Ipswich Town goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky has praised his side to local media and insisted they are ready for the Championship run-in after the international break.
The Tractor Boys have won seven of their past ten games, including the 6-0 demolition of relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday last weekend. They’ve lost just once in eight, the 2-1 reverse to Cardiff City.
Hladky has been an ever-present all season in goal, starting 38 games and has helped himself to 12 clean sheets. Kieran McKenna’s side sit at the top of the tree in the second tier for goals scored with an impressive 80 goals.
Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead appear to be having an in-house battle for the club’s Golden Boot, with both players on 12 goals so far. Chaplin has seven assists as well.
Left-back Leif Davis has also been a big part of their success this season, with 14 assists and one goal to his bow, to add to his defensive solidity.
“Saturday was probably the best way we could go into an international break,” praised Hladky, speaking to the East Anglian Daily Times.
“The next two weeks will be the same as always. We’ve got some days off to recover a bit, but there will also be a lot of hard work. There are eight big games in front of us and we want to be prepared as much as we can.
“There’s always belief. It’s been that way for two years now. The biggest belief is that we can win every single game. We will start with the next game. It was enjoyable for everybody in the stadium. Listen, it seems really easy, but you have to start well, you have to go through some difficulties, we did that, then got the rewards. Every game is a challenge and this one was as well.”
“If you watch back our games we always create loads of chances. A lot of our games, especially here, could have ended up like that. This time pretty much everything went in.“
Following the international break, the East Anglian’s resume their calendar with games away to relegation-threatened Blackburn Rovers who are one of eight teams separated by just five points. Town then host fellow promotion-chasers Southampton in a potential six-pointer.
Writer’s View
With such high quality in the Championship, Ipswich will need to pick up as many points as they possibly can. With just one point separating the top three, they could potentially even win the league.
Hladky is a top goalkeeper and with players such as Davis, Chaplin and Broadhead, the Tractor Boys are already somewhat prepared for the Premier League. A few new faces through the door to build around those sorts of players and Kieran McKenna’s side could even stay in the top league. Exciting times for the club and their fans!
