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Rowe: Strikers Can Fire Us Back to the Championship
Thursday, 7th Nov 2019 16:50

Town winger Danny Rowe is backing joint-top marksmen Kayden Jackson and James Norwood to carry on scoring and help fire Town back to the Championship at the end of the season.

Both strikers have netted seven times this season and Rowe said: “They have been scoring for fun at the minute and they look really good together. Plus, we’ve still got Will Keane — another talented player — as well.

“We have to make sure we give Kayden and Nors the opportunities and it’s the way we play that will dictate that.

“We’re always looking for more assists and, of course, goals for the team. We all know we have to help them, whether it’s by scoring ourselves or providing them with the ammunition to do it.

“This season is all about us trying to win promotion — that’s what we are striving for — and with roughly a third of the season gone we could not be in a better position.

“We lost a couple recently and I can promise you it really hurt on both occasions, which I think says it all. We’re just looking to keep winning, banking as many points as we can and see where we are come May.

“If Kayden and James can keep finding the net, and the rest of us stay on top of our game, I think we have a great chance.

“But we still have more than 30 league games to play, which means a lot of points to be won and lost, so for now we have to stay focused and take each game as it comes.”


Having recently re-established himself in the side, Rowe is loving life with Town and Saturday’s FA Cup third round clash with Lincoln at Portman Road will reunite him with a number of players who were his team-mates when he spent time on loan with the Imps in each of the two previous seasons, clocking up a total of 33 appearances and scoring six goals.

Town were first out of the hat when the first round draw was made last month, quickly followed by Lincoln — a pairing that had supporters of both clubs looking back to January 2017 and the third round stage, when the then non-league side earned a replay at Portman Road and completed the job at Sincil Bank in a match screened live on BBC1, which significantly added to the humiliation as Town suffered one of the worst lows in their entire history.

“Lincoln were very good to me when I was there,” recalled Rowe, who was speaking at the Blues’ ITFC Town Hall Celebrations experience.

“The manager, Danny Cowley, and his assistant, his brother Nicky, took me on loan twice and I felt I did well for them.

“The club did well too and I’ve got some good memories of my two spells there. It will be nice to see a few familiar faces on Saturday and I can see it being a good game.

“I remember the last time the two clubs met in the FA Cup. It was just before I signed here, Lincoln were in the National League and Ipswich were in the Championship.

“Now we’re both in League One, so they’ve come a long way and it just shows how well they’ve done to win two league titles in the space of three seasons.

“There are still plenty of the lads I played with at the club and to be honest I’m surprised I haven’t heard from them about the tie.

“There’s still time, though, and I’ll be even more surprised if I don’t get a few text messages between now and Saturday. I’m looking forward to catching up with a couple of them.

“From what I saw last season, when I played a part in helping them to win the League Two title, I am sure they still have enough quality to do well in League One and keep clear of the relegation zone. They have added to what was already a good squad with some decent signings.

“Their main quality, I would say, is that they are a very hard-working side. I’d expect nothing less than that when they come here at the weekend. They’re not a bad team, I know that.”

Town’s FA Cup record over the past decade or so is certainly nothing to write home about. The last time the 1978 winners recorded a win in the world’s oldest knockout competition was in January 2010 so can their first experience of the first round since 1956 signal the end of a miserable run?

Asked if he thought the current squad could cope with a cup run — they also have a route to Wembley via the Leasing.com Trophy which Rowe won while with the Imps when it was known as the Checkatrade Trophy in 2017/18 — the winger replied: “I think we have a big enough squad. Our main goal is obviously to get promoted — that’s what we are firmly focused on doing — but I think we can also make an impact in the cups.

“Everyone wants to play so Saturday’s game is another chance for those players who maybe haven’t been playing on a regular basis recently.

“They want their chance to fight for a place in the team, the same as the rest of us. I want to keep my place 100 per cent but it’s a team game and it’s about who is playing well at the time.”



Photos: TWTD/Action Images



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DifferentGravy added 17:23 - Nov 7
Those two will score goals...but its about the service. Norwood is brilliant at taking a ball down under pressure. But against Rochdale(particularly first half) we were just smashing it up top for him to contest in the air. Get the ball on the deckor too his feet(same with Jackson) and they will do the rest
5

cooper4england added 10:27 - Nov 8
"Saturday's FA Cup third round clash with Lincoln at Portman Road"?

I've been waiting years for a cup run and its gone by in a blink of an eye!
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