Winger Mustapha Carayol is pleased with the start he’s made to life at Ipswich Town but insists he still has more to give as he bids to earn a long-term deal at Portman Road.
Carayol, signed in January until the end of the season following his release by Nottingham Forest, put in a match-winning display at Preston as he scored the only goal of the game during a first half in which he threatened the home defence almost every time he got the ball.
He has played just 75 minutes for the Blues since joining the club, in part due to an illness which kept him out of the loss to Cardiff and forced him off at the break at Deepdale, and the 29-year-old is now looking forward to making even more of an impact as he pushes to start again at Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night.
“That’s the style I play, I always try to be positive and some days that’s not going to happen, which every attacking player has,” Carayol said.
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“I always try and be positive and always try and make an impact.
“I don’t want to jinx myself but this is a good start so hopefully I can get a few more under my belt and hopefully be able to make more of an impact and help the team.
“I’m more for helping the strikers score a lot of goals but obviously if I can contribute goals along the way then it’s good.
“Sometimes you just have to count your blessings and accept maybe it wasn’t the right time for you to play. I managed to play and managed to get a goal, so I’m happy and I just hope I am able to get a lot more starts between now and the end of the season.
“I would definitely like to stay long-term but you never know in football. You always want that bit of security and to make yourself at home, but I’m just concentrating between now and the end of the season so hopefully I do well enough for the gaffer to sit me down and see what we can sort out going forward.”
Carayol’s substitute appearance in the 0-0 draw with Burton saw him play on the right flank before switching to the left for his first start against Preston – and it is in that position he believes he can do the most damage going forward.
“I’ve always kind of played on the left, although the first game the gaffer put me on on the right and I was a bit frustrated, but I was glad to be able to play on the left,” he said.
“I hope the fans see me play off the left a lot more because I feel I’m more effective when I do play on the left.”
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