Editor of LFW’s sister site, Ipswich Town’s TWTD, Philip Ham tells LFW Mick McCarthy’s team can continue to fight the division’s big spenders all the way to the play-offs.

What’s changed since we last spoke? (Previous interview here.)

PH: Not an enormous amount. Town are sixth, a point ahead of Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham, just as they were going into the match on Boxing Day.

The Blues won their last game 2-1 at home in the final moments, again just as they did on Boxing Day, with Reading this time the opponents.

Home form hasn’t continued to be a bit iffy - except on Tuesdays when Town have remarkably won their last 16 matches at Portman Road - while we’ve continued to be more impressive on our travels with the away record the second best in the division.

Fairly quiet transfer window… Two out and two in, tell us about them.

PH: Mick McCarthy has said he’s happy with his squad and believes that to improve on what he’s already got he’d have to spend bigger money than is available to him.

Full-back Jonny Parr left to go back to Norway and Strømsgodset in order to play more regular football, while Australian international Tommy Oar asked to have his contract terminated after failing to settle having joined in the summer.

Former Irish international Kevin Foley, who played for McCarthy for some years at Wolves, has come in as Parr’s replacement, while ex-Arsenal, Charlton, West Brom and Crystal Palace veteran Jerome Thomas is currently on trial with a view to replacing Oar.

Ex-England U19 and U20 international Paul Digby, a 20-year-old midfielder or defender, has come in on loan from Barnsley for the remainder of the season with an eye towards signing permanently if he impresses.

A new contract for Mick McCarthy, how’s that been received? Is there a belief he can take you up and keep you there? Any dissenters?

PH: The vast majority of fans were happy to see McCarthy and his assistant Terry Connor extend their deals to 2018 with options for a further two years.

There has been significant progress in the three-and-a-bit years they’ve been at the club. When they took over the Blues were on course for relegation to League One but they escaped and each subsequent season has seen an improved finish.

There are detractor boys, of course, largely those who would prefer to see the Blues play a more attractive brand of football.

Are Ipswich going to need to spend some money to beat the likes of Derby, Boro etc to promotion from this division given their outlay?

PH: Looking at Derby’s current form, not necessarily, but ultimately it’s the clubs that spend the most that usually end up filling the top few places and Town haven’t splashed the cash on the scale that the Rams, Boro and others have this season.

Owner Marcus Evans has continued the more sustainable approach of signing free transfers - which has been a success with the likes of David McGoldrick, Daryl Murphy, Cole Skuse and Christophe Berra all joining via that route - and paying small fees for players with release clauses in the contracts at their previous clubs, such as Freddie Sears, Jonas Knudsen and Piotr Malarczyk.

In addition the Blues have made a couple of loan signings, Player of the Year favourite Ryan Fraser and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, while there are a number of promising academy players making good progress who are likely to come more into the first-team set-up in the next few years.

McCarthy has admitted that Town are unlikely to compete for a top two place but the play-offs were always the pre-season target.

How do you see the season panning out for Town?

PH: I suspect Town’s season will progress much as it has up to now and we’ll end the season somewhere between fifth and seventh.

Who’s going up and down this season?

PH: Hull City - for me the best team Town have played this season - and Middlesbrough to go up automatically and via the play-offs I have to say Town, obviously. Going down, Bolton, Charlton and the MK Dons.

The Twitter @TWTDUK, @loftforwords

Pictures — Action Images

Photo: Action Images

terryb added 18:24 - Feb 4 Clive, Interested to see you regaurd that TWTD as a sister site. I have always felt the fanzine (if it still exists) as one of the heavyweights alongside AKUTR's. Living in Ipswich, I've always considered that the two clubs have so much in common that we should be natural allies. However, not only do the two sets of supporters not particulary like each other, the two clubs have historically not got on! Whether this is still the case you would know more than me, but Gregory & Cobbold certainly had no time for each other. Mr. John was not a fan of our Jim, but this was insignificant compared to Mr Patrick's dislike! He relayed this to me every time we were due to face each other!

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TacticalR added 23:41 - Feb 4 Thanks to Philip. It will be interesting to see whether we go down the Ipswich route of relative stability and hoping for a play-off place, or carry on lurching from one strategy to another.
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Northernr added 14:42 - Feb 5 terryb - Sister site in that we're part of the same company.
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