Town captain Dara O’Shea insists the Blues are not lacking in confidence despite failing to win any of their opening three Championship matches of the season.

Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Preston North End marked Town’s first league defeat of the campaign, having drawn both of their previous games with Birmingham City and Southampton 1-1.

The Blues have won just one league match this calendar year and have the opportunity to register their first three points when Derby County visit Portman Road this weekend in the final clash before the international break.

O’Shea accepted that winning matches are vital for belief within the squad, but trusts that the hard work on the training pitch will bring positive results in time.

“It’s always one of them that you need to win games to have that confidence and momentum,” he said. “The confidence is definitely there in the group, you can see what we’re doing at times and we’re really causing teams problems.

“It’s tough when you come to places like this [Preston] and they sit in a back five. That early goal is something they want and they can hang onto something and don’t really have to come out.

“For us, it’s trying to get confident in those situations. Maybe we’re not confident enough to go and push, maybe we need that hunger a bit more.

“That will come, I keep saying everything will come. It’s really early doors in the season and it’s not a crisis point where we’re worrying about things, we really believe in what we’re doing.

“Once the window closes and we have a group of players, we can really kick on and hopefully push ourselves right back up the table, stay there and be there come the end of the season.

“There’s lots of new partnerships everywhere in the whole group, everyone’s getting to understand each other.

“The cohesion is massive for us and the way we want to play, we’re not a team that just lumps it and plays off. We’re big on our patterns, how we can link and get together and get up the pitch.

“For the way we want to play, that cohesion is important, so the more time we have together and the more hard work we put on the training pitch, I really do believe things are going to come good for us.”

Town have had more squad turnover than hoped this summer and have needed to recruit new faces as a result, many of whom are still working their way into the group.

Chuba Akpom and Kasey McAteer were the latest to make their Blues debuts against the Lilywhites, both featuring as second-half substitutes alongside the returning Jens Cajuste and Ashley Young.

McAteer, who becomes the latest Republic of Ireland international at Portman Road, had only arrived the previous day from Championship rivals Leicester City.

“That’s five Irish lads here now,” O’Shea said. “It’s great, I know Kasey quite well from playing with him in the international set-up. I know what he can do and I know how effective he can be.

“He’s only had one session with us so it was never going to be easy for him to come into a new group. We’re trying to integrate him, get the relationships and cohesion again. Everything is timing for us right now.

“We’ve spoken in the group. We know what we need as a group of players, especially the lads who have been here. We’re very lucky, we’ve got a great group of lads who are really good, and anybody who comes into the group feels really warm and settled straight away because I definitely did when I stepped in.

“It’s about doing that on the training pitch, setting the standards for the new lads so they see when they come in that this is a proper working environment where we push each other.

“We do that day in, day out. Once they get on board with that, which I’m sure they will, we’ll have no problem with that.”

Asked whether the transfer window can be unsettling at this time of year, O’Shea added: “It’s never easy when the window is open for whatever reasons. It’s nice to have players come in and new faces, it really does bring a boost to the squad.

“But there’s also that lingering noise of players leaving and that kind of is unsettling at times. But this is all about football, everyone’s got these problems to deal with, it’s not just ourselves.

“We’ve got to trust the board and the club to do the right things and we’ve just got to crack on on the pitch, we can’t think too much into that as a group. Day in, day out with the manager, believing what we’re doing, and we are, we just need to keep being repetitive with that and really trust ourselves.”

Photo: Matchday Images

Somersetractor added 14:53 - Aug 26 Great. For godsake, don't let any of the team read social media. Anyone would think, we are in absolute free fall!!! COYB !!!
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tractorboybig added 15:32 - Aug 26 To be honest he is unlikely to say anything else.
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victorysquad added 15:38 - Aug 26 It is time to get ruthless, get a few wins under our belts and you will feel the full force of ITFC behind you. We want to see more, it has not been a good start, it was a poor effort on Saturday and a lot of us gave up our bank holiday weekends to follow you up there. So put on your big boys pants, and start playing football, you are all very capable.
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Bazza8564 added 15:38 - Aug 26 43 games to go, a shed load of cash available and the window still open. It's been a poor start but two home games coming against sides below us, time for a bit of faith
6

DifferentGravy added 16:08 - Aug 26 Confidence....great. But time for some attacks and shot on goal......thats what its time for. Pointing out the bleeding obvious. Very difficult to score without shots on goals.
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blue86 added 16:19 - Aug 26 Squad has had a fairly big upheaval, possibly a touch of a relegation hang over added to the mix aswell. Winning is a habit and breads confidence, its what helped us climb how we did from league 1. The prem was/is brutal for most promoted sides, and losing games can also become a habit. Give the squad another 6 games or so and we will be fine. Top six.
5

flykickingbybgunn added 16:21 - Aug 26 Captain talking up the squad. Quite the Morsy touch.
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Stato added 17:08 - Aug 26 Only Matusiwa has made a starting debut so far with the other 10 starters all knowing each other prety well yet so few of the blund faithful are questioning KM's statement blaming the poor start on new arrivals. That is why so many of the duscussions on here lack insight but personally I hope the keyboard warriors don't bully away those that dare pount out the emperor has no clothes. We not only need to beat Derby but we need at least 4 goals for things to look as they should.

