Sam Morsy is confident that Town teammate Freddie Ladapo can hit the 20-goal mark before the end of the season.

The 29-year-old striker, who arrived on a free transfer in the summer following his release by the Blues’ upcoming FA Cup opponents Rotherham, has been absent recently through injury but seems likely to return to action at Portman Road tomorrow night against lowly Fleetwood.

Morsy said: “Freddie had been on fire, to be fair. He’s another great lad who’s good to be around. He had to wait longer than he wanted for his first goal, but even if he wasn’t scoring he was still making a very worthwhile contribution and we were doing well as a team.

“He’s found his goalscoring form and it’s nine goals now, so I would say he is on course to get 20 for the season. He’s been playing really well and in the last few days he’s looked about the sharpest I’ve seen him since he came in.

“Freddie’s looked very hungry and he always looks as if he is going to have chances to score more goals. He’s a really good finisher and it looks as if he is coming into form at the right time.”

Ladapo had to wait until his tenth league appearance of the season to score, putting Town ahead in their narrow 2-1 defeat at Plymouth, but he has since netted five more in the league to add to the two he claimed in the Papa Johns Trophy qualifying games against Northampton and Arsenal U21, as well as the one in the 3-0 FA Cup first round win at seventh-tier Bracknell.

The absence of one-time Colchester youngster Ladapo and others has, of course, provided opportunities for fringe men to stake their claims for a more regular place and it has been a feature of the season how boss Kieron McKenna has regularly introduced players and seen them fit into the side almost seamlessly.

Another major aspect of the current campaign has been the level of support from the stands and tomorrow’s game, the third in a row under the Portman Road floodlights, will see another bumper turnout.

Morsy continued: “The support we have had this season, not only at Portman Road but also away from home, has been amazing.

“The fans have shown they are fully behind what we are trying to do and I feel it gives us an extra edge.

“The last Friday night game against Derby was probably the best atmosphere all season, so that was thoroughly enjoyable, and we’re really looking forward to another night like that.”

The skipper says he and his colleagues are every bit as excited as the supporters about the club’s prospects in what remains of the season and he added: “It’s one of those things you can’t hide because you feel the excitement with every game and everywhere we go, interacting with the fans, whether it’s outside the stadium or on social media or whatever it may be.

“The excitement is definitely there but we must try to be really humble and continue to work hard, build on what we have already done this season and keep progressing.

“This time last year we were probably mid-table and there were a lot of things going on. Now we’re second in the league, we’ve stayed in the top two for the majority of the season and we’re on a good little run at the moment.

“Everyone is enjoying themselves and as a football club we are in a really good place at the moment.”

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