On the surface, it’d seem like the last few days have been pretty quiet for Conor Chaplin, but that certainly isn't the case. Ipswich Town had 10 players away during the international break, but he wasn’t one of them. That doesn’t mean that he's had a couple of weeks off to relax, however. He’s been in at Playford Road with his team-mates who weren’t called up, working hard in training to get ready for the next block of fixtures.
“It’s been really good,” he said. “It’s an intense group – we maybe had 12 or 13 of us – but it was really important for the new lads that we signed in the summer and didn’t go away. It’s a really good time to get really good details into the boys and some training time as well.
“We’ll probably get more of that this season than we’ve been used to because of the schedule, but maximising the time training during the international break will be big for us.
“The main difference is numbers. It maybe changes the sessions in some sort of way, but we’ve also got good players in the Under-23s if we need to boost numbers and have a proper tear-up, 11v11 or something like that – then we can do.
“It’s probably more detailed during the internationals, it gives us a chance to hone in on those things and the little things that the boss is implementing.”
Some supporters have been frustrated with how the start of the season has been scheduled. After a whole summer without competitive club football, Town played just three Premier League games before their two-week break. Given how well they played against Fulham at the end of last month, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it impacts their momentum.
“For the majority of the squad, we’ve been used to the EFL schedule throughout our careers,” he explained. “It’s always been Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, which you love as a player.
“Then when you’re in the Premier League, it’s a lot of Saturday to Saturday and international breaks. For the first couple of months, maybe two or three months even, it seems like there are breaks all the time because of the three international breaks and Saturday to Saturday games.
“We’re learning about that all the time. I think the boss is big on using the international breaks to train harder than everyone else and to improve a little bit.”
Since arriving from Barnsley in July 2021, Chaplin has been a key player at Portman Road, quickly becoming one of the first names on the team sheet. He made his Premier League debut against Liverpool on the opening day of the season, but he was limited to late cameos against both Manchester City and Fulham.
Asked about his role in the squad, he replied: “I don’t see it changing at all. You have people coming into the football club to improve us, so you’ve got to expect even harder competition.
“The realisation and reality of being in a Premier League squad is that there’s going to be competition absolutely everywhere. I think if you asked every single player from the promotion squad whether they wanted the club to sign this many players, they would’ve all said yes.
“We definitely knew that it’s going to be needed to try and thrive in the Premier League, so that’s what we’re going to try and do. It doesn’t matter if you’re used to starting every single game or you’re not.
“I think the characteristics within the group stay exactly the same and I think you can bring to the group what you always bring to the group – that’s my belief, anyway.”
The competition to start will only ramp up now everyone is in full training. The Blues have a lot of strong attacking talent in their squad, meaning that manager Kieran McKenna will have some tough decisions to make ahead of the trip to Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Seagulls have been one of the standout teams so far this season, having beaten Everton and Manchester United before drawing Arsenal under new boss Fabian Hürzeler.
“They’ve been a good team in the Premier League for a number of years now,” Chaplin argued. “Obviously they’ve got a brand new manager who they got in fairly early in the summer, so it’s probably one where they’ve had a lot of time with him as well. It’s not like he was brought in on the eve of the season. They’ve had some good training time.
“They’re a very positively-thinking and attacking team, one that have done well in the Premier League for the last few years.
“They always recruit well, so they’ve got really good players. It’s the same for every single game in the Premier League, I think you’re going to come up against good players.
“It’s one that’s really exciting. I’m excited to go to the stadium and play at the Amex as well – it’s going to be a good one.”
For Chaplin, there’s no better time to get his first Premier League goal. Not only is celebrity fan and Town co-owner Ed Sheeran expected to be in attendance, the 27-year-old is also set to receive strong support from his family, who don’t live far away from where he’ll be playing on Saturday afternoon.
“It’d be amazing,” he admitted. “It’s a fairly local game for me, so I’ll have a lot of family there, being down south. It’s one that I’m really excited for.
“It’d be lovely to get my first Premier League goal.”
Despite his Sussex roots – having been born in Worthing - he never came close to joining the Seagulls at the start of his youth career.
“I was always Portsmouth,” he stated. “It was either one or the other.
“I was basically bang smack in the middle of Brighton and Portsmouth in terms of location.
“When I was a kid, Portsmouth were in the Premier League at the time and Brighton were maybe in League One at one point.
“Portsmouth were the first ones to find me, so I was there from a little age.”
There is, however, a nice link between Chaplin and Brighton. The 27-year-old is close friends with defender Adam Webster, having played with him at Pompey earlier in his career. Webster was signed by Ipswich in 2016 and ended up at the Amex Stadium three years later after a brief stint at Bristol City.
The pair have kept in touch since their time in League Two. This weekend, there’s a chance they share a pitch in the Premier League, albeit on opposite sides.
“I speak to him every day – he’s my best mate!” Chaplin said about Webster. “Every single day. We haven’t really spoken too much about the game, I think we both know that no one’s going to tell each other the team, so there’s no point in asking.
“We talk about football all the time. I usually talk to him for a half hour or so every morning when I’m on my dog walk. We catch up every day.
“It’s probably no different this week.”
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna has praised Brighton's "really good habits and traits" as his side go in search of a first win since returning to the Premier League when they face the Seagulls on Saturday.
"They've had a good start and they're a really good side, no doubt about it," Ipswich boss McKenna told Town TV.
