‘Mick’s left the team in a good place’ - Ward insists new Town boss has a solid base to work from

Ward scored his second goal of the season at Nottingham Forest at the weekend. Picture: STEVE WALLER (Image: � Copyright Stephen Waller)

Ward started, scored a goal and gave away a penalty as Ipswich lost their first game following Mick McCarthy’s departure 2-1 at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, with Bryan Klug in caretaker charge until the new man is found.

The former Tottenham academy player, who worked with Klug when the two were together at White Hart Lane, believes whoever comes in as the club’s next manager will arrive with a solid base to work from given the Blues currently find themselves in midtable.

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“I think a lot of teams who lose a manager lose them because they are at the bottom but I think Mick’s left the team in a good place which is good for the next man coming in,” Ward said.

“It’s building blocks for next season so we want to end on a high, get the fans on side and start building.”

On Klug, who he has known since his early teens, Ward added: “He’s been good, he’s been thorough and is trying to get us playing again and enjoying it.

“I’ve known him for quite a while now and when I was at Tottenham it was him who gave me my scholarship, so I’ve known him since I was 13 or 14 and he’s a familiar face to me.

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“He’s put me straight in and I just need to build on it.”

Ward felt comfortable in the right wing back role he was asked to play at the City Ground, having also played in an advanced role and in central midfield this season, but knows he needs to add goals to his game having managed just two so far during the campaign.

“It’s a role I’ve played before and I’m comfortable doing it, because I can get up and down the field, but we’ll see what happens,” he said.

“When I first came in Chambo (Luke Chambers) was playing there and got a few goals from there so it would be good to add that to my game.

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“I think I got six or seven last season and this was just my second this season, so it’s something I want to add to my game.

“I think I’ve been playing well but have maybe been a bit unfortunate, but maybe overall I can learn from it. I think I’ve been playing well.

“It’s hard because you play a good game and then next week you are out of it, but you have to keep training right because when you’re in you are not going to do well if you’ve not had a good week’s training.”