After Plymouth Argyle on Saturday, we still have a very challenging month ahead. One week later, we are away at Oxford United before another home game against Morecambe on the 24th. And that’s not the end of it. Assuming that Ipswich Town’s game against Burnley in the 4th round of the FA Cup is not televised live, then we end it on Saturday, the 28th of January, with yet another home game against high-flying Burnely from the Championship. It promises to be another exciting few weeks!
Manager Kieran Mckenna has hinted that Town may still bring more players in. They have already signed three during this transfer window. Massimo Luongo is on a six-month contract, after having trained with the squad for three weeks before the deal was struck. Then there are two new strikers to look forward to, and whether George Hirst or Nathan Broadhead make their debut this weekend remains to be seen, but they are both exciting prospects, and their arrival has certainly boosted squad morale.
McKenna told the local press that he still thinks there is work going on behind the scenes to bring in more players. ‘”The club continues to work hard. We have some other profiles that we spoke about before the window opened. There are positions and players that we have looked at and spoken about. But there are no big updates on that.” Most of us will be quite content with the squad we currently have at our disposal, but some might argue that we need another right-wing-back and perhaps another central defender. Who exactly Town have on their radar at this juncture is still very uncertain.
What is certain, however, is that this will be another testing month for the Blues. The priority must be to get automatic promotion, and the new additions will go a long way to achieving this in my view. I expect Town to defeat The Pilgrims in front of a packed Portman Road on Saturday. Oxford away, a week later, will be another obstacle to overcome. Just after Christmas, they beat Charlton Athletic 3-1 at home, and although they find themselves in 15th in the table, at home they are a tough nut to crack. Having beaten them 3-0 in December at our place, we will be looking to do the double over our Oxfordshire rivals. Our away record is excellent though, and so is our away support!
Four days before that mouth-watering FA Cup tie with Burnley at Portman Road, we have another home encounter with Morecambe, who are near the foot of the table and will probably park their bus. We have dropped too many points this season against teams who just want to defend and get goals on the counter-attack. Our two new strikers might make all the difference here because not getting over the line has cost us dear before. McKenna has now addressed this with his new squad additions.
