Ipswich Town midfielder Conor Chaplin stated the Blues ‘fancy themselves against any team’ in the Sky Bet Championship as Kieran McKenna’s side prepare to face Leicester City tonight (8pm).
The Blues, who find themselves in third place after Southampton’s 3-1 win at Swansea on Saturday, are seven points off the Foxes and know that any positive result at the King Power Stadium will see them return back into the automatic promotion places.
Although Leicester have set the pace at the top of the table, Chaplin is going into tonight’s game full of confidence and positivity.
“It’s definitely not a free hit, I don’t think we see any game like that. I think we prepare way too hard and way too articulately to look at games as free hits,” said the 26-year-old.
“We fancy our chances against any team in this division. I think we’ve shown that on any certain day we can be a match for anyone in this league and I felt that was the case on Boxing Day (when the side’s played out a 1-1 draw).
“We matched them, if not we probably deserved the points ever so fractionally on that day. They’re the best team in the division without a doubt.
“They’ve got a great squad, Premier League experience and Premier League players that will look to get back there definitely but it’s a place we’re looking to go and get a positive result.
“I can’t wait for it. It’s going to be another good occasion, another good stadium, good atmosphere, against a quality team. It’s two teams who are in really good form going at each other which is an exciting game for anyone to be a part of.”
Town travel to the table-toppers after they registered their first win in six league games last time out against Sunderland at Portman Road, and it was the number 10’s header that secured the three points.
Although the Blues went through a winless spell over Christmas, Chaplin stated that the side never lost belief in their qualities.
“We lost one game in that run. We drew probably more than we’ve been used to but it was never a point where we were thinking ‘where is the next win coming from?’,” said Chaplin.
“We know we’re going to win games. We score enough games definitely.
“It’s just a case of keep doing what we’re doing and maybe the luck of the draw was going to change at some point in terms of a goal or not conceding or scoring a goal. I felt we got the rub of the green on the night (against Sunderland).”
Town are still in the hunt for a striker to replace the injured George Hirst, but have signed two players already this window in midfielder Lewis Travis and winger Jeremy Sarmiento.
The former made his full debut against the Black Cats with the Ecuadorian yet to start for Town, but Chaplin waxed lyrical over the impact they have made on the squad already.
“(They’ve settled) really well. It’s an easy group to come into and to integrate into,” he said.
“It’s a good culture that we’ve set at the club and those two have added with one, their personality and their traits as a person, and secondly as a player.
“I think they’ve shown already in one game for Lewis and two games for Jezza (Sarmiento) what they’re going to bring to the team.
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