Ipswich Town skipper Sam Morsy has been talking about realising a childhood dream, the culture of the squad and his love for Suffolk in a chat with Town TV. Mark Heath reports...
Sam Morsy knows Ipswich Town will be expected to struggle as they battle the best players and biggest clubs in the world in the coming season.
The Blues defied the odds last term, ripping through the Championship on their way to back-to-back promotions - but now face what boss Kieran McKenna has called the biggest step up in world football.
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For Morsy, a man driven by the power of the process and challenge of embracing the grind, Town's success so far has been fuelled by two things - and they will be more important than ever in the Premier League.
“I think a huge amount of credit has to go to the manager," he said, talking to Town TV.
“He’s fantastic as a manager and a coach, but also as a person as well – getting the most out of everyone, working on everybody’s strengths.
“And the lads as well, they’ve all bought into it. We train hard every single day, we’re competitive every single day and we push each other.
“We wouldn’t have been able to do what we’ve done without that culture.
“That hard-working, humble culture – everyone striving to get better. It’s been tough, but it’s been worth it.”
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He continued: “It’s an over-achieving culture really, where everyone has to squeeze every last drop out of one another and more – and we’re going to need more of that this season.
“It’s a day-by-day process of getting better and improving, both individually and collectively.
“There’s no false pretences of the division we’re going into and how tough it is and how good teams and players and managers are, but we all deserve to be here, we’ve all worked hard as a club.
“The fanbase has lived and breathed and kicked every ball for us over the last couple of seasons, and it’s a season to enjoy and give everything we’ve got to be successful in.”
Like many youngsters, Morsy grew up dreaming of playing in the Premier League. And since arriving at Town in that turbulent summer of 2021, he's led the Blues back to the promised land quicker than anyone - himself included - ever expected.
"It was always the ambition – it was always the talk, from when I came in, of the ambition and trying to drive the club to the Premier League," he recalled.
“That was the ultimate aim, but to actually do it - every club wants to do it and there’s clubs who have been close for a number of years – it was an amazing achievement.”
He admitted: “It’s what dreams are made of really, something you dream of as a little boy watching match of the day, in the playground, pretending to be the players you look up to.
“To actually do it is an incredible achievement for me and my family.
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“There is emotion, there’s pride there. It hasn’t been easy, a career never is – there’s many ups and downs, there’s many people who write you off and tell you that you’re not good enough and can’t do it.
“And I think that’s probably a similar story for a lot of the lads in the squad.
“But ultimately it’s your decision, whether you listen to those voices or you keep going – and we’ve all kept going and we’ve got there.
“No doubt everyone’s going to be writing us off individually and as a team, just because newly-promoted teams find it hard, and again we will have to show people what we can do and write our own story.”
Town's band of brothers in Blue are largely stepping into the unknown together next season.
Just ten players in the current squad have played in the Premier League, topped by new signing Ben Johnson's 69 games with West Ham. Many have been on the journey since the League One struggles.
“Yeah, it makes it really special," Morsy said. "The friendly we played the other day against Shakhtar (Donetsk), ten of the 11 were from our League One promotion team.
“So it’s been a special journey. Everyone’s been on their own individual journey and collectively together over the last few years.
“There’s trials and tribulations, and everyone at some point will have had a couple of knockbacks, but we’ve kept going, kept getting stronger and we keep improving and working hard every day to make dreams a reality.”
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One of Town's trademarks under McKenna has been their fitness, work-rate and willingness to run themselves into the ground for the cause.
Before last season, they were presented with the running stats for Burnley, the side who had just won the Championship, and challenged to match them.
Now, on the verge of the Premier League, the work has increased again, with two gruelling overseas training camps designed to whip the squad into peak physical condition.
“It’s been really hard, really tough, non-stop work, long hours, tactically and physically, mentally, everything," Morsy said.
“But that’s what it has to be. We have to really push ourselves because it’s going to be hard when the season starts – so right now we’ve got to push to reach new levels.”
As the beating heart of the side, fans were understandably delighted last week when Morsy signed a new deal to extend his stay in Suffolk.
A family man away from the field, Town's skipper say the county has made a lasting impression on him.
“It’s a new home and I’ve really enjoyed it," he enthused. "A quiet area, really respectful, I’ve really enjoyed the people – everyone’s really behind the club.
“My family are all settled and it’s a great area to live. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed an area as much as this and everything has fallen into place really nicely.
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“The football club can really affect people’s lives, so we’ve done our best to get here (Premier League) and we’ve provided the fans with life-long memories – and we have to continue to do that and give them more memories.”
Indeed, that unity between talent, touchline and terrace has been another trademark of Town's rise.
“It’s massive – and the last few years we haven’t lost much!" Morsy laughed.
“So we’re going to lose more this season, no doubt about it – but it’s going to be about how we bounce back as players, as fans, as a club.
“Can we still be a good unit, can we still have a good spirit when things aren’t going well?
“That’s going to be the challenge, and if we can rise to those challenges we’ll do well.”
All of which brings things back to the test which lies ahead. In less than two weeks, Town host mighty Liverpool to kick-off their first Premier League season since 2002.
Asked how his team were feeling, Morsy replied: “It’s just been about work, really. There’s the initial excitement, and then it’s just day-to-day work.
“Too much emotion won’t be good for you – you’ll be tired every day, your adrenaline would be too high every day.
“So you need to save that and work hard every day, have a meticulous process and the goal is always the same - every player to get better every day.”
On the prospect of leading the Blues out against Liverpool, live on TNT Sports, in front of what will be a packed, noisy, new-look Portman Road, Town's skipper switched into game mode.
“I think by then it will just be about business, really," he insisted.
"We’ll just have to really focus, cool head, ice cold – and do our best to try and get a victory.”
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