Town forward Kayden Jackson is adamant the shock 1-0 defeat by Lincoln last weekend — the club’s first at home this season — will have no bearing on the outcome of tomorrow evening’s visit of Derby County to Portman Road.

The Rams, relegated from the Championship last season, have won two and lost one of their three League One fixtures since ex-Rotherham boss Paul Warne, a serial promotion winner with the Millers, took charge a month ago.

The former Accrington Stanley striker, now one of the Blues’ longest-serving players after joining in the summer of 2018, was asked about the mood in the camp ahead of a game being screened live on Sky Sports.

Jackson, 28, said: “We are trusting our ability as a team and the way we are playing. I think we controlled the game well against Lincoln but there are obviously certain aspects that we want to improve upon.

“We know it’s going to be a helluva lot different come Friday to what it was on Saturday — different style of play, different team and a different manager, who will expect different things from his players.

“We’ve reflected on the Lincoln game but we need to leave it behind us now because it won’t affect anything that is going to happen on Friday. It’s going to be a tough game and a bit of a war on the night. We’ll be giving our all to come out on top.

“It had been a good period for us before we played Lincoln and of course there was disappointment that we couldn’t make it four wins in a row because we want to take every three points we can. But the message was also one of there being no point dwelling on it and to move on.

“Yes, we should have been better on the day and yes, we should have taken a couple of our scoring chances, which would have meant we wouldn’t have been in the position we found ourselves in.

“We moved on with Tuesday’s game at Cambridge in the Papa Johns Trophy and now the focus is on Derby on Friday.

“I wouldn’t say we brushed the Lincoln game under the carpet but we looked back on some things and then started to look at the challenges we have ahead of us.”

With colleagues Janoi Donacien and Luke Woolfenden on loan back then, Jackson is the sole survivor from the Town squad on duty the last time Derby visited Portman Road. It was in February 2019 when the teams drew 1-1 and the number nine was on the bench and not called upon by then boss Paul Lambert.

But Jackson added: “Things are massively different now. Back then we were probably crying out for the structure that we now have behind the scenes.

“But you can’t dwell on the past; we’re looking to build as a club and go forward, whether that be the new lads or those of us who are still around.

“We’re all firing in the right direction and we’re all backing each other to help the team improve and help the club go forward.
It was suggested to Jackson that he and former Accrington colleague Donacien had weathered a few storms to extend their stay with Town. They are now in their fifth season in Suffolk and Jackson admitted things had improved greatly since the new owners took charge and manager Kieran McKenna was appointed in December last year.

He said: “It’s good to have the backing — and to feel the love — from the manager. Over the years we’ve seen and heard a lot and unfortunately it hasn’t always been the best of times, but at the end of the day we’re professionals and whether it was going badly or going well we just came in each day and tried to work our hardest and tried to help the team.

“Thankfully, it’s a lot better now than it was and we’re enjoying each day under the boss. We have a really good relationship with him, both professionally and personally.

“I think he knows what we can give to the team and I think he knows he can rely on us when he selects us. Like I’ve said, both Janoi and I come in each day to training and work as hard as we can to help the team.”

Jackson has scored 23 goals in 134 Town appearances in all competitions, including 77 starts, the most recent being at the Abbey Stadium on Tuesday when a 1-0 loss to Cambridge United could not prevent McKenna’s men from progressing to the knockout phase of the Papa Johns Trophy, with a home draw guaranteed since they topped a group that also included Northampton and Arsenal U21s.

However, the dismissal of another starter, winger Kyle Edwards, for a second bookable offence cast a shadow over the game and while replays showed the decision to be extremely harsh it rules the former West Bromwich Albion player out of the next game in a competition that climaxes at Wembley next year.

Jackson looked back on his teammate’s 17th minute departure and smiled: “It wasn’t brilliant on the referee’s behalf but at the end of the day we all make mistakes and I’m sure if he watched it back, he was holding his hands up and admitting his error.

“It was one of those unfortunate moments you don’t wish to see. We felt we were in control of the game when it happened. We were finding the spaces and thought we could hurt them but it’s just one of those things, a mistake, and hopefully we don’t see that too often during the course of the season.”

McKenna took the opportunity to have a look at academy graduates Edwin Agbaje, who was making his senior debut, and Tawanda Chirewa, for whom it was a first start, while the Town fans present had their first chance to see midfielder Panutche Camara, signed from promotion rivals Plymouth Argyle at the end of the summer transfer window, in action when he came off the bench in the second half.

Jackson added: “It’s great to see the lads coming through from the academy. They are working very hard and with the squad we have at the club the opportunities can be hard to come by.

“But credit to them both because they showed they are capable of stepping in and not looking out of place. Hopefully, over the course of the season, the better the first team players do, the more chances will present themselves for the younger lads.

“It was also good to see Panutche him out there. He’s a great lad and everyone has welcomed him to the club really well. I think he provides something different in midfield but we didn’t get to see too much on Tuesday night because of the way the game was going.

“He covers a hell of a lot of distance and at times you think there’s more than one of him on the pitch. I can’t imagine it’s easy to play against him and I’m looking forward to him getting more minutes under his belt and showing what he can provide.”

Photo: Matchday Images

Nomore4 added 19:05 - Oct 20 Needs to become a regular goal scorer. Hasn't happened in 4 years. Don't think it ever will.
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