Ipswich Town supporters will be hoping that their relegation-threatened team’s positive January continues against Brighton and Hove Albion, with a draw and a win already collected this month in all competitions.
After the Seagulls travel to Suffolk, Kieran McKenna‘s men then have a double whammy of Manchester City and Liverpool to contend with, as more and more fixtures in the Premier League come thick and fast for the Tractor Boys.
The Northern Irish manager will know he can rely on the likes of Liam Delap moving forward among other top first-team personnel to continue to put in admirable performances, with the 21-year-old wanting to let his football do the talking amidst rampant speculation linking him with a move away from the top-flight minnows.
How Ipswich can ensure Premier League survival
In all fairness, McKenna’s men have been far from poor this term with some notable players becoming household names across the campaign to date.
The biggest part of their survival bid will be the aforementioned Delap. He’s seriously caught the eye on the way to notching up plenty of goals with his eighth Premier League strike of a glittering season coming last time out versus Fulham when he calmly slotted a penalty away in the 2-2 draw.
Before that, he also managed to score and assist during a dramatic 2-0 win over Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea, with the Blues now interested in snapping up the potent attacker at some point this January.
There have been other star performers in the side which include Leif Davis at the back who has transitioned to top-flight football equally as well.
The ex-Leeds United man has three goal contributions next to his name in the league as a gung-ho option in defence but has also managed to show solidity at the back when needed, notably winning as many as six duels won in total versus Nottingham Forest back in November.
Alongside these two faces, there have been other standout individuals such as Dara O’Shea who won five duels himself versus Chelsea, but there have also been some notable underperformers.
One of which has been the captain…
Sam Morsy’s difficult adjustment to Premier League life was clear for all to see in Ipswich’s last league clash at Fulham, with the midfielder giving away one of the two spot-kicks at Craven Cottage due to some reckless tackling on a day where most of his play felt erratic.
He ended up winning just two of his seven duels against Marco Silva’s hosts – with his average per game for the season a far heftier 4.3. His showing against Chelsea was also below-par considering all of the star performers surrounding him, having registered just 71% of his passes.
Therefore, McKenna could well have a selection conundrum to address involving the long-standing Ipswich servant, with Kalvin Phillips also standing out in the FA Cup in his place with a goal tallied up against Bristol Rovers.
With Nemanja Matic also touted with a move to Suffolk, there might not be space for the 33-year-old veteran anymore in his starting XI on a consistent basis, despite the fact Morsy has been a regular during the club’s
promotion heroics.On top of Morsy sliding down the pecking order due to his out-of-sorts form, he could soon be axed for good by Ipswich owing to his high salary which sees him rake in a £30k-per-week pay packet.
Amazingly, both Delap and Davis earn less despite taking to the top flight like a duck to water, with the exciting pair both taking home a lesser £20k-per-week.
Whilst Morsy did win the club’s Player of the Year for his side just last year as promotion was reached, McKenna will know he needs to keep up with the times, which could result in the ageing midfielder’s game-time lessening even more as survival is sought after.
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