Massimo Luongo spells out when Ipswich can say they are Championship contenders

02 December 2023 , 09:00

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Massimo Luongo has been in exceptional form for Ipswich Town but could miss most of January and early February

Ipswich star Massimo Luongo is in the dark over whether he will represent Australia at January’s Asia Cup but the midfielder believes the Tractor Boys will know by that stage whether they are genuine promotion contenders.

Kieran McKenna’s team face leaders Leicester and third-placed Leeds plus bitter rivals Norwich in a hectic December that begins when Coventry come to Portman Road this afternoon.

Luongo, 31, spent almost five years out of the Australian set-up before his stellar form at Ipswich earned a recall in October. However, he is not thinking about spending a month in Qatar with so much on the line in Suffolk.

“If you know the history of the Socceroos it’s last-minute call-ups,” he said. “Tournaments come around and the media hypes up some players. You never know who’s going to get selected and who isn’t. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

“I’m sure when it comes down to it people will speak to me here and people will speak to me over there. I can’t really say no, so I’ll just have to get my head down and focus on the games we have until then.”

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Ipswich fans may already be getting excited about facing Norwich, Leeds and Leicester between December 16 and Boxing Day. But first up will be Coventry, last year’s beaten play-off finalists who have turned a corner with three clean sheets in a row.

Manager McKenna is refusing to admit his team are in the running for consecutive promotions. Yet should Ipswich maintain their form in the next four weeks he may find it impossible to deny.

Luongo added: “December will highlight which teams are going to push and which aren’t. We’re there for a reason so why not [us]? It’ll be tough but it’s exciting times. We could come out of it one side or the other in this period before the new year but it will be interesting to see where we are.”

The key to Ipswich’s success has been their Portman Road form - winning 16 of their last 17 league games dating back to last season. In nine home fixtures so far this season they have scored 28 times but have also conceded 16 on their own patch.

“We have a good platform, the pitch is unbelievable and the atmosphere is really good. It just has a nice feeling to it,” Luongo said. “I know Coventry quite well and they have a point to prove having not started as well as you’d expect. But they are a really good team, high energy and a good group of players.”

Alan Smith