Welcome back to Portman Road for a home game at last after four successive away matches. Seven points was a reasonable return from that run, although it probably came in a different format to what many people would have predicted.

We had good wins at QPR and Sheffield Wednesday and a decent point at Scunthorpe after going a goal down. The low point for us was obviously the defeat at Peterborough.

We had the 4-0 home loss by Newcastle earlier in the season and other disappointments but the defeat at London Road and the performance in the second-half in particular left the biggest question marks over the team, especially as we had two away games to follow.

In a strange way though, that game at Peterborough might turn out to be a positive. I'm hoping we will be able to look back on it that way at the end of the season. I've certainly been delighted with the reaction the players have shown since. We had nothing but plusses at Sheffield and Scunthorpe, with Brian Murphy and Shane O'Connor making their debuts and both done very well.

Brian made a couple of big saves for us at Hillsborough while Shane looked composed on the ball. He never looked flustered when the opposition were swarming around him and that's a sign of the good grounding he had at Liverpool.

He would have made his debut for us a lot earlier if he had not had a bad injury in training and he can be pleased with his performances but we have been reminding him that it's only a start and he needs to keep working hard at his game. He'll do that though because he's that type of kid.

Another plus was that David Healy got off the mark for us at Glanford Park in midweek. Murph [Daryl Murphy] has already got three goals and both players have been brought here to find the net.

It was a typical poacher's goal from David and that is something we have lacked all season, someone to get on the end of things six yards out.
With the two lads joining us in January, that takes us up to four loan players - one short of the maximum allowed for your squad on matchday. I'll keep my options open on that. I've got one or two players in the back of my mind to bring in if we get any injuries but there are no immediate plans to add someone over the next week or two.

I also have to think about the budget at the Club, a word that is perhaps a little bit new to me! It's an important one though and something you have to learn to deal with as a manager and I'm happy to do that.

Every club has to look after their books, as you would in any business. Managers have enough on their plate so it's down to owners and chief executives to look after that side of things. As a manager, you look at perhaps bringing in a player or trying to get the squad away for a break in the winter. You ask the chief executive and they say yes or no. I have to say though that I've had great support here from the owner and Simon Clegg [chief executive].

I think we have the balance right here in terms of the wages the players are earning but it's certainly the wages that are beginning to catch clubs out now, even in the Premier League. The trouble is when you start handing out three and four year contracts to players on mega wages and it doesn't work out, it's a big weight around the clubs.

The big boys who play in Europe every year can handle it but what's happened at Portsmouth is a warning to other Premier League teams.
Finally, I'd like to welcome Gary Johnson, his staff and players to Portman Road. Gary is a very experienced manager and he will be looking for his team to build on an impressive win over West Brom last week.

He's brought in Chris Iwelumo from Wolves on loan, they've got Paul Hartley from Celtic and obviously Danny Haynes, who Town fans know all about, so we know it's going to be another difficult 90 minutes.

We drew down at Bristol earlier in the season but we should have nicked it. Hopefully we'll get the three points this afternoon. Enjoy the game.