Luke Woolfenden and his Town colleagues will be bidding for a fifth league win on the trot against Barnsley tomorrow, something they last achieved when the central defender was celebrating his fifth birthday.

It was 21st October in 2003 when the Blues’ side, managed by Joe Royle, won 4-3 at Crystal Palace to add to earlier triumphs at the expense of Rotherham, Bradford City, Burnley and Stoke.

Woolfenden laughed: “I have no idea what I was doing the last time Ipswich won five in a row. I think I was four when I started taking a serious interest in football, and particularly Ipswich, but I don’t remember that. But I do remember Pablo Couñago was my favourite player back then.”

Spanish striker Couñago was on target at Selhurst Park but it was his partner, Shefki Kuqi, who claimed the all-important winner in the 89th minute - straight from the kick-off after the Eagles had levelled from the spot - and Town eventually made it into the play-offs before losing to West Ham over two legs.

Since Town’s opening-day home draw with Bolton Wanderers they have racked up four successive wins over Forest Green, MK Dons, Burton and Shrewsbury, and they sit top of the League One table, a point ahead of Peterborough United.

Prior to their current run, they last won four consecutive league fixtures under manager Paul Lambert in 2019 and remained top of the table until January 2020 before fading out of contention in a campaign ended prematurely by the Covid pandemic and decided on a points-per-game basis with Town in tenth place.

Woolfenden, 23, is certainly enjoying his football right now and has played a major role in helping the side to complete a hat-trick of clean sheets. He said: “I’ve said it before but ever since the gaffer came in, I’ve been really enjoying it. I think my role on the pitch is just so clear now that it helps the way I’m playing and it means I’m enjoying myself again.”

Asked if he felt there was one performance that stood out from the rest, he added: “I think in most of the games, if I exclude Burton, most of our opponents have only had one, two or three, at most, shots on our goal. You could probably include the 1-1 draw with Bolton as well.

“We’ve only conceded two goals and we’re not conceding too many chances, which is a good sign. I think the game at Shrewsbury was probably our most complete defensive performance of the season so far. I don’t think they had a shot on goal.

“At Burton we were lucky to come away with a clean sheet so it was something to get through a game like that without conceding any goals.

“The ball was literally just in and out of play, thrown into the box, kicked into the box, so it showed a bit of mental toughness on our part that we were able to stand up to it so well. I think in previous seasons we could have crumbled, probably conceded, settled for a draw and come away disappointed.”

Woolfenden featured regularly in the side three years ago and added: “I think we put in some strong defensive performances back then and our record for goals conceded was one of the very best in the league, but we didn’t create enough chances or score enough goals. The current team has scored three against MK, three at Shrewsbury and two at Forest Green, so I would suggest we have improved in terms of taking our chances.”

With a crowd in excess of 24,000 expected at Portman Road tomorrow, Woolfenden admitted: “It has been a bit surreal., although Ipswich is a massive club and there’s not really a lot else to do in Ipswich at three o’clock on a Saturday afternoon. The support, the atmosphere, the banners that they bring into the ground, when we’re walking out before kick-off it really does give you goose bumps. It’s unbelievable.”

The former East Bergholt High School pupil, who had his own season ticket from an early age, is now just six games away from completing a century of league appearances for the club and he admitted there were times when he feared he might never reach such a milestone.

“I’m very proud of it,” he said, “but there have probably been a few moments when I thought I wasn’t going to make it, whether that would have been due to me leaving of my own accord or being forced out of the door another way. The fact that it’s my home-town club makes me even more proud.”

Photo: Matchday Images

Fat_Boy_Tim added 22:08 - Aug 26 Remember, under Lambert, when any player saying something like this meant they were dropped for the next game?!
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rfretwell added 22:38 - Aug 26 West Hsm play offs semi goal- aaargh! Mathew Etherington out wide and their black cf ( forgotten his name now) swung it their way at a packed PR. Was gutted.
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Suffolkboy added 22:38 - Aug 26 Now also has a mature perspective ,as well as enjoying the game ; undoubtedly a real talent ,we now see growing confidence enabling him to display a range of skills . Much credit to KM and the coaches ! COYB
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Edmundo added 08:05 - Aug 27 Football under Big Fat Joe was so exciting. "If you score, we'll score one more". Probably a little less exciting, but feels like this brand of McKennaball is more likely to end with promotion. Maybe even twice...
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