Town get their pre-season friendly programme under way on Saturday afternoon when they take on Isthmian League North Felixstowe & Walton in a sell-out game at the AGL Arena (KO 1pm, turnstiles open 11am).

The match, which will be watched by a capacity 2,350 crowd, will be in the same format as last year’s first friendly at Needham Market in which the Blues fielded different teams in each half of a 30-minute game - winning 7-0 - followed by a penalty shoot-out.

The Town first-team squad started pre-season training on Monday and it’s likely that most of them will be involved in either half, wearing the new kit which will be released in the morning.

However, Nathan Broadhead and new signing Jack Taylor spent much of June with international squads and won't start their pre-seasons until Monday and so aren’t expected to take part.

Central defender George Edmundson also may not be ready to play a game having spent the summer recovering after undergoing ankle surgery in March.

Felixstowe & Walton’s squad includes former Town defender Jack Ainsley, who made eight first-team appearances under Roy Keane and Paul Jewell, as well as a number of players who have come through the Blues academy, although Harry Clarke’s brother George, another who spent time at Playford Road, is no longer at the club.

Manager Stuart Boardley, another Town academy alumnus, is pleased that the Blues are making the short trip to the coast for the friendly.

“This will be a fantastic day for our club,” Boardley told Felixstowe Nub News. “We have worked hard and the players are really looking forward to it.

“It is good to see Ipswich connecting with the community and engaging with local clubs like ours once more.

“It has been a long time coming as I feel there was a disconnect for about 10 years, but the culture has changed back and it is very much a community club once more.

“This means a lot to us and I want to thank [manager] Kieran [McKenna], [CEO] Mark Ashton and everyone behind the scenes for making it happen.

“Everyone at Felixstowe is very thankful. It will do a lot for us reputationally and financially.”

The AGL Arena is familiar territory for followers of Ipswich Town Women, the ground having been their home ground for the last few seasons.

In pre-season last summer, Town’s U18s staged a remarkable comeback to win 5-4 having been 3-0 down at half-time against the Seasiders' senior side.

A list of Town's pre-season matches which have been announced can be found here.

Photo: Felixstowe & Walton

Ipswich Town Polls