Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy on utilising long break from action to their advantage ahead of AFC Bournemouth return and seeing Dara O’Shea take the armband

Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy says the Blues have utilised the long wait between fixtures to their benefit ahead of the final nine Premier League matches of the season.

The 17-day break from competitive action will come to an end on Wednesday as Town face Bournemouth (7.45pm) in what will be the first-ever top flight meeting between the clubs at the Vitality Stadium.

The Blues make the journey to the south coast off the back of four straight Premier League defeats and will aim to avoid a fifth straight league loss for the first time in more than 13 years.

As a result of the struggling form, Morsy believes the gap in the calendar has served as a good opportunity to hit the reset button as Town continue to fight for what is becoming an increasingly less likely chance of survival.

“In some aspects it’s a positive as it’s back to doing what you’ve been doing,” he said.

“There was a time in the season where we were really competitive, we won a couple of games and every game was a tight one.

“We need to get back to that which we can do. We’ve refreshed, taken stock and we’ll come back stronger.

“It was a good international break for us. We’re entering the last quarter of the season now and two really good games to look forward to.

“The manager loves being on the grass training and working so it’s been really beneficial for us. We’ve done lots of work so the lads feel really sharp and have had some good training.”

While Morsy remained in Suffolk, it was a busy week away for 11 of the Blues’ first team players who were called up for international duty.

As club captain, Morsy keeps an eye on how his club team-mates are doing for their nations and was delighted to see some success for a handful of the Town squad.

He said: “It depends on if they’re important games or whatever. It was nice to catch up with all of them and there’s been a lot of goals and some good results for them guys.”

Having been virtually an ever-present in the majority of manager Kieran McKenna’s time at the club, Morsy has seen his game-time decrease in the last few months due to competition from Kalvin Phillips and Jens Cajuste.

The former Middlesbrough midfielder has started just one of the last five Premier League matches, but dropping out of the side has only made Morsy hungrier to fight for his place back.

“That’s the challenge,” he argued. “It’s a challenge in any team and especially a Premier League team. But whatever the question is the answer’s the same – it’s hard work, working

on things you need to work on and coming back better.

“It’s part of the role. If you’re not like that then you haven’t got a chance, and if you are like that you might have half a chance.

“It’s always challenges. You can’t be happy being out the team but you have to be a good team-mate. You have to be supportive and have good energy, but of course you want to work harder than that.

“With this manager you’re never going to get back in the team not working harder, culturally he wouldn’t accept that so it’s always the case. You’ve got to work hard to stay in the team and work hard to get back in the team.”

The midfielder’s absence has opened the door for Dara O’Shea to take the captain’s armband in recent weeks, and Morsy only has praise for how the Irishman has stepped up to the task.

The 33-year-old also stressed that his own role as club captain does not change regardless as to whether he is on the field or watching on from the sidelines.

Morsy said: “You’ve got to stay consistent with it. If you only do your roles and responsibilities when you’re playing then you’re not a good team-mate never mind a captain.

“One thing the manager says is putting the team first and that’s what we always do so nothing really changes for me.

“Dara’s really good. I think he’s having a good season, he’s a good leader and he’s impressed me. He never shies away, he’s a good communicator and he’s got a lot of positive attributes.”

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With nine matches remaining and a nine-point gap to Wolverhampton Wanderers to make up, nobody is underestimating the size of the challenge.

Morsy acknowledged what it would mean to survive in the Premier League but highlighted that he and the club will take each game as it comes.

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“It’s just to try and win the next game really and not think too far ahead,” he said. “There’s nine games in quite quick succession for the league but we’re just focusing on the next game.

“Of course it would be an incredible achievement but it’s just about putting that energy into the next game.”