BLUES new boy Luke Chambers has only been at the club for a month – but he likes what he sees.

At the age of 26, the centre-back – who signed on a free transfer after skippering Nottingham Forest last season – is one of the senior figures in a Blues dressing room which has become significantly younger over the summer.

And having already established himself as a loud character at the club, the defender is quietly confident that long-awaited progress is finally about to be made at Portman Road ahead of Saturday’s Championship opener against Blackburn.

“I’ve seen very quickly that we’ve got a very, very good group of players here,” said Chambers,

“It’s strange because I am a little bit older than most of the boys. I am one of the senior players, I’ve played a lot of games in my career now and there is a responsibility for me to take on.

“I’m not one to shy away from people and the lads have made it very easy for me to settle in quickly. I feel like I’ve been here a long time already.

“I’ll be trying to help the other boys as much as I can, but this is a group of players with good heads on their shoulders.

“I don’t think they’ll need too many arms around their shoulders along the way because everyone seems really focused on the job in hand.”

Chambers has been a steady presence in pre-season following initial doubt about where he would play his football next season.

In the last three matches – the final friendlies against West Ham and Colchester United and Tuesday night’s Capital One Cup success against Bristol Rovers – he has been paired with Tommy Smith, the 22-year-old fresh from his experience at London 2012.

That seems to be Paul Jewell’s favoured central defensive partnership with Damien Delaney offering back-up and the manager continuing to target a fourth defender.

Whoever he is alongside, Chambers has been impressed with everything he has seen since completing his free transfer to .

He explained: “From what I’ve seen, not only have these players got the ability, but they’ve got the mindset too.

“The focus in that dressing room is unbelievable.

“All everyone wants to do is go out and win and be successful. No corners have been cut this pre-season at all. Everyone has come back in great shape and the gaffer has been delighted by that.

“I think the boys, in all honesty, felt they underachieved last year. They want to go out and prove that.

“The quality in the dressing room is of a very good standard and I don’t see any reason why we can’t make an impact this season.”