Ipswich Town forward Marcus Harness says the players know they aren't perfect but insists automatic promotion rivals Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield Wednesday will also slip up.

The Blues occupied a top-two spot in League One for the majority of the first half of the campaign, but three wins from the last 10 league games has seen them drop to third with 20 games to go.

Plymouth, who scored in stoppage-time to secure a 1-1 draw at Portman Road last Saturday, sit seven points clear of Town at the top (having played one extra game).

Sheffield Wednesday, meanwhile, are four points ahead following a five-game win streak across all competitions.

"It's a long season," said Harness, with Town now preparing for games against Oxford United (away on Saturday) and Morecambe (home next Tuesday).

"Every team will have moments. When other teams slip up, we just need to capitilise on them. We just need to keep doing what we're doing, keep playing well and just try and rack up as many points as possible.

East Anglian Daily Times: Wes Burns is congratulated by team-mates after putting Ipswich Town ahead against Plymouth Argyle.Wes Burns is congratulated by team-mates after putting Ipswich Town ahead against Plymouth Argyle. (Image: Steve Waller)

"I think we are quietly confident that we can achieve something. We don't want to scream and talk too much because obviously anything could happen in the second half of the season.

"Nothing is guaranteed and nobody is going to give us anything. Just because you're a good team it doesn't mean that you're automatically going to achieve what you set out to achieve.

"We're keeping quiet, keeping our heads down, just working hard to get to where we want to be and trying to make adjustments along the way - because we know we aren't perfect.

"The manager and all the staff are working like no other staff that I've ever seen, giving direction and helping the players.

"It's not like any dressing room I've been a part of before. You can see just how driven everyone is. Everyone is positive. There's no cliques - everyone is pulling in the same direction.

"Hopefully we can do enough to achieve what we're looking to do."

Harness has scored seven goals in 21 starts and seven substuitute appearances for the Blues since making a £600k switch from League One rivals Portsmouth last summer.

Reflecting on that switch in the matchday programme, Harness said: "I moved on from Burton so that people out in the football world could see that I could handle playing for a club where there's a lot of expectation. At Portsmouth, we didn't quite achieve what we would have liked when I was there, but I think I did a decent job over the three years on the whole.

"I handled that pressure and that made people take a bit of notice of me. If I had maybe had the same kind of performance levels, but still been at Burton, I might not have been on the radar of Ipswich over the course of last season, to make them want to bring me here.

East Anglian Daily Times: Marcus Harness in action in action for Ipswich Town.Marcus Harness in action in action for Ipswich Town. (Image: Steve Waller)

"I was expecting to leave Portsmouth last summer to be honest. I'd been there for three years and I think that my time there was done. There were a couple of places that I could have gone to - I had a decision to make.

"But then I spoke to the manager here. He talked to me about his vision, the way I'd fit into the system and the way we were going to play. All that sold me on coming here.

"That was a bit of a surprise to me really. Last summer was a time where I wanted to go and push on and show that I could play in the Championship. There was an opportunity there for me to go and do that.

"But the size of the project that we have here, where the club is looking to go over the next four or five years, over the longer-term, made it no-brainer to come here and try to be part of something really good."