Ipswich Town: Sam Morsy on start to Premier League season
Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy is playing in the Premier League for the first time in his career. Here’s what the midfielder had to say about the challenge ahead.
Sam Morsy will celebrate his 33rd birthday on Tuesday, but try telling him that an old dog (in football terms) can’t learn new tricks.
Released by Wolves as a teenager, his CV includes promotions from League Two (Chesterfield), League One (Wigan and Ipswich) and the Championship (Ipswich).
Not that the influential skipper is satisfied to have simply made it to the Premier League in the latter stages of his career though. Now he’s here, he wants to make a mark.
“For the majority of us it’s our first season at this level, so we’re going to be learning all the time,” he said.
I think that will be the biggest thing we can do to become a good team in this league. We have to be really studious and learn from all our mistakes. If we can do that, we’ll keep getting better.
“We’ve played the best two teams in the league over the last decade at the start (Liverpool and Man City). Top teams will lose both against them, so we’re certainly not going to judge ourselves against the absolute best.
“When you go up every division there’s small nuances which are better, but I think we’re adapting, showing we can play our game, impose ourselves and be a threat and put our stamp on the game. We’ve got to continue to do that.
“There’s lots of new players settling into the style of play, the system and the culture. Our goal is to be a good team in the division, and slowly but surely we’re going to improve all the time.”
Town gave Liverpool a tough test for 60 minutes in the season opener at Portman Road before succumbing to a 2-0 defeat. They took a shock early lead at Man City before going down 4-1, Erling Haaland bagging a hat-trick, before looking the team more likely to win in last weekend’s absorbing 1-1 home draw with Fulham.
After this current international break, and before the next one (Oct 12/13), the Blues will face Brighton (a), Southampton (a), Aston Villa (h) and West Ham (a).
“Probably after six or seven games you’ve played the best in the division, the midtable and the lower teams, so you probably get a really good gauge by then,” said Morsy.
“The more you play, the more you’re going to get a feel for what the level is. Those of us experiencing this for the first time just have to adapt and take our level higher.
“That’s got to be our aim. Not be intimidated by anyone’s level, but actually show our high level – which is why we’re here.
