His goal in last season’s East Anglian derby clash with Norwich at Carrow Road will always be a career highlight for Town skipper Luke Chambers.

But no one will be surprised to hear the experienced defender explain how it would have meant so much more had it signalled a win for the Blues, who were pegged back deep into stoppage time in heartbreaking fashion after Chambers had netted in the very last of the regulation 90 minutes.

Recalling the events of February 18th this year — and looking ahead to this weekend’s clash with the Canaries at Portman Road — Chambers said: “The actual moment when I scored the goal was very good.

“I was lucky enough to score for Nottingham Forest in a derby game that we won and it could have been oh-so-different if we had been able to hang on down there for all three points.

“Going into Sunday’s game we are looking to draw on the positives from the last time and also the negatives as well.

“If we do put ourselves in a position to win, which we haven’t been able to do for a while, we’ll be looking to take advantage of that and continue to hold on.

“Is it must-win game? I’m not sure you can have a must-win game six games into a new season.

“Obviously, we’d like to win and we want to win. In fact, we probably need to win. But we can’t really start labelling games ‘must-win’ this early. It’s a derby game and we want to win it but whatever happens there will still be 40 league games left.”

Town have not been able to beat their arch-rivals in 10 attempts since they triumphed 3-2 at home in April 2009 thanks to a late winner from Jon Stead and Chambers added: “I think it’s the perfect time to play them. It’s a perfect time for us to use this game as an extra motivation, as if we didn’t need one already.

“It’s probably not up there with the play-off derby games, which will live with me for a while, but I think it’s a great opportunity for us because we are a whole new team and we relish the pressure that comes with it.

“They have a lot of new players as well so that gives it a different outlook I suppose.

“I think I realised what this game means to people on my first day. I came in to sign and had a walk round the club.

“People were all saying the same thing — ‘As long as you beat Norwich you’ll be alright’ — and the one thing we want is to make the fans happy.

“That’s our jobs and it’s an entertainment business. We want to do that and win on Sunday.

“We know what this game is all about. It’s all about the town and the surrounding area. I think everyone who lives here supports Ipswich Town.

“As soon as you sign for the club it’s ‘Good luck, hope everything works out for you, but please beat Norwich’.

“That’s all you hear for the two weeks before the game as well and we know it means a lot to people if we win. It gives them the bragging rights and it would give the whole town a lift.

“It would do the same for the dressing room and we need to do our utmost to make it happen.

“The boys know the importance of the game but I still want them to treat it like any other Championship fixture.

“Especially with our disciplinary record at the minute, if we don’t watch out the referee will be on top of us like a shot.

“Of course, there will be an edge to the game — no doubt about that — and I think we’ll try to add that to our game.

“We’ve maybe missed that in the last few years. I don’t think we’ve made it a real proper derby.

“We have some players in the team now who like a bit of a battle and enjoy putting in the tackles, so hopefully we can put our fans on the edge of their seats and right behind us all the way. These guys can be a massive help for us this weekend.

“I know the fans won’t want us to be going into the international break still looking for our first win of the season and neither do we. You want to put that pressure on the game because it’s such a massive game.

“We need to be taking all three points and we’re at home so it’s a huge opportunity for the lads — seven or eight of them just starting out in their Ipswich careers — to make names for themselves. Why not Sunday?”

Meanwhile, Chambers has welcomed Wolves winger Jordan Graham back to the club on a season-long loan after he had a brief temporary spell in 2013 when he was an Aston Villa player.

The skipper said: “Jordan was very lively back in the day and he’s the same now. He has obviously grown up a lot in the last five years, he looks a lot more athletic and he could be a player who causes some damage for us.

“He plays in a position that the manager has changed quite a few times this season and it is one where he is looking for someone to step up and fill.

“Jordan needs to play more games because he hasn’t played enough football since he was last with us and nobody knows that better than him.

“This is an opportunity for him to stake his claim at a club where, if he is on his game, he will have a chance to play regularly.”

Photo: Action Images

Northstandveteran added 14:36 - Aug 30 Of course it's a must win! A) We're bottom of the table B) regardless of that it's Norwich!
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Bert added 14:38 - Aug 30 I'm still traumatised after Norwich's equaliser so let's hope we turn them over tomorrow however we do it.
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Bluebell added 15:02 - Aug 30 Looking forward to a Chamber's fist pump on Sunday!
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Help added 09:06 - Aug 31 So far stats seem to be against us. It seems every game has been Ipswich have not lost in and we lose. So I am hoping the reverse works on Sunday.
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