"They've got some really good habits and traits over the last couple of managers. They are comfortable in possession and build really well through the pitch.
"They've got some fantastic talent and individual quality, both starters and on the bench.
"The new manager's come in and he's putting his own style on it and improving them in certain areas and probably making them an even more well-rounded threat.
"So we know they're a really good side and it's a good challenge for us. But it's another one to really look forward to, to go and impose ourselves, be brave and go with the belief that we can get a result."
In search of their first Premier League victory, Ipswich Town have been handed a welcome boost on the injury front, with one player now in line to make his first appearance of the season.
It was always going to be a tough start for Kieran McKenna's side, whose first two games came up against Liverpool and champions Manchester City in which they at least showed glimpses of their quality. Handing Arne Slot a difficult first-half, before they were eventually brushed aside by Liverpool's quality, the Tractor Boys then took a shock early lead against City only to ultimately suffer the same fate.
What would have disappointed McKenna after those tough tests is his side's 1-1 draw at home against Fulham. In a game that Ipswich should be winning if they want to avoid Premier League relegation at the first time of asking, they couldn't find a way to retake the lead against Marco Silva's side having initially opened the scoring through Liam Delap's sensational first goal for the club.
Arguably in need of more firepower alongside Delap, those at Portman Road have at least been handed a major boost on that front. As confirmed by McKenna, George Hirst is in line to make his first Premier League appearance for Ipswich up against Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend, returning to the squad for the first time since his injury against Fortuna Dusseldorf in pre-season.
When quizzed on whether Burns and Hirst could play a part against Brighton, the Ipswich boss went on to say: "It's not impossible. They've trained with the group pretty much all week and are both ahead of schedule really.
"Both are feeling really good. Of course we'll make the right judgement not just for this weekend and won't take any unnecessary risks. But both, as it stands today, are available to be involved with the squad."
Whilst Hirst isn't the striker that will score over 15 goals a season, what he does provide is a crucial presence when leading the line; a presence that Ipswich have otherwise lacked so far this season. Earning a reported £28,000-a-week, the 25-year-old will have the chance to more than prove his worth once again upon his return from injury.
McKenna praised his role at Ipswich last season, saying via the East Anglian Daily Times: "The role he does leading the line for us is a unique balance, really. There’s not many strikers who are 6’3 but can also stretch the game and run behind like he can.
“He’s really worked hard to improve his build-up, back to play, holding off defenders and dropping to connect with the midfield. He’s got an important role in set plays and he’s got an important role in this team. He’s really developed as a player."
The Suffolk side return to action following the first international break of the new season at the American Express (Amex) Stadium in Sussex on Saturday afternoon (3pm).
And they go into the game boosted by the return to fitness of striker George Hirst as well as right-sided attacker Wes Burns and versatile forward Omari Hutchinson,with all three confirmed as available for selection at today’s pre-match press conference.
Hirst underwent knee surgery after breaking down in the home friendly with German outfi Fortuna Dusseldorf last month but has bounced back ahead of schedule, with the most recent update from McKenna having said he would be able to feature ahead of the second international break in October.
Burns has been out since limping off in the second half of the opening day home defeat to Liverpool with a hamstring issue while the club’s record signing, Hutchinson, has started all three Premier League matches ahead of being sent home from his first call-up to the England Under-21s with an at-the-time unknown issue.
And in a further boost, McKenna has also confirmed wide forward Nathan Broadhead and full-back Harry Clarke are also now back on the grass with the rest of the squad with no further issues emerging from the nine players who were away with their counties.
“We've got a full group available,” McKenna said.
“All the boys have come back from international duty well.
“Those who've been here training with us have trained well. And we have our injuries back in and around the group now. So the group's looking really healthy.”
He added: “Wes Burns and George Hirst both trained with the group this week, and Harry Clarke played a little part in training today for the first time, so that looks really positive.”
Asked if Burns and Hirst could be ready for the matchday squad to take on Fabian Hürzeler’s Brighton team, he replied: “It’s not impossible. They’ve trained with the group pretty much all week and are both ahead of schedule really, but both are feeling really good and not feeling any ill effects.
“Of course, we’ll make the right judgment, not just for this weekend and we won’t take any unnecessary risks. But both are available, as it stands today, to be be involved with the squad.”
Quizzed about Hutchinson’s situation, having returned to their training base at Playford Road ahead of England U21’s opening game of the international window against Northern Ireland, he said: “He’s trained the last couple of days. He had a tight hamstring after the Fulham game and didn’t recover for probably six or seven days after that, so he wasn’t able to train when he came back with us.
“But in the latter stages of this week he’s been feeling better and he’s fully trained and, again, will be available.”
Broadhead, Town’s joint top scorer in the Sky Bet Championship last term with 13 goals alongside Hirst, also broke down in pre-season but is also now back among the rest of the squad as he looks to stake his claim in the coming weeks.
“Nathan’s training as well this week, so it’s fantastic to have him back with the quality that he brings,” McKenna said,
“He’s been out for a little bit longer than the other two boys, he was out really from the very first week of pre-season, so he possibly needs a little bit more time to build up, but he’s back full training with the group, so that’s really positive.”
Town go into the game in Sussex looking to add to their first point on their return to the Premier League, picked up in a hard-fought 1-1 draw at home to Fulham last time out.
While that leaves them one place outside of the relegation zone after three games, their weekend opponents are up in third after two wins and a draw to begin life under their 31-year-old German manager.
