Town defender Leif Davis says the Blues have made a smooth transition to life under Gary O’Neil following a change in the managerial hotseat at Portman Road over the summer.

Former Strasbourg boss O’Neil was appointed in June to replace the outgoing Kieran McKenna, who announced he was stepping down after four and a half years in charge to take a break from the game.

Having taken over following promotion back to the Premier League, O’Neil’s chief task will be to become the first Town manager to keep the club in the top flight for 26 years.

Long-serving left-back Davis, who previously worked with his new boss while on loan at Bournemouth, says there are clear parallels between both coaches that have made for an easier adaptation process.

“You can see some bits with the manager that are similar to Kieran’s philosophy as well,” he told TWTD in the final part of an exclusive interview.

“The quick attacking and stuff like that is the main thing. Winning the ball back, trying to play forward as quick as you can, try and punish teams, especially when they play and we win the ball back.

“That first pass is a thing that we’ve been working on a lot. When you do regain the ball, can you go forward as quick as you can because there will be gaps opening instead of getting them ready and set. It’s been a smooth transition.

“I worked with the gaffer at Bournemouth when I was there as well, so I know him quite well and I know his standards. I’m trying to set those standards for the new boys coming in as well, so it’s been a smooth transition.

“He was a coach under Scott [Parker] there, so I knew him quite well and I spent a full season with him. People were asking me what he is like, it was always good feedback that I had from him and I always enjoyed my time working under him.”

Now into his fifth season in Suffolk, Davis has played 165 times for the Blues and been involved in his fair share of training sessions at Playford Road.

There is one particular exercise that O’Neil has put on that comes out as the most challenging, though.

Davis said: “It’s been a good change, different drills and tough drills as well. We did one drill and I thought this could be one of the toughest things I’ve ever done.

“It was called the Gauntlet, it was like a pressing box and then another press and another press all the way up the pitch, then you had to run all the way back to the bottom and press again. It was who could do it in the quickest time so you were literally running everywhere.

“It’s been a good change and to have some new faces in the dressing room as well, some good additions to the squad.”

Among those summer signings is hard-working forward Daizen Maeda, who was recruited from Scottish champions Celtic after a successful four-year spell in Glasgow.

Japan international Maeda has started each of the Blues’ three league matches so far, already beginning to form a partnership with Davis down the left-hand side.

The 26-year-old says his role has not changed too much under O’Neil, allowing him to connect with whoever is playing in front of him from the left-back position.

“He knows my game, he knows my strengths,” he said. “It’s always good to have a back-up anyway. You always want to be playing on the pitch but in different roles you can help the team out a lot.

“In the first few games [of pre-season], I was playing more as a left-sided centre-half in a three, but Cam [Humphreys] was always dropping out in the games to push me forward which he wanted as well.

“Being on the pitch is the main thing, doing everything I can to help the team win games. I’ve enjoyed it, and the other day in the game we changed a little bit again and I pushed on a bit more into the pocket which was more what I had done in the last two years under Kieran.

“It gets me forward and gets me running which I love doing. It’s just getting used to how he wants us to arrive in that area instead of just standing in that top line.

“It’s been good working with Daizen as well. I’ve felt that connection has been really good straight away. An incredible player, he doesn’t moan, he just gets his head down and does the work for the team.

“If he does something wrong, he holds his hand up and goes again. He’s always there helping you out, especially running back. It’s one of his strengths, his work rate is incredible. It’s always nice to get that connection early doors to get ready for the season.

“Even Jaden [Philogene] as well. Jaden grafts for you and all the boys graft as hard as each other to be fair. Clarkey [Jack Clarke] is exactly the same and always works hard. It’s nice to have Daizen and the new lads in the changing room. It’s been really good.”

Photo: Matchday Images