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Davis: We've Made a Bit of a Statement
Monday, 15th Aug 2022 11:03

Town’s rampant display in defeating MK Dons 3-0 at Portman Road on Saturday has been labelled a statement performance by recent recruit Leif Davis ahead of tomorrow’s visit to Burton Albion.

Former Leeds United defender Davis, who cost the Blues a £1 million-plus fee when he joined last month, said: “I think we’ve made a bit of a statement that we’re really going for it this season and we’ll keep pushing and pushing until the job is done.

“It was tough coming in here after being to Australia and back on a pre-season trip with Leeds. Within four days of signing for Ipswich I was starting a game.

“It was a very quick turnaround but I feel I’ve been finding my feet since then and improving. Settling in here hasn’t been a problem because the lads and the staff are so welcoming, so my focus now is on playing week in, week out, at this incredible club.

“We are still unbeaten, we have taken seven points from three games and we are sitting on top of the table, which shows what we’re all about. Of course, it’s still early days but I’d rather be where we are than down at the bottom end.

“It’s an encouraging start to the season while some teams are still struggling to get going and we made such a bright start against MK Dons to put them on the back foot, which is what we’ll be looking to do in every game we play this season.

“But we can take absolutely nothing for granted when we go to Burton tomorrow. I think any game will be a hard game this season. You can’t go into any of them thinking it’s going to be a stroll in the park.


“Burton scored four goals away from home at Accrington on Saturday and although they drew the game that was a great effort.

“We had a great result ourselves but as soon as that one was finished the focus was on Burton and what we have to do there to get another three points.

“As long as we keep working hard, I think we’ll be good to go. We’re only three games into the season so there’s no chance of us getting carried away.”

Newcastle-born Davis is a product of the famous Wallsend Boys Club that has produced dozens of professional footballers over the years, most notably England stars Alan Shearer, Michael Carrick and Peter Beardsley, along with goalkeeper Fraser Forster, Steve Bruce and Lee Clark.

He joined the Morecambe academy and then had four years at Elland Road before joining Town. He said: “I learned a lot at Leeds under Marcelo [Bielsa, former head coach]. He was incredible and taught us things that I’d never seen before, while his staff were also good to work under.

“One of Marcelo’s things was that when you got tired you had to carry on. Stopping wasn’t an option, you had to keep going.

“There was nothing complicated about it but if you remember when Leeds were promoted to the Premier League they were known for running over teams.

“Marcelo was an inspirational figure for me and all the players at Elland Road, the type of guy you were desperate to do well for.”

Davis faces competition for a first-team place from another former Morecambe player in Greg Leigh, an ex-Manchester City youngster and another summer arrival at the club who has featured as a substitute in all three of Town’s league games this term.

He continued: “Greg’s a great player and when he comes on, he gives it his all every time. He’s a real athlete, the way he drives up and down and gives 100 per cent in everything he does, so I can’t fault him for that.

“We’re a team and we work together every week, pushing each other in training from one day to the next, and we’ll carry on doing that.

“There are things I need to work on in training, which the manager has identified, and even in the short time I’ve been at the club I can feel I’ve already improved in defending areas. The MK Dons game was a good test for me and I felt I dealt with it well.

“There’s more to the role than defending and I like to get forward. That part of the game is coming along too and the fitter I get, and the more games I play, the better I will become in providing assists from the left side and also getting to the far post when we’re attacking down the other wing. I’m keen to show everyone what I can do in terms of creating chances and even scoring a goal or two.

“It’s all about performing and winning as a team. We’ll go through the eye of a storm at times and have rough patches but as long as we stick together we’ll fight through it. This club is going in the right direction and with the gaffer we have, his staff, the squad he has put together, he has high expectations of everyone.

“He’s a great manager, who just wants you to work hard in training every day, which is good. That’s how you learn and keep fit, and you have to play the way we did on Saturday to get results. We just played so well from start to finish and never let up.”

Finally, Davis is hoping that the long distance from Newcastle won’t prevent him seeing his family from time to time this season.

“It was a six-hour trip down to Bournemouth for them last year and it’s about five hours to Ipswich,” he said. “But they just want to see me happy playing football and doing well.”


