They have only just been united at Town but Jordan Spence was already of the view that he would rather be on Joe Garner’s side than against him.

Spence and much-travelled £1 million striker Garner, back south of the border after 10 months with Scottish Premiership side Rangers, have encountered each other in the past — with previous meetings leaving a mark on the defender.

“I played against Joe when he was at Preston and I’m aware he doesn’t give defenders a moment’s rest,” said Spence. “Let’s say he likes to leave a little bit on you every now and again and hopefully he’ll also score plenty of goals for us.”

That is one player’s tribute to another, a sure sign that Garner enjoys the respect of his new colleague and it will be up to defenders at the Championship’s other 23 clubs to contend with the frontman’s combative style as he looks to revive his career after a lean spell in Glasgow that reaped just 10 goals in 33 appearances, 11 of them from the bench, in all competitions.

More was expected of Garner at Ibrox after then boss Mark Warburton spent £1.8 million to recruit him from Preston but Town boss Mick McCarthy had no hesitation in bringing him back to England on a three-year deal to spearhead his side’s attack.

While Garner will be chasing goals, Spence will be doing his best to keep them out at the other end, although the defender who can operate at right-back and in the centre of the defence also showed his versatility by operating in the right wing-back role after McCarthy’s switch to a 3-5-2 playing formation.

Spence looked ahead to the big kick-off and said: “The new season will be about building on the good signs we produced at times last season and obviously improving on the not-so-good aspects.

“We will use the next few weeks of pre-season training to work on being better in every area.

“We will probably have a few more new faces with us before we get going again but overall it’s going to be about building up the team spirit again, making sure we improve as a team and gaining the results and points to finish much higher up the league.

“It’s about small margins but a lot of small margins. As you saw, we competed against the sides who finished at or near the top and managed to beat some of them, while we weren’t always able to do that against the sides who finished in and around us.

“Having said that, you generally finish where you deserve to finish and we won’t be happy to be in the same position again.

“The competitive edge you need to be challenging in the Championship comes from the group as a whole, first and foremost, and then from the players individually.

“If we are going to get back to the Premier League, which is where I want to play — and I’m sure that goes for all our players — you need to start by being one of the very best in the Championship. At the top end of the Championship it is becoming like an extension of the Premier League.

“Ipswich have been one of those clubs who have tended to compete at what we call the right end of the table, at least more often than not, but it didn’t happen last year and hopefully that was just a blip.”

Blip or not, Town finished in their lowest league position for 58 years and fans’ frustration saw thousands surrender their season tickets, all of whom the club must now seek to lure back to Portman Road.

Spence added: “I think fans and most people respond to winning, right? So if we can win more games than we can lose that will be a start. I think the onus is on us to be positive and very tough to beat, particularly at home.

“We also have to offer some entertaining football, score goals, all the things that everybody talks about and everybody wants to see.

"Fans come on board when we win and we look like a side that are more often than not going to do that. I think it’s pretty much as simple as that.”

Photo: ITFC

blue75 added 07:56 - Jun 27 There it is on the first day the words tough to beat and win games that'll bring the fans back!! Nothing learnt then entertaining football is what will bring them back I hope we don't continue where we left off last season!!
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