Freddie Sears is ready to play his part in what he believes is an Ipswich Town strikeforce to be feared this season.

The 25-year-old netted nine times for the Blues following a mid-season switch from Colchester and, having hit the ground running, is relishing the prospect of his first full campaign at Portman Road.

He faces fierce competition for a place up front though, with Daryl Murphy having finished as the Championship’s 27-goal top-scorer last season, 2013/14 talisman David McGoldrick fit again and proven goalscorer Brett Pitman having arrived from last season’s second tier champions Bournemouth.

“There was an initial feeling that it could have been us at Wembley, but we quickly drew a line under that,” said Sears, reflecting on last season’s sixth-place finish and play-off semi-final defeat to Norwich.

“And with the four strikers we have I think we’ll cause a lot of teams problems.

“We’re trying to play a bit more – there’s more emphasis on keeping the ball.

“But the way we’ve been playing over the last couple of years, the grit and the determination, it wins games. And that’s better than playing good football every week and losing.

“You have to find the right balance and if we get that right I’m sure we’ll be up there.”

The livewire front man, who burst onto the scene at Premier League side West Ham as a teenager but dropped down to League One in order to rebuild his career, continued: “I remember the first day I came here – it felt like I had been here four or five years. (Luke) Chambers, the captain, is brilliant with that. He makes everyone feel part of it.

“That helped me come in and hit the ground running from my first training session really. To come in and do so well, I was just over the moon.

“Every season is a big season, but this one feels like a particularly big one for me. Last season I scored 23 goals for Colchester and Ipswich. This year I want to be easily double figures, looking towards 15/20.”

Town have just enjoyed a week-long training camp in Dublin, which concluded with a 6-0 win over weakened Irish second tier outfit Shelbourne. The pre-season preparations step up a notch on Friday with a game at German second tier team Fortuna Dusseldorf.

“I know what a big club this is and it’s a pleasure to be playing for Ipswich Town,” said Sears. “As soon as I put the kit on it just felt right. Last season was great for the town and hopefully there are many more good times to come.”