it is the best league in the world. That is our aim this season, to win promotion and play against the very best.

“The current Ipswich team is the best I have played in during my career. It was hard to say that because at Southampton we had a few decent players — people like Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott, who were big stars for us.

“But at the same time I wasn’t playing regularly and spent most of my time on the bench, so now that I am playing regularly I can say this Ipswich team is the best I have ever played in.”

Bialkowski cast his mind back to last season’s promotion near miss when Town suffered the disappointment of defeat at the semi-final stage of the play-offs.

He said: “The first few days after we lost at Norwich was very tough. We had a great chance to go up but we lost it and it was really hard to take for every one of us. It was the biggest disappointment in my career, that’s for sure.

“But we went off on our holidays, cleared our heads and I think we have come back even stronger. I think we are even more determined than ever, if that is possible, to do it this year.

“We thought last season that we were more than capable as a team to do something special but with the new faces the gaffer has brought in I believe we are looking much stronger. It is looking really good.”

Photo: Action Images

wkj added 07:52 - Aug 18 Bart... Top 6 Championship Goalie <3
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