Today is a day I never thought I would see happen again in my lifetime - my beloved Ipswich Town back where they belong in the topflight of English football.

This lunchtime we don’t line up against Lincoln but instead the mighty Liverpool FC.

The last game we played in the Premier League was over 20 years ago and coincidentally it was against Liverpool.

I’m pinching myself that, after all these seasons in the lower leagues, we’ll be playing the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and next week, Manchester City. Unbelievable.

There’s no getting away with it. It will be tough but my goodness it’s exciting too.

The last two seasons have been incredible with Town getting back-to-back promotions and they thoroughly deserve to be where they are.

It’s so wonderful to see everyone so excited.

I was down at the club shop yesterday buying a couple of the new pink shirts and it was full of people young and old.

The little kids were getting shirts too and it was really great to see how the town is coming together.

Everyone's loving the new pink shirtsEveryone's loving the new pink shirts (Image: ITFC)
It’s a wonderful opportunity for the town of Ipswich to shine.

I know there are various initiatives going on to maximise this opportunity.

Only this week we’ve been on national television and radio no end of times, so hopefully this will give a boost to our county town that it so badly needs.

I well remember the lift Ipswich received the last time we were promoted into the Premier league in 2000. The town was buzzing and it’s starting to feel like that again.

I’ve been a supporter for over 50 years and I’ve seen some good times but equally I’ve seen some very lean times for Ipswich Town. I can remember crowds of only around 10,000 at times but now tickets are rarer than a Norwich city win!

My first match was a home game against Middlesborough in the early 1970s. My big brother took me into the old North Stand.

The home fans and away fans were kept apart by a chain-link fence with a few police officers to try and keep order.

It was dreadful with all sorts of things like darts and coins being thrown between the opposing supporters.

Thankfully those youngsters going today will have a much better experience. The club goes out of its way to look after young fans and families, which is the way forward.

Whole new generations of Ipswich supporters are being created and long may that continue.

On my Life’s a Pitch YouTube show, we’ve been discussing Town's chances of staying up and I’ve gone for a top 10 finish - a tad ambitious maybe but I think we’ve got the best manager in the country.

I genuinely believe that Keiran Mckenna, supported by Mark Ashton, and his board can really take this club right to the very top of English football.

The club has had three great managers, two of whom managed England - Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson, The other, George Burley, managed Scotland.

I think Kieran is up there and I can think of no better person to take on the legacy of those top managers. I was the stadium announcer last season but I’ve stepped down this season as my voice isn’t as strong as it used to be, so good luck to Dave Vant, my successor. He’ll certainly get the crowd going and I’ll be amongst them in the Sir Bobby Robson upper stand.

All together now, BLUE ARMY!