Blues defender Harry Clarke said having nearly 11,000 supporters turn up to yesterday’s promotion celebration in Christchurch Park was incredible.

Clarke, 22, who rejoined his boyhood club from Arsenal in January, stayed behind signing fans’ autographs long after the rest of the squad and staff had departed on coaches for a private celebration at a bar in town.

“It’s been special,” Clarke said reflecting on the Blues’ promotion to the Championship.

“It’s a dream come true, growing up here and when I was younger I used to come to all the games, it wasn’t a packed stadium, so to have that back now and the general feel around the town, to have this number of people supporting us today, is incredible.”

Reflecting on the remarkable months since he returned to Portman Road, during which time Town went on a 19-game unbeaten run, the second-longest in the club’s history, winning 13 of the last 15, Clarke said: “We’ve had a mental run. My first game was Oxford away in the fog when you couldn’t see anything.

“We lost that game unfortunately, but since then we’ve had a few draws but we’ve gone on an incredible run, which is hard to do in football, especially in this league, so it’s worked out.”

Clarke says he was never in any doubt that the Blues would win promotion.

“For me personally, no, and I think I speak on behalf of the boys as well,” he insisted. “We always knew, the stats proved the way we play and we are, I think, the best team in the league. Obviously, I know Plymouth, they’ve been amazing, they’ve picked up lots of points, but the way we play, we play incredible football.

“I don’t think there was one time I ever thought we weren’t going to do it, but the run we went on was insane. A credit to the boys.”

Clarke identified what he felt was a key point in the Blues’ run-in: “We did the Goal of the Season vote and my vote was Broady [Nathan Broadhead], his free-kick against Sheff Wed. I think that was a big moment.

“We could lose that game and losing to Sheff Wed at home in a big title race could be a big blow and we could get deflated from that. Drawing that game is a big point and not many people realise that.

“The atmosphere at home as been insane at all the games, but, for me, Port Vale, coming from behind, we’ve not had to do that often since I’ve been here, we’ve normally blown teams away, but to come from behind, that atmosphere that night. A lot of the boys said it was one of the best atmospheres they’ve played in.”

Broadhead’s free-kick missed out on the award with Conor Chaplin’s goal, when it took 11 seconds for the ball to travel from keeper Christian Walton’s arms to the Rams’ goal, winning the vote.

“About 80 per cent of the goals are all coming from what we do on the training pitches, probably more,” Clarke continued.

“It’s amazing to see what the gaffer [Kieran McKenna] does on the training pitch that actually comes together against all these different teams on a Saturday.

“We trust him, when we do what he says it normally works out. That goal against Derby was something special.”

Clarke, from Brantham, is well aware that there has been a lack of success at Portman Road over the last two decades.

“All my family and friends live here and are all massive Ipswich fans,” he said. “When I was away at different clubs, they’d speak to me about Ipswich and it was always negative, but this year it’s been [the opposite].

“The boys know that, but me being from here, I know the way the town is now after being promoted. The buzz around the town, especially for next year is going to be absolutely incredible.”

Clarke was memorably pictured hugging his brother George, a former Town academy striker now with Felixstowe & Walton, on the pitch following the 6-0 victory over Exeter which sealed the Blues’ promotion.

“As soon as I saw my brother I was in tears,” he recalled. “My nanna came on the pitch. My grandad passed away a couple of years ago and he’s a link with the club [his grandfather Terry was a player in Town’s A team in the 1950s], so to share that moment with them was really special.”

Clarke says he and the other January signings, Massimo Luongo, Nathan Broadhead and loanee George Hirst, were warmly welcomed into the fold by the rest of the squad in January.

“An amazing bunch of boys, I speak on behalf of the rest of the boys who joined in January, these boys just help you gel in,” he said.

“I was straight in, I started the Morecambe game and in and around the training ground, they’re top boys and I felt really let in.”

Clarke knows what Championship football is all about from his spell on loan with Stoke City before his move to the Blues.

“It’s a tough league, it’s going to be another challenge, a big challenge,” he said. “I’ve no doubts that we’ll do well and hopefully we can push on.”

"The former England U17 international knows that fans will be hoping for another big season next year.

“Expectations come with football, especially when we’ve done what we did this year, they’re going to expect more.

“We expect more of us as well. We’re ready for the challenge and hopefully we can get another special season next year.”

Clarke, who was red-carded in Sunday’s final game of 2022/23 and as a result will be suspended for the opening game in the Championship, is enjoying his football so much he’d be happy just to carry on.

“We have a well-earned break, but if it was up to me I’d just carry on the season!” he said. “I don’t really want to stop.

“But it’ll be nice to have a break and see the family and things like that. But I can’t want for pre-season.”

Photo: TWTD

Bazza8564 added 15:00 - May 9 The big thing about H is that you could see from his very first game the massive amount of pride he had to be out there. And to be fair he's not alone. Massimo, Nathan and George all "got" the fans really quickly and that feeling was reciprocated. The engagement with the fans is a big part of our success to be honest. I watched us win cups in 78 and 81 yet I didn't once feel part of things, nor that the players really wanted to get involved. These days I ping an email to Mark Ashton to say well done and I get one back saying how much he appreciates it. It's a different world, and Harry Clarke looks like he wants to be front and centre

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ArnieM added 15:24 - May 9 SO proud to be a Town fan again. We've got our Club back and this Club is only going one way , and that's ⬆️
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