Ipswich Town assistant manager Martyn Pert has stressed the importance of taking the Carabao Cup seriously ahead of tomorrow's game against Bristol Rovers.
The Blues head straight into their midweek clash against the Gas after beating Sunderland 2-1 on Sunday, with Nathan Broadhead and George Hirst finding the back of the net at the Stadium of Light.
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Given the hectic Championship fixture list, some people may believe that an early exit from the competition could be in the best interests of the club as they continue to adapt to a higher level of football, but Pert is adamant that they will do their best to progress to the second round and beyond.
“My ambition in sport is to try and get better all the time,” he said.
“We want to try and improve all the time. The next game, try to win and perform well then see where it takes you.
“It’ll be a difficult game. We’ll try to get the result, try to perform well and try to improve, then see where things go from there.”
Despite that, manager Kieran McKenna is expected to rotate his squad after a demanding clash on Wearside over the weekend.
Lee Evans and Jack Taylor ended up as unused substitutes, while the likes of George Edmundson, Sone Aluko, Kyle Edwards and Cameron Humphreys were left out of the squad entirely.
There's a strong chance that all of them could get minutes against Bristol Rovers alongside Elkan Baggott, who McKenna confirmed would be involved in the match as the club continues to weigh up whether or not to send him out on loan.
Harry Clarke is also available, having missed much of pre-season with an Achilles injury.
“It’ll be a decision that the manager makes, but I think there’ll be changes, definitely," Pert added.
“It was such a tough game at the weekend and we’ve got another big game on Saturday, so there’ll definitely be some changes, particularly with the time added on [at the end of the Sunderland game]. It’s an extra demand.
“I might be wrong, but I think that, statistically, in terms of the running, it was more than we’ve ever done. That’s probably because of the added time, because you’re literally playing a period of extra time.”
Some players could see it as a chance to prove that they're capable of stepping into the starting lineup for Championship fixtures, although Pert believes that building fitness will be the priority on Wednesday night.
“The majority of players have been here, so they’ve proven their worth to us time and time again," he explained.
“I think it’s a good chance for some players to come in and get the minutes, because we’re still working on the conditioning in terms of the start of the season.
“Some people haven’t played as many minutes as they’d like in pre-season in terms of games, so it’ll be a good chance for them to get more minutes.”
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