They may have 16 games left, meaning there are 48 points still to play for, but Marcus Harness agrees Town need to soon start winning games if they are to stay in the race for automatic promotion.

Leaders as recently as December, following a 2-1 home win over Peterborough United, the Blues have fallen off the pace and now trail leaders Plymouth Argyle by eight points and second-placed Sheffield Wednesday, with whom they drew 2-2 at Portman Road on Saturday, by six, with the Owls also having a game in hand.

Indeed, Town are now only clinging to third place on goal difference from Bolton Wanderers, although they also have a game in hand on them, a situation that looked extremely unlikely when Kieran McKenna’s men were last in pole position and were 13 points better off than the Trotters.

After tomorrow’s away clash with 14th-placed Bristol Rovers, the Blues face Forest Green, MK Dons, Accrington Stanley and Burton Albion, all of whom are within the current bottom seven, and it would appear to be the ideal opportunity to gather points and build some much-needed momentum.

Is Harness confident the team can put a few wins on the board, say, four on the bounce, or perhaps five out of six, something of that nature? He said: “Yes, definitely, and that’s exactly what we’ll be trying to do in the weeks ahead, although we can only take it one game at a time. Each game is going to have its own challenges and we’ll try to manoeuvre through that.

“If we want to get promoted, we need to win a lot of games and there’s no getting around that. We also know that there are not many easy games, if any, and there are no mugs in this league. You might see teams being beaten 5-0 and stuff like that, but while it happens it’s not like you can just roll over teams.

“That’s especially the case when we turn up and opposition players are on top of their game. It’s never going to be easy and we’ve seen it ourselves recently when we’ve gone to some of the teams lower down the league.

“They give us different problems and it’s just about trying to get on the right side of some of the draws we’ve been getting lately and turning them into wins. But, overall, we’re still in a good place.”

If boss McKenna deems it necessary to change Saturday’s line-up, Harness, who came off the bench midway through the second half, may be in line for the 20th league start in what is his first season as an Ipswich player after moving from Portsmouth last summer.

He admitted: “Obviously, you always want to play and especially in the big games like Saturday, with a full house. But we have a squad full of quality here and you can’t have too many arguments when somebody else gets the shout.

“I think the manager does well to rotate it and pick the best team for each game that he thinks is going to give us the best chance of winning.

“It’s about being humble, really, and seeing the bigger picture. It’s not about any one player, it’s about the team and the club, and the best thing for both, so while you’re disappointed you have to take all that on board and understand the situation.

“We have open communication here. Anyone who has an issue about anything can always go and speak to the manager about it and he speaks to people all the time. For him it’s about picking what he sees as the best team for each game, so sometimes we’ll play and sometimes we might not.

“But the lads who aren’t starting and are on the bench are ready to come on at any point in the game. We know we make a lot of changes early and we’ve just got to be in the right frame of mind to come on and affect the game in a positive way when we get the opportunity to be on the pitch.”

With players regularly insisting they don’t consult league tables or scan their rivals’ results, Harness was asked if things had changed and whether he and his teammates were now anxious to find out the other League One results after heading for the dressing room following their own games.

He added: “We’re always looking at other results but I sometimes think it would be better if we didn’t, to be honest, and I think that’s why people tend to talk the way they do.

“It’s only natural to want to know and we know players and friends that we are competing against, so it’s hard not to know what’s happening elsewhere.

“I can’t see any of that changing. At the same time, none of it is going to mean anything if we don’t do our job, which has to come first really.”

Finally, the Coventry-born attacker who launched his career with Burton Albion and was on loan at non-league Ilkeston, Aldershot and Port Vale, before moving to Pompey, acknowledged his role at Ipswich is different to what he had been used to elsewhere.

He added: “In the past I played mostly out wide, although there were periods when I did also play further infield at times, maybe as a second striker or as a number ten, like we do now, although maybe not in a team as structured as Ipswich.

“I’ve learned a lot and I’ve improved a lot as a player, and even when I’m not scoring I feel like I’ve improved a lot.

“I’ve helped the team, I think, as best I can and I feel more comfortable there. It’s just about building relationships, which is always going to be the case when you move somewhere new.

“In general play, obviously, I can always improve and I’m always trying to improve, but I feel like I’m in a decent place now where I understand my job and it’s about bringing the end product and tidying up a few things. On the whole, I’m feeling good in the new system and enjoying it.”

