With the Town players following manager Kieran McKenna’s lead and not looking any further forward than tomorrow’s kick-off against Exeter, midfielder Massimo Luongo admits he can’t wait for the big game to come round.

Victory will secure automatic promotion for the Blues and with Portman Road packed to capacity, it promises to be the most upbeat atmosphere of the season as supporters do their utmost to encourage their team to all three points and end four years of League One frustration by booking their return ticket to the Championship.

Luongo said: “That’s the bit we are most excited about. We know the stadium is going to be full, every John or Harry is asking for tickets and everyone is just buzzing to be an Ipswich Town supporter.

“We’ll feel it before the game, when we get off the bus and when we walk out. I hope I won’t be able to speak to my mate because it will be so loud. We’re all buzzing for it, which is good.

“In terms of how we have been preparing for the game, it doesn’t feel any different to any other matchday. Obviously, we talk, but there are no banners up around the training ground and there’s nobody shouting about it.

“We’re just carrying on and I think the manager has done a real good job — the language he’s using in all his talks is normal. We’ve got quite a humble group and the rest of us know there’s a proper way to act.

“When we’ve got the job done, we can do the celebrating then. For now, it’s about keeping our heads down and doing the right thing.”

The size of the home crowds has been one of many plus factors from a season in which Town have been beaten in just four of their 44 league games, Luongo adding: “Since I’ve been here it has been unbelievable. It has been 24,000 or more every game and it keeps getting bigger.

“Most end-of-season games are the best of the season — well, the first or the last, wherever you might be. Most people want to be a part of it and if they can create the right atmosphere, which we know they will, it will be an incredible day.”

Luongo was one of four new arrivals in January and he recalled: “We were second and it was tight at the top. There were a few midfield injuries but Sam Morsy and Lee Evans were doing well, so I knew the script. They were the first two choices and if I was to be called upon, I had to be ready.

“That’s pretty much what happened. I didn’t come in expecting to start the next game. I came in thinking I wanted to be part of a good squad and a good team at a big club, and I wanted to help them get promoted.”

Luongo praised his new colleagues, remembering: “Straight away, when I came in to train ahead of signing, I could see the quality. The players, technically, are very good players.

“It’s a big squad and it can be hard to manage all of them but in training I could see the way they would go into tackles, the way they were running, so it was easy to see this was a good place.

“If you’re not in the team or even the match-day squad it’s hard to keep up the motivation, but in January time they were all doing it and there was a good vibe.

“I knew the manager before and the organisation, the way things were set up, everything was free-flowing, I knew I wanted to be here. It seemed like a really nice place and I’m enjoying everything about it.

“We’re on a great run. I’d seen them play really well so I knew what they were capable of doing.

“Some players had to find their feet but once we achieved a level of consistency we were on our way. You look at Leif [Davis] and he’s probably in his first full season of football.

“He’s going to have his ups and downs, so it’s about his teammates helping him through it all. This group is very good at helping each other.”

Photo: Pagepix

Gforce added 21:14 - Apr 28 Luongo has done so well,I'd almost forgotten about Evans.
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