Burns: No Reason We Can’t Mount a Serious Push Wednesday, 26th Jul 2023 11:19 Blues wideman Wes Burns can’t wait to test himself in the Championship again, the Welshman having had a taste of second-tier football earlier in his career, and believes there's no reason Town can't mount a challenge for back-to-back promotions. The 28-year-old has also revealed he underwent minor surgery during the summer. Burns was Town’s scorer in last night’s 1-1 draw with newly-promoted Premier League Luton at Colchester’s Jobserve Stadium last night. “We knew the type of game it would be coming into this one against Luton,” he said reflecting on the game in which the Blues were the better side for long spells. “They were obviously one of the top teams in the Championship last year, they got promoted off the back of being very organised, good on set plays and a physical team. “So for us, going into the new season, we knew coming here tonight, we had to be bang up for it and ready for the challenge, and I think it set us up nicely.” Burns’s goal was a cross aimed towards Nathan Broadhead, which nestled in the corner of the net. “I did ask him if he touched it and he said he didn’t, so technically it’s mine!” the winger said regarding any claim the former Everton man might have had over the goal. Burns was pleased to get on the scoresheet having made his return to the team having picked up a minor niggle in the friendly against Flyeralarm Admira 10 days ago. “I haven’t had as many minutes as I’d like in pre-season,” he admitted. “I picked up a little bit of a knock in Austria the first time round, but it was nothing major and I was delighted to be back out there tonight and it’s good for me. “A little strain in a calf but nothing major, a precautionary thing more than anything. Just needed to make sure I got myself right and ready for the big game against Sunderland. That’s the main focus and objective, making sure I was right for that. “It was good for me to get a run-out tonight and then we’ll have more minutes out in Austria and then I’ll be fit and ready to go. “I feel good, I feel fine. Physically I feel there or thereabouts, which is good. I’m feeling sweet!” Town’s 2021/22 Player of the Year missed out on adding to his four Welsh caps in the summer due to another fitness issue, which required him going under the knife. “Definitely disappointed with that one,” he said on not being able to go away with Wales. “It was something I was playing with from Christmas time towards the end of the season, a bit of an issue with my groin. “And we decided it would be better to get it operated on in the summer rather than maybe waiting until around the season start and it was still causing me a bit of gyp and I then I miss two-to-three weeks of the season. “We just decided it was better to do it in the summer break and I’m now fit and ready for the season. “I had a little operation on it, it was nothing major, I had two-to-three weeks of doing nothing and then I was ready to go again. “It was a decision that we made with Wales and with Ipswich together and everyone decided it was the best thing for me, so it was pretty straightforward really.” The former Fleetwood man says manager Kieran McKenna has worked the squad hard during pre-season. “It’s been pretty relentless,” he said. “Which is what the boss wanted it to be for us because we know this year’s going to be pretty relentless. “The Championship usually is because you get more Tuesday night games because of the breaks for internationals. “We know it’s going to be a pretty brutal the fixture list this year. The games are not easy, you look at the teams in the Championship this year, you don’t really look at any of the fixtures and say, ‘That’s three points’ or ‘We can pick up points there’, they’re all battles and you have to be ready for them. “I think the boss designed pre-season around that, wanted it to be physical and relentless and he’s definitely delivered on that one.”  Burns says the Blues won’t be in the Championship just to make up the numbers and like a number of his teammates says Town will be aiming for the top end of the table. “We built the team that we built last year to go and challenge in the Championship this year,” he said. “I think everyone around can see that we’re champing at the bit ready to go and we’re not going out there to survive, we’re going out there to challenge. I think this last 10 days now waiting for Sunderland can’t go quick enough. “We’ve got this quite exciting trip, the second time to Austria because we’ve got some good teams to play out there, so it’ll be a learning experience for us, playing Champions League teams, which will be a massive learning experience for us, so we’ll see where we’re at there.” Town will take the remarkable momentum built up during last season’s incredible run into the start of the new campaign. “It’s surreal, to be honest,” Burns said looking back on the run which took Town to second in League One. “I think when we had a couple of draws in and around Christmas and January time, the top two looked miles away. “But we kept the confidence in the squad, we knew we had the ability and we knew we had the focus and the humility to go and do it. “And to go, I think it was 19 games unbeaten and I think we won 14 out of the 19 remaining of the season. To go and do that is a pretty incredible feat. Take that going forward into the new season and who knows.” Burns enjoyed the post-promotion celebrations, which he says he and his teammates fully deserved after achieving their success. “I think everyone did, to be honest, I think mine were slightly more highlighted than the rest,” he laughed. “It’s one of those things, it’s such a gruelling year, you’ve played 55, 60 games with cup games, so it’s important that the lads let their hair down at the end of the year and really do enjoy their summer. “Some people like to scrutinise and stuff, you see it all the time on social media, but people don’t understand the sacrifice that the lads have to go through for the season. “I know I say it’s a sacrifice and everyone would love to be doing this job, but it’s a lot of hard work, it’s a lot of commitment, it’s a lot of effort. So to have a week or two of enjoying yourself with a bunch of lads that you’ve achieved something with that not many people get to do in a lifetime, is something that I think we should enjoy.” The buzz around the club and the support was palpable at Colchester last night, something Burns says has been present ever since he became the first permanent signing of the Gamechanger era in June 2021. “I think it’s been built over the last two years really, since the new regime came in,” he said. “All the new faces, staff, players, backroom staff, everything to do with the club at the moment, it’s all going in the right direction. “You can really sense it in the atmosphere in the crowd. Everyone’s just excited to come and watch games and to be a part of Ipswich Town again.” The Welshman has played in the Championship before, having made two starts and 20 sub appearances for Bristol City early in his career in the 2012/13 and 2015/16 seasons with loan spells in between. “I made my debut in the Champ, a 17-year-old Wes Burns against Leicester for Bristol City,” he recalled. “I played a few times in the Champ, so I’ve got a little bit of experience, not loads but a little bit, so I kind of know what it’s about. It’s relentless, it’s brutal and we have to be ready for that.” Asked how the 28-year-old Burns compares with that teenager, he said: “He’s a lot more mature now, I know that for sure. Well, I like to tell myself that anyway! “I just can’t wait to test myself again. Everyone always wants to play at the highest level that they can possibly play and there’s no reason why we can’t go there, be a part of it this year and really mount a serious push and challenge for back-to-back. “I don’t want to say it like that, but we’ll go into every game and prep for every game like we did last year, and that’s to go and get three points in every game, so there’s no doubt that we can do that.” Meanwhile, Town's U21s and U18s were in friendly action against their Sunderland counterparts at the Black Cats' training camp at Gresham's School in Norfolk yesterday. The U21s were beaten 5-2 with Fin Barbrook and Leon Ayinde, from the penalty spot, scoring the Town goals, while Jamie Mauge was on target for the U18s in a 5-1 defeat.
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