Ipswich Town column: Next three games over Christmas crucial for Town and their bid for promotion

Town need to get through these next three games unscathed before January excitement begins.

Another day closer to Christmas but more importantly, another day closer to the January transfer window.

Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Wycombe was frustrating and meant we would not be the shining star at the top of the table for Christmas.

It’s felt like a strange few weeks, with injuries and more disappointments than the joys we had experienced earlier on in the campaign.

That said, we are still second and Boxing Day’s bout with Oxford United will be our 23rd match of the season, meaning we are now halfway through and still on course for promotion.

Last week, I mentioned Town just need to get through this period so we can then regroup, take stock and potentially reinvest in January to get us over the line. But before that can happen, there’s the small task of three games in a week, with two of them requiring long travel.

I have complete trust that Mark Ashton and Kieran McKenna are planning for a successful January, but it’s vital we get through these next three still on course for a celebration in May.

Just imagine, Town win their next three and we then head into January top of the pile, flying and looking like an even more promising place for new recruits to join. But on the flip side, if Town were to fall out of the top two and get themselves in a bit of a rut, that could have implications too.

If we’re being realistic, it still is early days and Town have 24 games left to get the job done with history suggesting McKenna’s side have always bounced back well from a defeat.

So as we approach the halfway point, can you really remember a single team outplaying us? I certainly can’t. And with an intelligent, talented manager at the helm, I more than fancy us to right any wrongs in the second half of the campaign.