Town defender Luke Woolfenden says the Blues still have belief they can avoid the drop in the Premier League this season.

Following last Wednesday’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester United, Town remain five points plus a significantly inferior goal difference from safety with just 11 league matches remaining.

The Blues have won just three Premier League matches this season but Woolfenden says there is an overriding feeling of frustration at some of recent results, which has seen Kieran McKenna’s side lose six of their last seven league outings.

“Mixed with the belief is a bit of disappointment that we’ve been in the majority of games,” he said. “It’s just moments where at the end of the season you’re looking back on it and kicking yourself that it’s happened.

“With 11 games left we’ve just got to forget that and go full steam into them and see what happens.

“Even the game against Spurs we were bang in it. If something goes the other way, if I’m onside, if it doesn’t deflect off me and goes wide then we’re still in the game but we end up losing 4-1.

“People will say that’s the level but I don’t think we’re coming off the pitch thinking ‘that’s the level’, we come off the pitch feeling disappointed because the goals that they scored are goals that get scored in the Championship, League One and League Two. It’s not because of the level, it’s because we shoot ourselves in the foot.”

On his goal against Tottenham Hotspur that was ruled out for offside, he said: “That was a good feeling for a second but I turned around and saw Johnno [Ben Johnson]’s face and he wasn’t celebrating so I knew I must have been off.”

Despite the form, which has seen Town become the only Premier League side yet to win a match in 2025, Woolfenden says the team spirit that has got them to this point can’t be questioned and maintains the belief that survival is possible.

“One hundred per cent otherwise we might as well pack up and go home,” he stressed. “Everyone’s on the same page with that, we still believe and we’re still going to go right to the wire.

“We’re quite good at taking it game-by-game. We are realistic about our chances but we don’t limit ourselves. We didn’t come into the season saying we just want to scrap it and stay up, we wanted to be a competitive team in the league.

“I think the fans would agree that in 90 per cent of the games we’ve been competitive and we’ve been on the disappointing end of a few results. It’s one of them things that the spirit of the squad is always going to be there.”

Town’s most recent defeat at Old Trafford was particularly frustrating, having gone into half-time level and playing with a man advantage for the entire second half following the dismissal to United left-back Patrick Dorgu.

Woolfenden said: “We’re all disappointed in the manner of the game. We feel like they were there in this time period for us to go there and win, probably the best chance we have.

“To concede three set plays we’re all disappointed. We’ve looked at it back and clarified whose jobs are what and to be fair boys have held their hands up and said ‘I didn’t do this right’ and ‘I didn’t do that right’.

“It’s a learning curve, with that we’ve got to take accountability and we’re doing that. Before the United game we’ve not conceded many set plays so to concede three in the game was unusual but massively disappointing.

“There were a lot of frank conversations in the changing room after. A lot of honesty and frustration came out but it was all channelled in a good way.

“Training today was a good standard again, we might not get the reaction we want on Monday but it’s not for the want of trying. We’re honest and open with each other, we’re learning every day and we’ll see where that takes us.”

On a personal note, the trip to the Theatre of Dreams was a special one for Woolfenden.

“My dad is from Manchester so I was brought up here as a United fan,” he revealed.
“Walking out there for the warm-up and when we got to the ground, it’s unbelievable, it’s a proper football ground. We’ve been to a few this season that are new and you don’t get that feel of a proper football ground. Going there was unbelievable, one of the best I’ve been at.”

Another special moment in Woolfenden’s career came in the earlier rounds of the FA Cup, the competition in which the Blues will do battle with Nottingham Forest on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals.

The academy graduate captained Town for the first time in the earlier cup ties with Bristol Rovers and Coventry City, a moment he never considered was possible.

He said: “It’s not something I’ve ever sat and thought about. I’m probably not the typical captain in terms of going around rollocking people.

“You can lead in other ways in terms of performance, calmness and doing things at the right time which I like to think I’ve done over the course of the cup run.

“I’m not like Chambo [Luke Chambers] and I’m not like Skip [Sam Morsy]. They’re the only two I can really say I’ve played under long enough to model myself on. I don’t think I’d ever be like them, just be myself.”

As the only Ipswich-born player in the current Blues squad, it may be considered that Woolfenden has a greater representation of the fanbase whenever he crosses the white line to compete in the blue shirt.

However, Woolfenden disagrees and says the entire playing squad understand the honour to play for Town.

“I don’t think me being local has anything to do with that,” he argued. “The fans will know as a squad we represent them very well, specifically since the boss has come in.

“We run more than everyone else 99 per cent of every game – we run harder, faster and make more tackles. I feel like the fans know as a squad, not just me being a local lad, that the other boys around it get what it means to the fans to play for Ipswich. I don’t feel like I have that role specifically.

“There is that side of it that can be quite difficult for me to avoid things when things do go wrong because growing up here people see me as more approachable and can say things that they’re feeling that I can’t always say anything back to. That is quite a difficult part of it.”

There was some speculation in the January transfer window linking Woolfenden with a move away from Portman Road, with Sheffield United - who we understand made a loan offer - and MLS side Inter Miami touted as possible destinations.

