WE really did not know what to expect as we headed for our pre-match watering holes for the match against the Tractor Boys.

The Doombar deliberations were full of the recent poor run of results, the lack of confidence in both players and fans, the January new signings so far and the start of the return from injury of key players.

It was difficult to forecast how it would go as Ipswich Town are a much-improved team from the one we thrashed at Portman Road earlier in the season. It was equally difficult to predict the team we would put out as Ian Evatt finally had some decisions to make with the extra payers on board.

When the team news came, it revealed that all four new signings would start with Dapo Afolayan, George Thomason and Joel Dixon on the bench. These were bold decisions from the boss, and we had to hope the shake up would work.

For the first 20 minutes, this looked doubtful as Ipswich dominated, showing what a good team they now are, but we withstood the onslaught and battled our way back into the game. The second half was a much more even affair with both teams going at it, but we got the breaks when their goalie spilled a shot from Aaron Morley and Kieron Lee rammed the opener home and we were gifted a second goal when Afolayan sneaked in on a bad back pass. Everyone played their part as we defended as a team, we attacked as a team and got a very important victory.

This result should provide a massive boost to our confidence. At times, things were not quite gelling but that is only to be expected with new players settling in. The prospect of another couple of signings should strengthen the squad even more and it is clear the board are giving their backing to Evatt’s plan. Let’s keep things in perspective though. It is noticeable players are now being signed on a longer-term basis as we plan for the future. This is just the latest phase in the rebuilding of our club. It should give us the ability to consolidate our place in League One, then we can look forward to a real challenge next season.