Massimo Luongo, a midfielder for Ipswich Town, is committed to concentrating on his own squad during the promotion fight, but he acknowledged that it can be challenging to tune out the outside chatter.
When the Blues play their next away game at Hull City on April 27, it’s unlikely that they will be leading the Championship. Between now and then, Leicester City, Leeds United, and Southampton will all play at least two games apiece; however, Town will already be aware of what has to be done in order to guarantee promotion in the last week of the season.
It will always be in their hands, even though the psychological strain will change. Once more, the top two opponents of Ipswich will go first and must respond, but Luongo will not be considering the situation elsewhere.
He said, “It’s so hard to avoid,” before Middlesbrough and Arsenal drew 1-1. “My friends tell me all the time, ‘Oh, the results are going good for you,’ but I don’t want that.
In any case, I believe that everyone watched the Champions League on Tuesday, including myself. I wondered, “Oh, why are you texting me with 60 minutes to play?” when I saw that there were 60 minutes left. After the game, send me a text!
“I believe that everyone has a distinct preferred method of approaching it. When I asked Vas (Hladky) what he had done the previous evening, he said that he had seen the Leeds game. I met him before the Watford match. “Oh, fair enough, I watched the Champions League,” I thought to myself.Everybody is unique. I believe that during the season, my concern has primarily been for us. It’s simple to carry on like that.
I try not to worry about them, especially if they play after us, but it’s difficult to avoid, especially if you’re constantly on your phone. After that, you seem to be chasing after outcomes and similar things.
The setup for Saturday’s match at Portman Road was comparable. Luongo said he was unaware that Leicester was playing on Friday night at Plymouth Argyle, where they ultimately lost 1-0. He knew Leeds was playing on Saturday at lunchtime, but he didn’t think the outcome from Elland Road would make its way into the locker room.
The 31-year-old acknowledged, “Our matchday routine is relaxed, but it’s quite structured.” We come here for a meeting, we leave, and then we probably have another meeting before we get the bus back. We also have a lot of meetings and eat at set times. All of that is attributed to Kieran McKenna, who makes the exact identical claims in interviews. According to Luongo, there is no difference between him and the other players in the dressing room, and Ipswich always has the upper hand.
To put it succinctly, the players are always reflecting the boss, which is why there has never been any hint of nervousness in their on-field performances.
We are likely who we are because of that, the former Australian international said. “He’s spot on with everything; he never goes too high or too low.
“Our concerns have always been about us. As a team, we rarely set up and alter; instead, we constantly strive to stay to our principles, stick to what we know best, and aim to improve upon previous performance—obviously with some consideration for tactics.
From Monday through Friday, we focus on ourselves.
It also helps that this team participated in a promotion struggle the previous season, which resulted in their triumphant return to the Championship.
The timeline, according to teammate Cameron Burgess, feels like it keeps going after that, despite a brief pause and some rotation in and out of the squad. While Luongo acknowledged this, he also emphasized how their constant competitiveness has made them more merciless on the field.
It occurred so quickly; it feels like we were in this predicament [in League One] yesterday,” he remarked. The manager doesn’t offer us many days off, therefore we don’t get many here, so everything kind of gets rolled into one.
“We have just been tenacious at it for the past eighteen months since training is so crucial and difficult.
“It seems to have merged into one, but that’s a positive thing. We maintain that cadence, mindset, and forward motion and watch where it leads.It’s true that competition is a habit. Everyone is so competitive these days. We have a few cheaters who will stop at nothing to win, even if we play head tennis or something similar. I won’t name them. Samy—
“The gaffer tries to force that culture on everyone; I’m not sure what it was like previously. Every time, we make sure there is a winner. We always attempt to impose a winner in some way if we go a little bit over the allotted time.
“It’s a healthy habit to be competitive.”