On the rumours, Woolfenden said: “There’s interest in most windows, that’s part and parcel of being a footballer. The Inter Miami one was a bit wide of the mark otherwise I’m not sure I’d be sitting here!

“I’m not sure that one was true but there was certainly interest. It would have been nice to play with [Lionel] Messi.

“I’ve said numerous times that I love working here under the boss. Even behind the boss with the coaching staff that he’s got, every session is enjoyable and you don’t need to play every game here to improve as a player. You can go to other clubs and training can just be a bit of a jolly whereas here you’re bang at it every day.”

In the end, Woolfenden signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract at the end of January, which would take his total stay at the Blues to a decade since his first-team debut in 2017.

On penning the new deal, the 26-year-old added: “This is probably one of the best places to be in the Football League. It’s a club that besides the manager has a lot of ambition behind it.

“The owners and Mark [Ashton, CEO] are driven to keep this club where it is now regardless of what happens at the end of the season. It’s a really good feeling to get that done.”

TWTD

pablo123 added 12:05 - Mar 3 Good to hear but won't matter luke , we're just not good enough I'm afraid
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Leejames99 added 12:07 - Mar 3 Someone give him some media training ITFC. Run fast, tackle more erm as team you don't 'Skip' and Davis especially. If owners and Ashton want to keep the club where they are now that's the Prem not regardless of what happens Luke or if you are all just planning on the Championship do let us know! Total contractions.
-14

Karlosfandangal added 13:14 - Mar 3 Really struggling to see where the next points are coming from, Southampton was one but no and then Man U but the second half was just pass from side to side. Get some balls in the box even route one just to put teams under pressure, Man U just sat back and watched us pass the ball around
3

Dissboyitfc added 13:41 - Mar 3 So much negativity from some posters, got a feeling that these dont travel to away games! Can’t see why people think negative energy achieves positive outcomes! We might get relegated but I want the players to fight for every scrap for every game, all is not lost yet. Hopefully we will get Encisco back, potential match winner and wolves have lost their match winner for a few games! I still think we can do it against all the odds!

10

Linkboy13 added 14:35 - Mar 3 If Wolves lost every remaining game i still don't think we are good enough to take advantage haven't seen enough this season to change my mind.
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DifferentGravy added 14:57 - Mar 3 Unfortunately, Linkboy13, I have to agree with you. We were unlucky in several games earlier in the season. Then, there was a brief period where we put in some hopeful performances against Chelsea and Fulham and picked up some unexpected points. Fair enough, we lose to the likes of City and Liverpool. But should be picking up points against Saints, Spurs and United who were all in poor form. We are bottom of the form table and you cant rely on others to slip up....because it wont matter if you dont win games! There are 4/5 winnable games in our remaining fixtures. But that means getting the ball and more men into the box and stop giving cheap goals away. Those set pieces v United were an embarrassment. A wide player should not be marking their biggest threat.....old slabhead. Mckenna needs to sort it out. He did brilliantly in the Championship and League one.....but the pieces were already beginning to slot into place by the time Cook had departed and Mckenna was backed to the hilt in the Championship. Time for him to show his managerial ability when it counts in the premiership. If side to side to side to side passing isnt working then have a plan B or C. Even if he put Burgess on with 10 to go and slung it into the box.....wouldnt have been any worse than what was on display v United

6

ArnieM added 15:06 - Mar 3 Getting the ball into the opponents box might be a start!
3

ArnieM added 15:11 - Mar 3 .....and picking a more experienced front line. Not going to happen though is it, we have to "stick to the process"!
0

Bert added 15:39 - Mar 3 I would agree that for 90% of the games up until the new year we were very competitive. However, since then we have stuttered in far too many games with too many basic errors. All is not lost if we fight for every ball, defend robustly and get the ball in the box.
1

OldFart71 added 15:50 - Mar 3 I don't know how many players have now come out with similar statements with regards to us getting results and whilst I'd be the first to say I still believe in these players I cannot see how we are going to turn this around. Every game that passes and we don't get anything out of it means we are nearer to the end of the season and whilst there are still 33 points to fight for we are five points off Wolves who also have a better goal difference as well. So in truth that at the least two more wins than wolves. One being our home game against them. But so far we have been unable to beat teams near to us in the table.

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Leejames99 added 16:23 - Mar 3 I hope without doubt the same page Mckenna gives all the players has fine margin on it.
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ChrisFelix added 16:32 - Mar 3 We need 18 points from 12 games. Tall order when you think only 3 wins all season so far. The spirit was there until the Fulham game, then after city & Liverpool we appear to have fell apart
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Leejames99 added 17:00 - Mar 3 @chrisfelix That is a tall order with only 11 prem games left, why do we need 18 points? At the moment we just need 6 to get a point in front of Wolves and keep ahead of Leicester, unless somebody like Man Utd do hit really bad form we are in a 3 horse race for 1 podium.
0

ThaiBlue added 20:26 - Mar 3 Whos wooly kidding
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