Versatile defender Janoi Donacien believes that Ipswich Town’s work rate could be the difference for them in the Championship this season.
The Blues have started life back in the second tier with two wins from their first two games, knocking Bristol Rovers out of the Carabao Cup as well. As it stands, they’re one of just two teams on maximum points so far, sitting above Leicester City on goal difference alone.
Of course, the challenge will be to maintain that over the next few months, but Donacien is confident that they'll be able to keep up the pace, starting with tomorrow’s clash against QPR.
“They’re at home, so we’re expecting them to get the crowd behind them,” he said about the trip to Loftus Road.
“I know they’re going to be pushing to stick the ball on us, and we’re going to look to adapt and get the ball down to go the opposite way and play our game.
“We know how much work we do. We work hard on and off the pitch, we look at everything. We had a really good pre-season where we really knuckled down and said ‘this is how hard we’re going to work’.
“We’re going to work so hard on the pitch. We’re going to try and outrun teams, we’re going to try and outwork teams, and we’re going to pressure teams.”
On the surface, Town are adapting to Championship football with relative ease, but it’s harder than it looks for manager Kieran McKenna and his players, who've certainly felt how difficult their first two games have been.
WATCH: Alex and Stu discuss Kieran McKenna's pre-QPR press conference
Donacien agrees that the standards are higher, but believes that the team have used a more aggressive approach in order to help them stand toe-to-toe with some of the stronger sides in the division.
“I feel like the rotations are different,” he admitted. “We’re finding that we have to stay up a bit more, so we have to be a bit more aggressive at certain times compared to last year.
“Teams didn’t play as much football, so they’d kick it back, we’d probably nod it down and go play again.
“We’re finding that we’re having to be more aggressive in our pressure, so we have to squeeze up a bit more. I think that’s the only difference that we’ve seen so far.”
For Donacien, one of the main priorities has been playing regular football, having been sent out on loan to Accrington Stanley and Fleetwood Town earlier in his Ipswich career.
His main competition is Harry Clarke, who was the first-choice right-back last season, while Dom Ball has also arisen as an option despite being a natural midfielder.
Donacien isn’t one to shy away from the challenge, however, revealing that the fight for a place in the starting lineup is pushing him to improve both in training and in games.
“They [Clarke and Ball] are both great players,” he explained.
“We’ll keep pushing each other. It’s the same as anyone else in any of the other positions.
“We’re always going to be there for each other, we’ll always keep pushing each other and we’ll be as competitive as we can be with each other.
“I think Dom can play anywhere, he’s a quality player. I love watching him play when he’s on the ball. He’s a great guy as well.”
The strength in depth throughout the squad has only been improved by Town’s summer business, with four players coming in with two weeks of the transfer window remaining.
Jack Taylor, Cieran Slicker, George Hirst and Omari Hutchinson have all impressed since arriving at Portman Road, which Donacien thinks is down to how easily they’ve been able to settle into the group.
“I think it’s important that we’ve got a really good group of players,” he revealed. “We’re very welcoming.
“I think the boys will tell you the same thing. There hasn’t been a time where they’ve been by themselves.
“They’ve moulded well into the group, and there’s some top-quality players.”
Of course, the club have only been able to recruit this way by sealing promotion from League One, which was a much harder task than many had imagined at the time.
Donacien played a small part in the team that was relegated to the second tier in 2018/19, but he went on to play a crucial role in guiding them back, which he is incredibly proud of doing.
“I think it’s a completely different club,” he argued. “In fact, the club is looking in a direction that it wasn’t when I first joined, it’s fair to say.
“I feel like the club has had ups and downs. There were certain points where we were thinking that things were looking good and certain times where things weren’t looking so good. The club’s been on an upwards trajectory for a while now.
“As the club’s been going through ups and downs, we’ve been going through ups and downs ourselves. I’ve been in and out of the team, out on loan. Woolfie [Luke Woolfenden] went out on loan, I went out on loan, Jacko [Kayden Jackson] has been in and out of the team.
“It’s been a real journey, a real footballing journey. It’s one to be proud of.”
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