Paul Lambert has insisted that league form remains the most important thing for Ipswich Town this season, ahead of their clash with Bristol Rovers at Portman Road tomorrow.
Following their relegation from the Championship last season, the Tractor Boys have made a very promising start to life in League One and are currently inside the automatic promotion places in the third tier.
Town are unbeaten in their last five league matches, but they have been forced to turn their attention to the cup competitions in recent weeks.
Ipswich are through to the last 16 of the EFL Trophy, but they were knocked out of the FA Cup in the second round on Tuesday night - losing 2-1 to Coventry City in the replay at Portman Road.
They return to league action tomorrow, though, and will be hoping to get back to winning ways following three straight draws in the competitions.
Ahead of the match at Portman Road, Lambert has admitted that he would welcome his side doing well in the cup, but insisted that the league remains the most important thing for Ipswich this season.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference this morning, the Ipswich boss also told the club's media that his players must take things one game at a time, going into the busy festive period.
He said: “If you do well in the cup it’s great but the League has always been the most important thing. It’s a busy period coming up so we’ll take it game by game.â€
Can you get 15 out of 15 on this Ipswich Town quiz? Have a go now!
The Verdict
I completely agree with Lambert here. Winning promotion has got to be the priority for Ipswich this season. A cup run would be great, but the players have got to make sure that they concentrate on the league.
There's still a long way to go yet, but Ipswich have put themselves in a brilliant position to return to the Championship and the team have to try and build on that.
They've got some tough games coming up over the Christmas period, though, so it's Lambert's job to make sure that they players remain focused and approach each game with the right mentality.
Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.