Ward: We Want to Keep Up the Good Form and Get Everyone Back on Board Thursday, 17th Aug 2017 16:00 Grant Ward has admitted he wouldn’t mind if all games were like Tuesday’s goal fest as Town triumphed 4-3 at Millwall to extend their 100 per cent start to the season. It’s four wins from as many games for Mick McCarthy’s men — three in the league to join Cardiff and Wolves as the only three teams on the nine-point mark and victory in the Caribao Cup at Luton to earn a second-round trip to Crystal Palace next midweek. But Ward claims the turnaround in form — Town ended last term in 16th place, their worst finish to a season in 58 years — has nothing to do with trying to prove their critics, among them many who surrendered their season tickets, wrong. He said: “There’s nothing we can do now about what happened last season. We’re just going to play our football, do what we can on the pitch and hopefully put it behind us. “And we’re doing it for the manager because we do owe him a bit. He got a bit of stick and we got a bit of stick but in the main it was him who got most of it. We’re looking to keep up the good form and get everyone back on board.” Tuesday’s win, which started in whirlwind fashion with both sides scoring inside the first four minutes, appeared to leave its mark on Ward and he laughed: “Hopefully we can make them all like that. When you look at the personnel, not necessarily the formation, it was probably as attacking a team as I’ve ever played in. “I knew we would score a few goals but we probably shouldn’t have conceded as many. The defenders won’t be happy with me for saying that and will be saying I could have helped out a bit more. “But it was great and to hear the final whistle, knowing we had grabbed all three points, was massive. Moments like that are why we play the game and we all love it so much. “To end such an eventful game with all three points was what mattered most but it was enjoyable too. That’s what everyone — well, maybe not everyone, but probably most players and definitely me — wants from football. I want to win and just keep on winning. “Since a young age I’ve wanted to be a footballer, 100 per cent. My brother used to play and my dad loves football. In fact, everyone in my family is into it, so when I was growing up I always wanted to be a professional. “I didn’t really have a Plan B to be honest. My mum wanted the best for me and I did quite well at school with some decent GCSE results — I got 10 or 11 — but that wasn’t for back-up, it was just for myself.” New strikers Joe Garner and Martyn Waghorn have started life in Suffolk with five league goals between them but Ward made a sensational impact himself just over a year ago when he came on at half-time in the opening day clash with Barnsley and proceeded to score a second-half hat-trick to help Town record a 4-2 home win. He added: “That will always be a great memory for me but I think I’ll be a better player this season and will have a bit more to offer. I’m getting used to the other players and I believe I’m becoming a better player as well. Hopefully I will get among the goals again and keep contributing with the assists. “We haven’t needed that many chances to get our goals in the first four games this season, whereas last season it felt like we needed a good few chances to put the ball in the back of the net. This year we’ve been clinical. “We’re feeling good at the minute and we’re going to try our best to keep it going. If we can carry on as we have started I can see us winning on Saturday but none of us are taking anything for granted. “The Championship is always a tough league and it won’t be any different this season. There will be a lot of teams pushing to get into the play-offs. “The teams coming down are going to be strong and a lot of the other teams are building, with some spending a lot of money to strengthen their squads. It will be another tough season but we are encouraged by the way we have started.” Meanwhile, Ward took time out to pay tribute to former England international defender Ugo Ehiogu, who was working as Tottenham Hotspur’s U23 coach when he died of a cardiac arrest at the club’s training ground in April this year at the age of 44. Ward said: “First and foremost Ugo was a great guy. He was there when I was coming through and he was the manager of the U21 team when I was in it. He helped me throughout my time at Spurs and he was always someone you could talk to, even about things outside football. “You could have an honest conversation with him and he would give you proper advice, not just the stuff they want you to hear, if you know what I mean. “It’s always good to have someone you can talk to, especially if they have played the game at the highest level as he did. “Here at Ipswich we have Kieron Dyer and Titus Bramble, who are coaching in the academy. They have so much knowledge from their own playing careers and they like to pass it on. “If you want to have a chat they are only too happy to get involved. But everyone at this club is so friendly. They are all approachable and happy to have a chat.”
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