CEO Mark Ashton says the Blues will active in the January transfer window with the squad’s depth having been tested by injuries in recent weeks.

Forward Sone Aluko, midfielders Lee Evans and Dominic Ball and forward Tyreece John-Jules are all out at present, while Cameron Burgess, Gassan Ahadme and Greg Leigh are all just back after spells on the sidelines.

“When we built the squad in the summer, we built depth,” Ashton told iFollow Ipswich in a wide-ranging interview, which also covers the club’s continuing infrastructure developments, the PA and plans to knock down the old Office Outlet and Better Gym building on the land behind the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand.

“And right now that depth is being tested because we’re seeing a run of injuries, injuries that are a bizarre set because they’re all contact injuries, they’re all happening in-game or in game training, they’re not really soft tissue injuries.

“So we have to to go again, we have to make sure for the second part of the season we have the depth.

“All clubs are going to have injuries, we get that, we’ve got a good quality squad. We’re challenged a little bit by the 22-man squad rule because it’s got to fit into that so we can’t just go and spend, spend, spend and then not get them into the 22-man cap.

“But I think the fanbase will have learnt by now that myself, [manager] Kieran [McKenna], the recruitment team, the club, the owners, the investors, we’re active in transfer windows. This transfer will be no different.

“Kieran’s very clear on what he wants, he’s very clear on the positions he wants, he will not be rushed. He wants to make sure we’re bringing in better than we have and people that fit the culture of what he’s trying to build and will ultimately make the club better and more successful.

“So I anticipate us being active, we’re on that already. We finish a transfer window in the summer, we’re straight onto the January one, we don’t stop and start.

“I think we’ll be active and we need to see a second half of the season probably better than we’ve had in the first half, if we want to ultimately get to where we want to get to.

“It’s going to be tough, it’s a 46-game season, but we will make sure that we are prepared recruitment-wise for the second half and we will be supporting the manager in that.”

TWTD revealed earlier today that Swansea forward Morgan Whittaker, who is currently on loan with League One leaders Plymouth, is on Town’s list of potential January targets along with Brighton’s Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson.

Photo: ITFC

Bomber added 20:50 - Nov 21 Ashton speaks so much, we need quality in January to build on what we already have, Clarke-Harris from Peterborough would be a dream but will never happen. I am feeling the beast I have for a number of years. Whittaker would be a great buy. In Mckenna we believe
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HatStand added 22:42 - Nov 21 You beast bomber
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Gforce added 22:45 - Nov 21 Excellent reassuring interview from our esteemed CEO. Get em in and get us up.
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johnwarksshorts added 06:21 - Nov 22 Great to hear this news, so positive.
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Bluearmy_81 added 08:27 - Nov 22 Great to hear. A club willing and determined to push on and ensure promotion.
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Ipswichbusiness added 09:47 - Nov 22 The interview is also interesting for what he says about the infrastructure; two decades of underinvestment (doesn't say much for the Evans regime!).
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grumpyoldman added 11:10 - Nov 22 Nice to hear. Could TWTD be active in January & transfer those contributors who cannot recognise that other people with different opinions do not need to be insulted. We all have an opinion if people disagree I don't argue but let them continue to be wrong.
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ButchersBrokenNose added 11:51 - Nov 22 "[W]e need to see a second half of the season probably better than we've had in the first half, if we want to ultimately get to where we want to get to." This was the key part of the interview for me. Ashton (and by extension McKenna) recognize that we are not convincing for automatic promotion, so we need to double-down or we might find ourselves in the play-offs. They know where we need to improve and are going to make that happen. Good stuff.

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Orraman added 13:22 - Nov 22 I fully expect that Mark and Kieran are already going through the process of signing who they want in the January window but will keep plans closely guarded for obvious reasons. Since Mark Ashton arrived here virtually every signing has been kept under wraps until the obligatory photograph appears of new signing holding ITFC scarf aloft. For that reason I will disregard any rumours about who we are allegedly interested in

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wewerefamous added 13:52 - Nov 22 Mark Ashton is one of the best things to happen to this club in decades. Communication is king with this type of business and whilst he never shows his full deck of cards (and rightly so), it's great to have this type of vastly experienced leader at the helm. There will always be negativity of some sort on forums, but please think back to how far we've progressed with the new regime. Its a good time to be a Town fan! COYB.

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Gforce added 14:50 - Nov 22 @Cookra.......You seem to be down voting nearly everyone, just disappear back to budgie land.
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 15:56 - Nov 22 Very positive news. May it happen!
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jas0999 added 18:53 - Nov 22 Great news. Good and right that a club in our league position is prepared to invest to ensure we push on.
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Michael101 added 23:13 - Nov 22 Ronaldo has. Just left man Utd and Messi not happy at psg . Might be worth having them on the bench if the injury list keeps growing ??
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blueboy1981 added 18:14 - Nov 23 IF you are serious about Promotion Mr Ashton, you will need to be - 2nd in the League is currently flattering a very average Division 3 Team, that is much overrated by some. As will be proved - there are only around Three Players of Championship Standard, the majority of the rest - Mid Table Division 3 / Division 4 Standard. Being proved too often now to be otherwise.

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