Goalkeeper Dean Gerken is not predicting Town will win automatic promotion this season — but nor does he share the view of manager Mick McCarthy, who recently suggested his team would not finish in the top two places.

Despite starting the season as second choice behind Bartosz Bialkowski, Gerken has completed a run of 24 league games and believes the significant recent improvement in Town’s home form is reason enough not to dismiss the possibility of bypassing the play-off zone en route to the Premier League.

As things stand fifth-placed Town are six points adrift of second-placed Hull, who have leapt ahead of Derby into the top two after the Rams collected just two points from their last three league games.

Gerken said: “The top two? You can never say never, I suppose. It’s a cliché and everyone says it but at the end of the season you just see where you are and take it from there.

“You can’t look at your fixture list and say ‘Three points here, three points there’ because we all know about the Championship and how any team can beat any other on their day.

“But we know that if we can keep doing what we’re doing at the moment we’ll have a chance of doing something good this year.

“I hope we have turned the corner at home. Teams come to Portman Road and probably lift their game against us by five or 10 per cent.

“It’s been a lot harder this season than it has been in previous years. There was more of a shock factor about us last year but everyone knows what we’re about these days.

“Teams set their stall out a little bit differently when they come to our place, looking to nick a point or get a 1-0 win and sit back. We’ve had to go about our game a little bit more — be a bit more patient in the way we approach games and stuff like that.

“With teams sitting back we haven’t been able to set such a high tempo and show the forcefulness we’ve had in previous years.

“When the opposition have 11 men behind the ball you have to come up with different ways of breaking them down and I think it’s been coming together a lot more in our last three home performances.

“Even when we lost to both Middlesbrough and Derby, who are top teams, I think our performances were good and the result could have gone either way.

“We’re more confident at home now than we have been for some time, trusting the way we can break teams down in a new sort of way.

“It’s tough to say if the best is yet to come. I just know we’ve got a group of lads who are all mates and all doing well for each other. We’re playing good football at the moment and long may it continue.

“We’re enjoying what we are doing at the moment and although the games come round thick and fast we can’t wait for each one of them.”

Photo: Action Images

OsborneOneNil added 10:02 - Jan 15 Good man, Gerks
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irish_tractor added 10:11 - Jan 15 Good stuff gerks.
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MVBlue added 10:29 - Jan 15 Good positivity and understanding that our poor performances were against huddersfield and cardiff, yet against middlesborough we could have won. Also I dont think Leeds sat back against us? Many teams do this away including us against Brighton. Its games like that when the opposition sits back that the whingers come onto the forum.
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essex57 added 10:30 - Jan 15 Well said I think that applies to the fans as well can't wait till Saturday.
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DurhamTownFan added 11:56 - Jan 15 Very fair assessment of where we are and what the season might bring. I'll be happy if you keep surprising us, Gerks. Never was a fan, but he's been pretty good lately. Let's hope that continues!
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RaymondovicBlue added 12:45 - Jan 15 We COULD finish anywhere in the top half - except perhaps catching Middlesborough who do look too good for anyone Mick knows this too - but he is never one to play up his team to make them favourites - he prefers to be underdog. I am SURE we will finish well - and the way we are now hitting good form I think a Second place finish is very possible.
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Kirbmeister added 13:05 - Jan 15 The only two remaining fixtures that remotely scare me are Hull and home and 'Boro away. Anything is possible.
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Kirbmeister added 13:06 - Jan 15 Hull at home....
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Kikapu added 13:58 - Jan 15 If you haven't done so yet have a look at the last three fixtures. It's going to go down to the wire - again.
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