Ipswich Town: Conor Townsend's first interview at Blues

New Ipswich Town defender Conor Townsend says there will be 'difficult times' ahead for the club in the Premier League - but the team can stick together and work through it.

The 31-year-old arrived from West Brom this morning, signing a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee, understood to be £500,000.

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He brings with him vast experience, having played more than 400 games in total, including over 200 for the Baggies - 25 of which were in the Premier League in the 2020/21 campaign.

And it's that top tier challenge which has brought him to Town.

Conor Townsend has signed a two-year deal at Town (Image: ITFC)
He explained: “The challenge to come back to the Premier League was a massive one.

“I did one season with West Brom there and it was during Covid as well so I feel like I lost out on it a little bit.

“So I’m 31 now and at my age these opportunities don’t come around often so I was eager to come and jumped at the chance.”

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Townsend adds to the sparse Premier League experience in the squad - just ten of the team have played in the top tier, led by Ben Johnson's 69 games for West Ham.

And the Hull-born left back says the task ahead will be a big one.

Townsend played 25 games in the Premier League for West Brom in 2020/21 (Image: ITFC)
"It’s the best league in the world for a reason," he insisted. 

"There’s a lot of difficult games, there’s going to be difficult times this season for us as a club – it’s about sticking together and working through that.

“I think the team that we’ve got, last season I played against us twice and both games were tough games, and they deserved to get promoted.

“You can carry that momentum into the Premier League and I’m sure that’s what the lads will be wanting to do.”

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And Townsend, who played 46 games for the Baggies last season, laying on four assists, knows exactly what to expect from Town in terms of style of play.

The man who looks set to serve as back-up for assist machine Leif Davis faced the Blues twice with West Brom last term, winning one and drawing one. But the matches made an impression on him.

He recalled: "Both tough games, the style of football that Ipswich played last season – and will hopefully play going forwards – is a difficult one to play against, hence why they had the success last season.”

Conor Townsend is looking forward to working with Kieran McKenna (Image: PA)
Of boss Kieran McKenna and that playing style, he added: “I spoke to the manager this morning.

"He seems like a great guy and the people who are here – I know a couple of the lads – speak really highly of him, so I’m looking forward to getting started and working under him.

"The manager has identified what he wants, he knows how his teams play.

“He’s really set on that and I think the recruitment will reflect that – not just myself, but the other lads who come in.

“I’m looking forward to getting started and seeing what he wants from us, and hopefully we can try and implement it.”

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Of course, it always helps to settle in at a new club when you know a few friendly faces, and Townsend has a couple to lean on in his early days with the Blues.

“I know a couple," he said. "I played with Cam Burgess at Scunthorpe for a year or two, we’re really good friends.

“And (Jacob) Greavesy obviously only just signed, but we’re both from the same place so we know each other from that as well.”

Townsend and fellow new signing Jacob Greaves are both from Hull (Image: ITFC)
Asked to describe himself off the pitch, Townsend replied:  “I’m very laid back. I enjoy playing golf in my spare time, when I’m not running after my two daughters!

“Family for me is the main thing I look forward to – and that’s why moving down as a family is really important to me.

“Travelling back and forth from Birmingham doesn’t really align with what I want, and my partner’s exactly the same, she wants us to be together.”

Of the golf, he added: “I’m playing off ten at the minute. Some days are ok, some days are very bad!

“I think a few of the lads play so we’ll see, hopefully I can get involved.”

Conor Townsend says he's a hard-working, experienced player (Image: ITFC)
Ultimately, it will be on the pitch where Town fans want to see the best of their new signing.

So what can they expect of him on the grass?

“I’m experienced, I’ve played over 400 games now," Townsend said.

“As a player I feel like I’m very hard-working, you know what you’re going to get from me on the pitch.

“I’ve obviously got qualities which have allowed me to have a pretty decent career in the game so far and hopefully I can bring them to the team.

“The experience, with a lot of the younger lads, hopefully I can hep in that aspect as well.”