Town captain Dara O’Shea believes the greatest pressure comes from within as the Blues chase a second promotion to the Premier League in three seasons.

Having been widely tipped to be among the favourites for an instant return to the top flight, Town find themselves in a tense battle for second during the closing stages of the Championship season.

The Blues were unsuccessful in their survival attempt last term during their first taste of the Premier League for 22 years, with Kieran McKenna’s side ultimately falling short and finishing 16 points adrift of safety.

Asked to compare the pressures of last season to now, O’Shea said: “They’re two quite different things. Last year before the season even started, you’re tipped to go down as a newly promoted side. That has its pressures there, but probably not as much pressure as this season.

“We’re footballers, we’re professionals, we understand how these things work. It’s trying to take the pressure off ourselves that other people put on us, and more so looking at the pressures we put on ourselves and how we can use that to benefit us and push us on.

“They’re two different scenarios, similar pressures but when we feel that we’re one of the better sides in the division and when we’re at our best, we have those standards for ourselves to get back to the Premier League.

“Before the league started, everybody was hyping us up saying we should be here or there. The league doesn’t work like that.

“We understand that we’ve got a great group of players here, a great management and staff. Our aspirations and aims are to be in the Premier League and the standards we set ourselves are to get back there. That’s the aim and the main motivation for us this season is to get back there.

“We understand the journey that we’re on, we’re in a great place and we’re in a good position. We’ve just got to keep going, take one step at a time and as each game comes, attacking that in the best way possible to give ourselves the best chance to get back to the Premier League.”

The Championship is known for its erratic nature and relentless schedule, with Town in the midst of a gruelling end to the season with eight matches, including five away from home, in just 27 days.

Despite the challenges, O’Shea knows that the Blues have put themselves in a strong position with their efforts so far this campaign.

“We know it’s in our hands, we understand that,” he said. “We can’t be looking to three games’ time, we’ve got to look towards the next game and put all our focus and energy into that.

“That’s the only way you can come out on the right side of it, that’s what we’ve been doing and what we know we have to do. We have got games in hand and games to play, but we’ve still got points to put on the board and that’s that.

“This league is a tough league. It’s never been an easy league, it’s the most unpredictable league in the world and anything can happen. It might look like that from the outside, but we haven’t been in the top two much this season.

“It’s not about looking at the league table, it’s about looking at ourselves each week, towards the next game and knowing what we have to do to get the result. You can’t look at the table or fixtures and think what might be or what might not be.

“We’ve got to focus on ourselves and not get too carried away by league position and other teams.”

So much can change within the space of a few days, with manager Kieran McKenna and his Town players often citing how the sole focus is only on the next match in any given week.

Elite sport is therefore unique in that the common mindset is so rooted to the short-term future.

“That’s football in itself,” O’Shea said. “You don’t know where you’re going to be in a season, two seasons, or even sometimes a couple of weeks. You just get used to that because of the industry.

“Football would be a lot easier if you could predict things and understand where you’re going to be in a certain amount of time, but it’s just the nature of what it is and how quickly things change.

“Football is amazing, has such highs and lows, and things can change really quickly. Everyone understands that, and it’s just sticking with the plan and staying on track. That’s what we’ve been trying to do all season.”

While much of the Blues’ current personnel are new to the club since promotion two years ago, the squad is not short of players with experience of getting out of the Championship.

O’Shea is no stranger to second-tier success himself, having played his part in getting promoted with West Bromwich Albion in 2019/20.

The Republic of Ireland international said: “I’ve experienced a lot of the things we’re experiencing before, and I’d like to think that I can help the boys in that way. Lots of the boys have achieved similar things so there is that experience and knowledge in the group.

“It’s about trying to tap into that whenever we can and understand that it’s very valuable to us. In football, things happen and it’s crazy, so it’s about being level-headed and understanding that we have been here before and you do know some of the things that could be thrown your way.

“The international break didn’t go the way I would have wanted it to go, but it’s full focus on Ipswich and everything we’re doing here. I can make it a great summer by hopefully us getting promoted. That’s the main focus for myself and everyone else in the building.”

Photo: TWTD