The fact that Town have a strong squad and are a solid tight-knit group will serve promotion-chasing Town well in the final months of the current campaign, according to nine-goal Conor Chaplin.

“You can’t put a price on it,” said Chaplin, who has clocked up 32 first-team appearances in all competitions since his arrival from Barnsley last summer, one of 19 new players signed by the club in a busy spell of transfer activity.

“It’s massively important that we are a solid, tight-knit group who all get on with each other. We all want to play every game but we know it isn’t going to happen, so when we’re on the bench or not even in the matchday squad of 18 we are all focused on results.

“One week, for example, I could be in the team with certain players up front and the next time I’m playing it’s alongside two different forwards.

“The midfield can change — and has done with skipper Sam Morsy serving a four-game suspension and injuries here and there — but it doesn’t make any difference who plays and who doesn’t.

“That mindset is very important if you’re going to be a successful side because each individual brings something different and the manager has to decide on his best starting line-up from one game to the next, picking the team he believes is best quipped to get the right result on any given day.

“To be honest we’re not getting too much wrong, are we? That’s down to everyone contributing in some way, whether it’s creating chances, sticking the ball in the net or defending well.

“And I don’t want to forget the fans either because they are more than playing their part with their backing, like at Doncaster on Tuesday and especially on Saturday at MK Dons, with more than 7,000 of them heading there.

“In fact, it’s every game, home or away, and the fans seem to really believe that the season is still very much alive for us. We obviously feel the same and we’re determined to continue our recent run of results through to the end.”

On-loan Bristol City midfielder Tyreeq Bakinson opened his scoring account with the only goal at Doncaster on Tuesday when he was in the right place at the right time to turn the ball over the line after home keeper Jonathan Mitchell had done well to keep out Macauley Bonne’s close-in header.

Bakinson joked afterwards that he had scored a “worldy” and Chaplin laughed: “He was definitely joking but you know what they say — they all count. He had every right to be chuffed with it because it turned out to be a matchwinner and when your first goal is so important it doesn’t really matter what it’s like.

“I know what it’s like to be waiting for your first goal and you want it to come sooner, rather than later, so we’re all pleased for Ty that he’s broken his duck. We’d have been delighted for him in any case but when it’s the one that decides a game and earns all three points we’re definitely over the moon for him.”

Asked how Bakinson and left wing-back Dominic Thompson, on loan from Brentford, have settled in, Chaplin responded: “Very well, I would say, but it hasn’t surprised anyone.

“They’re good lads and we have a good dressing room at Ipswich, so for them to settle in quickly is just what I would have expected. I’m genuinely not just saying that, I can assure you.

“We have a lot of really good characters at this club, always welcoming to new faces and they have been made to feel very much at home. I’d like to think that’s the way they feel about joining Ipswich and I’m sure it is.

“We never hear any complaints about the way new faces are treated and that’s a big positive for us and the club.”

Chaplin also faced questions about boss Kieran McKenna’s policy of squad rotation, which has often taken fans by surprise, a case in point being Sone Aluko’s absence from the starting line-up at Doncaster.

He said: “The way you take it if you are not in the team that starts is a personal thing. You need to get your head round it because it’s a big part of the game these days.

“No one can guarantee you are going to play in every game but the way you give yourself the best chance is obviously to perform when you are selected and also put in the hard graft in training, regardless of whether you started the last game or you came off the bench or you were one of the subs who wasn’t used.

“Positivity is what is needed and, like I said, that should be the whole squad thinking as one. It’s important, too, that everyone feels involved and that obviously applies to all the players, whether they are playing regularly or not.

“You can’t be complacent if you are playing more often than not because that could see you left out and when that happens it can be difficult to force your way back in.

“I really can’t stress enough how vital it is that we have the attitude that we’re all in it together. That’s what the boss is creating here and hopefully it can be special for us between now and the end of the season. The early signs are very promising but we’ve got to do our utmost to keep it going.”

Already appointed as a trustee of the club’s Community Trust, Chaplin has also taken on the additional role of ambassador for Rainbow Tractors, Town’s official LGBTQ+ supporters group. “I’m really proud of my new role because it’s something that I believe in and something that I regard it as very important for football clubs and communities in general.

“Hopefully, we can start raising some good awareness and making sure that everyone feels comfortable when they visit Portman Road to attend games.

“We want to make sure that everyone is inclusive and the whole community really gets behind that. Finger crossed, that’s something we can push from the club’s point of view as well.”

Photo: TWTD

muccletonjoe added 08:29 - Feb 11 Hopefully this sort of positivity will be reflected on the pitch tomorrow. No denying it is a massive game . All we want is 100% performance and I am very confident we will get it. COYB
1

Ipswich Town Polls