Paul Hurst put his players through their paces on the Portman Road pitch this afternoon as the Ipswich Town fans were able to get a close look at how things are shaking up under the new boss.
An estimated 5,000 fans attended the Blues’ Open Day at Portman Road, with the centre-piece of the event being a training session on the stadium pitch.
Martyn Waghorn trained despite ongoing links with a move away, with new signings Gwion Edwards, Jordan Roberts and Ellis Harrison all on display.
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Joe Garner returned to training having missed out of late with a knee issue which has kept him out of the entirety of Hurst’s pre-season programme in England, but left the session just before the end.
Teddy Bishop and Danny Rowe trained but are not yet ready to return to action following their hamstring injuries, while Emyr Huws was on the pitch but worked with physio Chris Skitt away from the rest of the Ipswich squad.
Tom Adeyemi was not involved once again due to his ongoing Achilles issue, while the likes of Ben Folami, Aaron Drinan and Barry Cotter were not involved having played for the Under 23s at Chelmsford last night.
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Cole Skuse missed out with a thigh injury, with boss Paul Hurst still expecting the experienced midfielder to be ready to play against Blackburn on August 4.
After warming up in front of the Sir Alf Ramsey stand, the Blues then moved into a fast-paced, small-sided game in the middle of the Portman Road pitch before shooting practice in front of the North Stand.
Goalkeepers Bialkowski, Dean Gerken and Harry Wright worked with coach Darren Smith, before rejoining the main group.
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Assistant Chris Doig wasn’t overly happy with the quality of training on show from his Ipswich players, though, with the Scot letting them know after the session.
But the group enjoyed a day spent with the club’s fans, with manager Hurst now eagerly awaiting Saturday’s pre-season game with West Ham.
“Just being back here was great, Hurst said. “I’m based at the training ground so haven’t had too much need or time to be back down at Portman Road.
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“Seeing the stadium again and to have so many fans here has really whetted the appetite. I’m looking forward to the game with West Ham now where there will be more fans in.”
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