Beware of Wigan - De Vos

JASON De Vos last night warned Town fans not to get carried away after he bravely anchored the Blues defence in victory at Burnley while his former club Wigan slipped up at the top.

The Canadian skipper ignored an extremely painful bruised thigh to take his place in a Town side he joined from Championship leaders Wigan in the summer.

And while he refuses to miss a game in Town's league campaign, De Vos warns it is going to be a long, hard battle against a terrific Latics team.

He said: "It is a long season and you have to be consistent from the first game to the last. Wigan have lost and some people may look at that and think the wheels have come off there, but it is only one game.

"They are a good side, I knew that when I left them they would be up there challenging, and that is why it was a difficult decision to leave.

"Equally I knew by coming to Ipswich I would have just as good a chance of getting promotion and the way we have played so far this season I'm being proved right.

"We have got off to a good start and we are in a good position. We are where we want to be and if we can go into the new year and still be where we are we will be pleased.

"We can then crack on and start thinking about making a charge for the top."

Three hard fought points at Turf Moor helped the cause and de Vos paid tribute to the man he replaced at the heart of the Town defence.

He said: "Not many teams are going to come here and grind out results. They are a very resilient team, with John McGreal in particular making a difference.

"He is a very good defender who organised the defence so well. Robbie Blake was a real handful up front. He is a tricky player who usually makes them tick but we denied service to him.

"We knew if we could squeeze Blake that would deny them and we worked hard to achieve that.

"I'm delighted with the way we played and to get a clean sheet."

The Canadian captain played down his public spat with Town skipper Jim Magilton which ended with handshakes all round after the match.

He said: "It was nothing. It happens in football all the time. I have a go at people and I expect my team-mates to have ago at me. Players are going to fall out on the pitch all the time but it is nothing. It is only because we are both winners and want to be perfect each game and keep clean sheets.

"Jim is a competitor. He doesn't like making mistakes and he doesn't like it when his team-mates make mistakes. He expects us to be perfect out there and that is what you need from a skipper.

"You want a leader who leads from the front, and Jim always wants the ball and always wants to play football – that is why he has been so successful over his career."

He also made light of his latest injury, after playing on with a cracked fibula and a broken toe, De Vos surprised the club's coaching staff by announcing himself fit to play late Saturday morning.

He was pushed to the pain barrier by physio Dave Williams who kneaded the Canadian's thigh in order to disperse the build-up of blood.

De Vos said: "I have had this sort of thing before where I have had no chance on the Friday yet wake up on the Saturday and am ready to give it a go.

"I was lucky. If I had taken a knock or even brought the ball down on my thigh I would have been in trouble as it was so tender.

"Dave Williams did a great job. He put me through so much pain on Friday and Saturday morning with the theory being if I could tolerate that I could tolerate playing.

"I don't like missing games and I work on the premise if I can run I can play."

De Vos and his team-mates have a chance to recover from his knocks with a couple of days off and some light training before starting to prepare for the Leeds United game.