Teddy Bishop has only played once at Bloomfield Road but has happy memories of the occasion as Town won 2-0 and he featured prominently in both goals scored by David McGoldrick and Daryl Murphy.

That was on November 1st 2014, in his breakthrough season with the club, and on the eve of tomorrow’s trip to the Lancashire seaside resort he recalled with a broad smile: “I have good memories of that place. I have only played there once but I had two assists and we won 2-0. We’re going up there to try and repeat it.

“It’s a big week coming up for us — Blackpool away and then Fleetwood and Coventry both at home. We need to start picking up some results and with us playing teams around us in the league, if we can take points off them it should put us in a better position.

“We’ve got Fleetwood at Portman Road at home on Tuesday and they are on a very good run, which is exactly what we need to do now.

“Anyone can do it and put a few results together. Look where it has taken them so that’s what we need to try and do ourselves over the remainder of the season.”

Town’s early-October win at Fleetwood, just along the coast from tomorrow’s venue, made it 11 games without defeat and they sat proudly atop League One, suggesting to supporters that it would be a season to celebrate.

But after a run of just four wins from their last 18 league fixtures it may require another 11-game unbeaten run through to the end of the season just to qualify for the play-offs.

A major factor in the team’s plunge to ninth place has been their failure to win against their main promotion rivals. In 13 games so far against the eight teams above them in the table Paul Lambert’s men have claimed just one victory, at Fleetwood, and have drawn six and lost the same number, making it nine points from a possible 39.

Bishop added: “We are aware of our record against the teams around us but we have a chance to put it right. We’ve got Portsmouth, Coventry and Fleetwood all to play at Portman Road and they are all teams who are competing with us.

“We need to take points off them. It’s something that has killed us a little bit this season but those games give us a chance to put it right.”

Asked if he thought the two automatic promotion places were now out of reach, Bishop responded: “I’m not sure really. Is it nine points, the gap, and we’ve got 11 games left to play? Let’s win as many of them as we can and see what happens.

“I think we just have to take it game by game now and win as many as we can, and see where we end up.

“You never know with this league but we know what we’re capable of and we can definitely put a very good run together.”

But Bishop is at least free of injury, which is good news for manager Paul Lambert as he contemplates tomorrow’s starting line-up.

Leading scorers James Norwood and Kayden Jackson, who each have 11 league goals this term, are unavailable because of injury and suspension respectively and Bishop is being considered for an attacking role alongside another fit-again player in Freddie Sears.

It has been a stop-start career so far for Bishop, the last four years plagued by injury problems with a number of false dawns along the way, so it was not surprising to hear him confess: “It has been really frustrating for me but I’m still confident in my ability. I’m not young any more but at 23 I’m not old either and I’ve got a lot of football ahead of me.

“Hopefully I’m over all my injuries now and I know what I can do and bring to this team if I can get out there and keep playing.

“Go back a couple of years and I was maybe thinking I should go out on loan because I wasn’t in the team here.

“But once I did get back it was different. I obviously love this club and like playing football here. My only aim at the moment is to get back in the side and put a good run of games together.

“We know how important it is to get out of League One and back to the Championship. We want to be in the Premier League, ideally. That’s where this club really belongs. We’ll do what we can in the next 11 games to try and get back up.”

Bishop’s relationship with Lambert is strong and he added: “He encourages us to go out and express ourselves, which is definitely something I like. I played a lot of games for him last year and I know I gained his trust over that time.

“Hopefully I can do it again this year between now and the end of the season.

“To be honest the season might end too quickly for me and it’s a similar situation to last year.

“But it is what it is and I just want to play as many games as I can for him before the end of the season.

“I’ve hardly played so I should also have the legs on some of the lads who have played 30-odd games so far.”

Bishop is especially delighted to be free of injury, continuing: “I haven’t a single problem with the hamstring. After the most recent surgery on it I haven’t had any problems with it, so it’s all good.

“The hamstring was the problem for a few years; it was all to do with my body and the way I moved.

“But it got corrected and the hamstrings have been good since then. It was very complicated and there were all sorts of things going wrong.

“It wasn’t just one thing that was causing it. They’ve all been addressed now and I feel good.”

Photo: TWTD

DifferentGravy added 12:26 - Feb 28 Teddy, when fit you are a fantastic player. Really hope you do the business this Saturday because when you came in against Tranmere....you took players on, broke into the box.....something we have desperately been missing. But theres no point in talking about automatic promotion or going on a winning streak Lets just try and win the next game!
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matthewwylds added 13:51 - Feb 28 You'll never be fit the games / season's he has missed time to say goodbye and take 8 other players with you
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tebbo28 added 16:23 - Feb 28 Remember that game in 14 well. My eldest daughter's first match watching the Town and Teddy was indeed mesmarising, easily MotM.
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Garv added 16:37 - Feb 28 Saw his debut at Derby, and what a debut. One of the saddest stories of the last few years this. My only gripe with Bishop is his lack of goals, he's only scored one senior goal for us and while he's not played the number of games you'd have wanted him to, that's not good enough for such a talented player. The caveat to that is that since 14/15 he's not had many consecutive appearances. He did last year but in a relegated team massively lacking confidence.

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blueboy1981 added 17:29 - Feb 28 Teddy you have undoubted talent - problem being, you'll always spend more time out than in, for whatever reason.....!!!
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Linkboy13 added 21:02 - Feb 28 Teddy's last chance to prove his fitness . Still not convinced Huws will ever be fully fit pale shadow of the player we know doesn't look like creating anything plays mostly sideways and back.
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Sixto6 added 09:56 - Feb 29 Teddy has had years to prove his fitness, time to realise he's L1 at best....... like most of our sorry squad !
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