Town midfielder Dan Neil feels his January switch to Portman Road came with the aim of trying to find his purpose once again.

After breaking into the first team at boyhood club Sunderland, Neil played 170 league matches in just four seasons for the Black Cats as the Wearsiders rose from League One to the Premier League.

Last summer saw wholesale changes in personnel at the Stadium of Light, with Neil’s minutes ultimately reduced following the acquisition of Switzerland international Granit Xhaka.

The 24-year-old played just 13 minutes of Premier League football during the first half of the season, but has featured six times, including three starts, since joining the Blues on loan until he end of the campaign.

“It was that purpose,” he explained. “I went from playing every single game and constantly having something to focus on week by week and something to prepare for. That took a bit of a hit over the last six months.

“I’m just happy to be back playing football, and I think every footballer just wants to be able to give something to the team on a weekend, help get three points and help the team get over the line. I’m delighted to be back in that rhythm.

“The thrill of trying to get a club promoted from the Championship, there’s not many feelings like it in football. I’ve come to a place that’s massively on the up and has got a great squad as well.

“When I looked at the options I had, I thought Ipswich’s squad had one of the best and I felt like it had a really good chance of getting promoted. I wanted to come and help them achieve that goal.”

Town are currently third in the Championship as the race for promotion nears the business end of the season, but are only three points behind second-placed Middlesbrough with a game in hand.

Neil has enjoyed a positive start to life in Suffolk, with the Blues victorious in four of his five league appearances to date, including each of the last three.

It is the midfielder’s first time playing football away from his home city of Sunderland, which Neil admits it initially took some getting used to.

He said: “It was obviously a little bit strange when I first came in, putting on a different shirt. I’ve made peace with it and I'm really happy to be here.

“I’m enjoying the training sessions, I'm enjoying the games, I’m enjoying my time with the lads on the pitch and off the pitch, and all the staff are amazing. It’s been a really warm welcome.

“I’m just enjoying playing football again, really. I’ve come into a really good group of lads and staff. Other than the two Wrexham results, it’s been a really good start.

“Three clean sheets on the bounce and three big wins, which is really hard to do in the Championship. Onwards and upwards from here.”

Town were not the only club to show interest in Neil during the January transfer window, with Rangers, West Ham United and Sheffield United all understood to have been keen on a winter move.

“It was a new experience for me, but one that I went into very open,” Neil said. “I spoke to certain people and ultimately my decision ended up being Ipswich. I had good calls with people at the club and the call with the gaffer was brilliant.

“I’ve played against Ipswich a few times and the gaffer’s teams. I’ve seen my style of play, where I want to play and where I feel I can get the best out of myself was good for the system that he plays.

“In the past, I’ve looked at that Ipswich team that got promoted out of the Championship the first time around and I could see myself in that role that I’m playing now.

“After a few conversations and getting to know more about how things operate, my decision was set and things moved pretty quickly after that.”

The Blues’ midfield unit is extremely competitive and features the likes of Azor Matusiwa, Jack Taylor and Jens Cajuste, while Marcelino Núñez can also operate in a deeper role if required.

The virtually ever-present Matusiwa struck his opening Town goal in Tuesday’s crucial 1-0 victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Hull City, and Neil is already enjoying their partnership together.

He recalled: “I was just about to go and warm up and I saw Anis [Mehmeti] driving in the box, Leif [Davis]’s little set and then the whole place erupted. I asked him if he was going to score another one like that tomorrow and he said maybe just one a season! It was an unbelievable strike and he deserves it.

“Since I came in, he’s really helped me settle in. He’s great to play alongside and he’s a true professional from what I’ve seen in the way he prepares for games and things like that.

“All three have got different strengths and different weaknesses. You can see in the last few games the rotation, especially in that left midfield role.

“Azor is pretty much a stable point on that right side, but the left side, there’s a lot of running for that role. Generally, he likes to change it and doesn’t let us play 90 minutes because we run a lot.

“It’s good because we’ve got three different types of players in there for certain situations and you’ve seen the perfect blend of that over the last three wins.”

Asked if he could play in Matusiwa’s role if the Dutchman was to get suspended, Neil said: “At Sunderland, because of how young a team it was, when I first broke through I was a box-to-box number eight kind of midfielder. I wasn’t really bothered about the defensive side of the game, I just wanted to get on the ball.

“As things evolved with injuries, suspensions, and the way we went about our recruitment, I got pushed into that number six role. I ended up being the oldest midfielder there, which was mental because I was only 22 or 23.

“It was also good for me, it probably took away what I was good at but also added more strings to my bow. It allowed me to learn how to play the number six role, a more defensive role, stopping transitions, organising and being vocal. It was a positive really, and I feel like I’m more than equipped to do both roles now if I'm asked to do either.”

Kieran McKenna is clearly a very thorough manager that demands a lot from his players, with fellow January arrival Mehmeti recently describing the Northern Irishman as ‘obsessed’.

Neil responded: “You could say that! Not even just the gaffer but his staff around him. Chaz [Charlie Turnbull], the midfield coach, I go through clips with him a lot and do extra stuff with him after training to get used to how the gaffer wants his midfielders to work.

“It’s a slightly different role for me from what I played last season, I’d say it’s a more natural role but slightly different, so it’s coming to terms with arriving in the box which I maybe didn’t have the licence to do last year. It’s all about adding strings to your bow and keep improving as a footballer.

“I think we see football in a very similar way, the way I want to play football and the way he wants to play football. I wouldn’t say it’s been easy because it’s quite detailed, but it’s been okay to adapt to the style of football he wants to play.

“I’m learning every single game and learning every training session on what he wants from me and the people around me. Hopefully I can put that out on the pitch on a Saturday.”

Next up for the Blues is a third home match in succession, as struggling Leicester City make the trip to Portman Road off the back of no wins in their last 10 matches in all competitions.

Following a six-point deduction for breaching financial rules, the Foxes are inside the Championship relegation zone and in serious threat of dropping into League One just a decade on from winning their historic Premier League title.

“In the Championship, there’s no easy games,” Neil added. “You could go and beat someone in the top six and then go and drop points against somebody that’s in the relegation zone. You’ve seen that throughout the season in the Championship.

“Every single game is a tough game, and this one is probably a little bit more dangerous because they’ve got a really good team never mind some fantastic individuals, the front four especially. It’s a game where we’re going to have to be 100 per cent at it.

“They’re not having a great moment at the minute, but that could switch in the click of the fingers and we don’t want that to be against us where they pick up three points and it galvanises their season.

“We have to be 100 per cent at it, stick to the game plan and do everything we can to get the three points.”

Photo: TWTD