Ipswich Town: Conor Chaplin previews Leicester City clash

The Blues came from behind to take all three points at Portman Road in their last game, with Chaplin himself scoring the winning goal with 15 minutes to play.

They put in an improved performance and had the home crowd right behind them, which he believes was crucial on the night.

“It felt like a big win, a special night,” the 26-year-old explained. “The atmosphere certainly added to that, I thought the fans were brilliant all night.

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“They’re starting to understand that we’re not going to be great all the time. It’s hard with the schedule, the calibre of teams we’re playing against and the calibre of players we’re playing against. You can’t play well all the time.

“It’s about finding a way to get results. I think they’ve really bought into that in the last couple of games, they’ve pushed us over the line and helped us get a win the other night with the atmosphere they created.

“I thought it was brilliant. It was definitely one of the most special nights I’ve had at Portman Road.”

Chaplin praised Town fans for the atmosphere they created in the win against Sunderland (Image: Stephen Waller)

The result came at the end of a difficult run each side of Christmas. Town’s last league win before beating the Black Cats came on December 12th, and while dropping points in a promotion race is never ideal, they head into tonight’s game with the fewest defeats in the Championship.

“We lost one game in that run,” Chaplin said. “It wasn’t like we lost a lot of games, we hadn’t at all. We drew probably more than we’d been used to, but it was never at a point where we were thinking about where the next win is coming from.

“We knew we were going to win games, we know how to win games. We score enough goals to win games, definitely, and it’s just a case of doing what we’ve been doing and maybe the luck of the draw was going to change at some point in terms of not conceding or scoring a goal.

“I feel like we probably got the rub of the green on the margins on the night.”

Crucially, Ipswich came from behind once again. No side in the league has done it more than them, gaining exactly 20 points from losing positions.

Chaplin revealed that “a lot has been spoken about it”, highlighting that their resilience will take them a long way given the strength of the teams in the league.

The Blues took four points from five games between December 16th and January 1st (Image: Ross Halls)

“It’s impressive but it’s a big part of the group and the way we are,” he argued. “We don’t panic and we don’t change if we go a goal down. I think everyone’s starting to see that there’s no panic in the lads at all.

“That’s genuine, I’m not just saying that. It’s a big thing that the boss spoke about last season and I think we’ve come on leaps and bounds.

“It’s just about continuing to do what we’re doing. The game doesn’t turn on its head because of one goal, especially in the first half, and I think we’ve shown that we can still be in control and still be dangerous even if we’re a goal behind.

Kieran McKenna has repeatedly stressed the need for resilience in his side - and Town have shown a lot of it (Image: Pagepix Ltd)
“We trust the process and it’s turned out well for us. We’re going to concede goals because we’re playing against great players and really good teams, but we back ourselves to score a lot of goals as well. That’s something that we’re really proud of and happy about.”

Tonight’s game against the Foxes is important. Not only can Town re-establish their lead on the chasing pack, but they can cut the gap on the league leaders, who’ll be without numerous key players.

They are, however, one of the best teams in the history of the division, but while Ipswich remain the underdogs, Chaplin isn’t ready to label the clash as a free hit.

Chaplin is confident that the Blues can get a result from their trip to the King Power Stadium (Image: Ross Halls)

“It’s definitely not a free hit,” he argued. “I don’t think we’d see any game like that.

“We prepare way too hard and way too articulately to look at games as free hits. We fancy our chances against any team in this division.

“I think we’ve shown that, on any certain day, we can be a match for anyone in this league. I feel like that was case on Boxing Day. I think we matched them, if not deserving of the three points ever so fractionally on that day.

“They’re the best team in the division without a doubt. They’ve got a great squad, Premier League experience and Premier League players that’ll be looking to get back there. It’s a place we’ll be looking to go and get a positive result.”