Photo: Matchday Images



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ArnieM added 11:37 - Aug 15
Good lad. Keep it going and hopefully this time next season we are back in the Championship 👍
6

chorltonskylineblue added 11:41 - Aug 15
Oh no, not the 'it's a statement' comment. I'm sure that was said last season when we tonked Wycombe (and the season before that, etc.). Follow your manager's lead and take each game as it comes. Great win, yes, and enjoy it, but the league has hardly started. The statement we need is getting promoted!
8

dirtydingusmagee added 12:05 - Aug 15
A good win at 3-0 but would hesitate to call it a statement, come back after another 3 or 4 games and see how it compares, it would be great if it were, lets wait and see. COYB
4

Dab added 12:17 - Aug 15
What would be a statement is this!!

https://therealefl.co.uk/2022/08/15/premier-league-striker-removed-from-website-

This goes in the "Too good to be true" category
5

NITFC added 13:24 - Aug 15
I hope we get George Hirst but let's not get too excited. His stats are hardly worldbeating. Certainly no better than many of the strikers that we have signed in recent years
1

cressi added 13:26 - Aug 15
No Leif you haven't
One good result and performance v a side who lost their better players and got injuries.
Please make these comments when we can put a long unbeaten run together.
This is not to be negative but keep expectations at a reasonable level
5

OldTractor added 13:28 - Aug 15
"Davis: We've Made a Bit of a Statement"
"Chaplin : That Has Set The Standard"
Let's keep our feet on the floor shall we.
If we are top the the league at the end of August unbeaten after the Burton, Shrewsbury and Barnsley games - then we can start coming out with these type of statements.
6

SickParrot added 15:22 - Aug 15
Like others have said, I would rather players didn't talk about having made a statement performance etc. It always seems to be followed by a big step backwards. Fingers crossed that it won't happen under KM. Going forward just let the performances speak for themselves.
4

BlueRuin69 added 15:41 - Aug 15
Gosh, you lot are a happy bunch. Coyb!
1

BromleyBloo added 16:30 - Aug 15
What's wrong with a bit of early positivity, especially given the dismal starts of recent seasons that we have had to endure………………

………….feet firmly in the ground and one game at a time, but let's believe and COYBs!!!
4

dirtydingusmagee added 16:46 - Aug 15
Bromley, not being negative, but its a big call to say its a statement after one result thats all, im sure everyone will be hoping it is . Its certainly a better start . COYB
3

Jugsy added 17:09 - Aug 15
I agree with most of the comments about not getting too carried away. That said, always great to see the positivity from the players and also the steady improvement in each performance - we're quite used to seeing positive comments coming out of the camp and performances not matching that. I still maintain the jury's out on Ladapo, would love him to prove me wrong but willing to bet he doesn't get 15 for us this year. Next three games are three we should be getting maximum points - this will be the statement for our season.
2

pensionerblue added 17:11 - Aug 15
I would suggest that the words ‘statement' and ‘standard' are unlikely to have originated from the players. We all know how interviewers play with words and I suspect that the question to say Chaplin for example might have been ‘ Do you think that Saturday's performance has set a standard?' and he might have simply replied ‘yes'. It not an issue for me. Let's be positive and accept that we are at least showing confidence and optimism. Surely that's got to be good.


3

timetraveler added 17:46 - Aug 15
Dab
If Hirst is available on a free and he can choose then I think Portsmouth are in with a shout especially as he did well for them last season. Will towns “project” be a strong enough bid?
0

Dab added 18:12 - Aug 15
timetraveler - the report does say we are his preferred option but we wont know anything until he is wearing the shirt.... or not
1

terryf added 23:56 - Aug 15

Confidence is a good thing providing you are not cocky, so if they maintain the standards we all enjoyed on saturday lets enjoy the ride.

The test will be to unlock the door when Teams want to park the bus or time waste. Accrington and Oxford being good examples.



3

dirtydingusmagee added 09:02 - Aug 16
Hurst would be a good addition if it happens , I have been wanting another striker, however if we can hit the net regularly from other players as against Dons i wont be so concerned ,but one way or another we do need to score more goals than in past. COYB
0


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