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herfie added 17:19 - Aug 26 Predictable comments from the new skip - which he shouldn’t be criticised for. But the confidence of which he speaks, and hard training ground work, needs to be reflected - both Individually and as a team - on the pitch when points are up for grabs. So far, we seem to lack drive and intensity, and a cast iron determination to win. It’s as much about attitude and commitment, as it is about training drills and over complex tactics.

2

chepstowblue added 17:21 - Aug 26 Why do we play as if we're devoid of confidence then ? We're a very painful watch !
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TimmyH added 17:27 - Aug 26 Maybe a cocky confidence?...2 players missed chances on Saturday and their reaction was to just smile, inwardly I was seething.
5

Nottsblue66 added 18:46 - Aug 26 Baza 8464 pots of money means nothing bringing in new players does not make the team better can cause rifts within the team You and the rest need to look at the management?
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Bazza8564 added 19:14 - Aug 26 Nottsblue, it's brings quality, quality brings everything else if you get it right. It's a very simple equation. You buy Kane, you get goals, and right now we have more cash kicking about than the rest of the division put together. And before anybody says the inevitable, "we should never have sold broadhead", b*****t, he got the hook on 68th Saturday and the local press gave him 5-10 They've already worked him out as a bench starter, same as KM did.

1

armchaircritic59 added 19:32 - Aug 26 Comments as you would have expected from Dara, he's been asked to do an interview, and he's not going to come out with anything revolutionary or controversial, for fairly obvious reasons. As for patterns on the pitch etc, fair enough, but I would add this. I'm not going to make any quality comparisons, as there aren't many. Last night I watched Newcastle v Liverpool. As I expect you know Liverpool won 3-2, which doesn't even scratch the surface of the match. 2-0 down and down to 10 men, Newcastle refused to believe they were beaten against the league champions. With tons of passion and commitment against all odds they pulled it back to 2-2 only to lose to a last gasp goal. The point I'm trying to make is this. If we only showed half that passion and commitment. along with the quality we do have in the squad as it stands right now, we can scare the hell out of Derby at the weekend, and others following on, patterns of play or no patterns of play.

4

ITFCSG added 19:55 - Aug 26 First and foremost Dara, get hold of J Clarke and tell him to wake his blo*dy idea up! Winning or losing a match isn't the endgame, I applauded the team when they lost 3-4 to Leeds at home in 23/24, but I want to see the fight and passion, not players going through the motions!
1

Lightningboy added 20:00 - Aug 26 It's September next week. 1 win all year is pathetic tbh.
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bobble added 06:35 - Aug 27 We need to hit the target and score...2 good strikers are essential everything else can be left for later...
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Bluemike31 added 09:41 - Aug 27 I stopped reading at "we are really causing teams problems"
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 10:18 - Aug 27 Maybe a few too many "patterns" and not enough directness? Anyway, I'm expecting things to improve once the transfer window is behind us.
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 10:27 - Aug 27 Also, I'm not in the "knock J Clarke" camp. I think he's a good player. But I do think that he and Leif get in each other's way on the left. This is probably why Leif keeps coming inside instead of bombing down the wing like he used to pre-PL. I think that playing both on the left is a bit of a problem, but I don't have an answer as to how to solve it.
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hyperbrit added 21:04 - Aug 27 I suspect a "work to rule" in spite of what he says
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armchaircritic59 added 00:04 - Aug 28 Steve ITFC Sweden, I must be one of the few who post in here that actually feels sorry for JC. Signed as chalk on boots wide left player, found it difficult last season, as did almost everyone else, though definite glimpses of what he could do later in the season, though as you rightly point out LD adds to his problem. This season he has very largely been shifted over to the right, he is not a wide right player. Even been tried in midfield once in pre season! One thing I know for sure, one of the Championship stars of two seasons ago hasn't suddenly forgot how to play football. Maybe he needs to get away to rebuild his career, I'd like to think he could still show what he can really do here, but I fear that may not be possible.

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