Photo: Matchday Images

Eeyore added 14:37 - Feb 13 Have to agree with the headline. Don't need to read the rest.
5

MeltonBlue added 15:05 - Feb 13 Have been very disappointed with MH, has he got an assist yet this season? Never seems to affects games when he starts or comes on.. does not deserve a start anytime soon.
1

TimmyH added 15:47 - Feb 13 It's about time he started doing something...started the season fairly well and scored quite consistently but the last few months he's done little and contribution is not that great.
5

Carberry added 15:48 - Feb 13 “I think the manager does well to rotate it and pick the best team for each game that he thinks is going to give us the best chance of winning.'' Well it isn't working is it? Rotation in League 1 is madness. If only Bobby Robson was here to take McK to one side.
10

tractorboybig added 16:08 - Feb 13 carberry quite agree and his substitution are pretty nothings as well.
6

TalkingBlues added 16:51 - Feb 13 If I put 2 and 2 together from that piece, doesn't sound like he is enjoying where/how he is being asked to play, but is getting on with it for the greater good. Wonder how many other players feel the same? I can think of 2 or 3 who would be thinking the same (if I was in their shoes).
0

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 17:02 - Feb 13 Amazing that we were 13 points ahead of Bolton, and now we're on a par. That does prove things have not gone as well as they should. Can we reverse the trend? I'm not optimistic, but I live in hope. So much is better now with ITFC, but we do need to get back up the Championship sooner rather than later. COYB!
2

Positive_Vibes added 17:19 - Feb 13 The next few games will make or break our season. We've dropped far too many points in recent weeks and will be lucky to get automatic promotion, unless we see a dramatic improvement in winning games. The very predictable story awaits us.. The opposition will defend in numbers, probably play man 2 man marking and try to hit us on the break as that's been our undoing for many matches. We will play the same lineup we always do. If we don't make an early break through, they will grow in confidence and we will doubt ourselves and make silly mistakes. Second half they will come out and frustrate us further before we change our front 4 at around 65-70 minutes.. We will then face a barrage of attacking in the last few minutes as we slowly pass the ball around at the back.. We need 7 wins from the next 7 games to stand any chance of automatic promotion. We therefore need a plan B if things aren't going our way! I love this club and I am desperate for us to put a winning streak together so we can climb out of this league. I really like McKenna and all he's done so far to give us exciting football and attracting some exciting talent.. I just don't want our predictability to cost us promotion.

8

ernie added 17:46 - Feb 13 Well said Carberry. Continuous rotation and pointless subs are killing us.
3

Suffolkboy added 17:48 - Feb 13 Why the heck has it taken ,or is it still taking ,so long for MH or any professional to understand what is being asked ? Put aside the self doubt , get a move on and give us the goods or simply shut up ,don't give meaning less interviews which appear to parrot many others. ; we aren't looking for a'company ‘ line , we all want invention, opportunism ,cohesion and goals to win games AND daring do defending ( from each ) to shut out the incredible ‘gifted ‘ openings recently becoming part of ITFC on the pitch ! COYB

3

churchmans added 21:05 - Feb 13 For me MH is our best player and he should start every match!
-1

budgieplucker added 07:48 - Feb 14 Just simply not good enough. Has an eye for a goal granted but is a winger playing out of position. Sloppy in and out of possession loses the ball far too often and gives away silly free kicks. Wingers are very much 50/50 players, you can't expect them to skin their markers all the time but and therefore expect them to lose the ball now and again with it invariably going in to touch and not causing a problem. Wes is more versatile and can play a wingback role with defensive responsibilities if need be, you don't want Marcus tackling anywhere near the edge of our own box. I think Marcus's days are numbered if Broadhead remains fit.

1

MickJ65 added 11:50 - Feb 14 I would pick Broadhead over MH any day but getting cramp as a Professional sportsman after 70 minutes? Really !! Are we playing that much more intense football in L1 than he was before?
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Bazza8564 added 13:47 - Feb 14 Im tired of reading about our best 11 and Bobby Robson would have done this and that. Bored of it. Football has changed, its 55 years since Robson was appointed, move on. When Robson was here you had one sub, a squad of 17 and you had to play a settled 11 because you only had one bench option. We, like all good sides planning to do well over 50+ games, have 2 players for each position, and we rotate to ensure we get the best tactical approach aligned to the fitness demands which are so much higher than when Mills and co were wobbling about half a century ago. Whats the point of having over half your players with no match involvement, get an injury and they haven't kicked a match ball in months. So much out of date bo**ocks on here, stop pretending you know what you're talking about and let the boss get on with it. And yes, we've had a bad spell, we have 16 games to fix it and we will need to whole squad if we are to maximise our potential

0

runningout added 18:56 - Feb 14 if we go up we do. If we don't we don't!! No dramas :-)
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