Ipswich Town: Terry Hunt on Manchester United clash

So, this Sunday afternoon, when we welcome United to Portman Road, will undoubtedly be one of the biggest moments of the season. To add even more spice, it will be their first game under their new manager.

How will their underperforming superstars react? Will we see an upsurge in their form? I fear we might. Despite generally underwhelming performances, they are capable of scaling the heights. Remember the FA Cup final, when they unexpectedly outplayed deadly rivals Man City.

With Ipswich boosted by that first win of the season at Spurs - what a bonus that was - the clash with United should be a really good watch. 

Looking back, several of our games against United at Portman Road live long in the memory.

I was in the crowd in 1971 when George Best tore us apart in a League Cup tie, prompting large sections of the stadium to call for Bobby Robson to be sacked.

Instead, chairman John Cobbold apologised to Robson for the supporters’ behaviour, and allowed him to sign defensive kingpin Allan Hunter. A springboard for a golden era - and a valuable lesson for all trigger-happy chairmen, surely.

Fabian Wilnis celebrates his famous goal against Manchester United back in 2000 A more recent clash with United was just as significant. It was the first home game of the 2000-01 season, and United boasted superstars like Beckham, Giggs and Keane.

Famously, newly-promoted Ipswich went ahead through a Fabian Wilnis goal. Although Beckham levelled things, Town were the better side and deserved at least the 1-1 draw. 

That result, and performance, was a real sit up and take notice moment, not only for Ipswich fans but also for the rest of the division. Ipswich were saying they weren’t just there to make up the numbers, and so it proved with a fifth place finish.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could produce another, similar statement performance and result on Sunday? We did it against Spurs, so we should be capable of something similar against United, new manager and all.

I hope that Spurs game can prove to be a really significant moment, the confidence-boosting day we proved we do belong in the land of milk and honey and we’re not just whipping boys.

Sammie Szmodics gave Town the lead in their win at Spurs - a vital result for the Blues (Image: Ross Halls) If we’d lost that game, things would have looked rather bleak and some fans’ heads would have dropped. I must admit I was preparing for a pretty gloomy international break, second from bottom and the only one of the 92 English league clubs still without a win.

But the victory changed all that. We can look at the league table and see we’re outside the relegation zone, and suddenly pundits are saying some positive things about us. It’s like the sun has come out after a long gloomy period.

Sorry to introduce one worrying note about our fabulous result at Tottenham, but during his various interviews Kieran McKenna made no secret of the fact that Spurs are still very close to his heart.

Of course they are. They were the club who gave him his opportunity as a teenager, and, after a heartbreaking injury ended his playing career prematurely, it was Spurs who came to the rescue and helped him to start his stellar coaching career. 

It hadn’t occurred to me until now - I’m obviously very slow on the uptake - but from now on I will be very, very nervous whenever Spurs are looking for a manager...

New Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim will take charge for the first time at Portman Road (Image: PA) Moving quickly on....after Man Utd we’ve got Forest, Palace, Bournemouth and Wolves.

A few points there, hopefully, but one thing we all know is that every single point will be hard won in this toughest of leagues. Four points from those four games will do nicely.