The fact Ipswich Town have worked their way back into the promotion race and still have more firepower to add, is a source of great encouragement to match-winning skipper Luke Chambers.

The Blues, who slipped from top in August into the bottom half following a nightmare September and October, hold sixth place in the Championship after Chambers’ last-gasp header secured a 2-1 victory over QPR on Boxing Day.

The recovery has come despite the likes of Ryan Fraser, David McGoldrick and Luke Hyam spending time on the sidelines and – with Luke Varney now added to the squad, Tommy Oar yet to fully emerge and Teddy Bishop working towards a return – the skipper believes the Blues will only get stronger.

“To bring a player like Ryan (Fraser) on is great, as well as Tommy Oar who has been very good for us in training recently, so I think we’re going to start to see the best of him now,” he said. “We have Varnes (Luke Varney), Lukey Hyam and a couple more in McGoldrick and Teddy Bishop to come back in too and we’re looking strong.

“All we can try and do is try and keep pace at the top of the league and beat the teams ahead of us.

“We’ve fought very hard to get back into the top six although we’ve had two defeats against Derby and Middlesbrough, who are two of the better teams in the league in my opinion.

“All we can do is try and test ourselves against the teams above us and keep doing what we’ve been doing against the teams below us.”

Next up for the Blues is a trip to Brighton tomorrow, with Chambers not expecting the festive period to cause the squad any problems when it comes to fitness.

“I think people make a lot of it being busy over Christmas but I don’t think it’s much different to the way it’s been since the start of the season,” he said.

“It’s Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday and we have to keep plodding away and keep our performances consistent.

“We’re looked after very well these days in how we’re allowed to recover, so we’ll work and then travel down to Brighton looking to pick up another win.

“We’ve beaten teams below us in the league so it’s an opportunity now to test ourselves against the teams at the top. We’re looking up, rather than down and we’re trying to stay in that top six.”