"Should give us ambition" - Exclusive: Jack Colback issues Ipswich Town verdict ahead of QPR clash | OneFootball

Jack Colback is happy to see former club Ipswich Town flying in the Championship but wants QPR to use their success as motivation, he told Football League World in an exclusive interview, courtesy of Copybet.

Colback cut his teeth with the Tractor Boys while on loan from Sunderland in 2009/10 and 2010/11 and has fond memories of his time at Portman Road but will want to get the better of them when he's back in Suffolk on Friday evening.

The R's travel away to face Ipswich tomorrow looking to captailise on their recent wobble.

Ipswich have been the Championship's surprise package in 2023/24 and are still in the automatic promotion places but have gone three games without a win.

Ipswich success "should give us ambition"

Speaking exclusively to Football League World earlier this month, courtesy of Copybet, Colback has reflected on the success of his former club and revealed he's hoping to use it as motivation.

“It's really good to see," he said. "They’ve been flying. They brought that momentum up from League One. You see that often, where teams start well the next season, but for them to sustain it like they have is amazing really.

“I really enjoyed my time there. It was my first step into senior football and it's a really good club. A really family-oriented club. It’s good to see and they’ll be looking to sustain what they’ve done so far.

“It just goes to show, if you have a good group and follow the ideas of the manager that any team in this league can do well.

“It should give us ambition and hope to get to that level because as good as it is to see them where they are, we are in a league competing with them.

“It’s one of them. It’s good to see but you’re also a bit envious as well.”

"Loftus Road certainly deserves more"

QPR are competing at the opposite end of the Championship from Town - five points away from safety after four games without a win - but in Colback, they have a player who has plenty of experience in relegation battles.

“The experience helps," he noted. "I’d prefer not to have experience of so many relegation battles but it is helpful.

“The biggest thing is staying level. You have tough times when you’re losing games and come in on a Monday morning, or whenever it is, and the place is quiet, the lads are downbeat.

“It can become a difficult place to work but it's about staying level. Don't get too down when you are losing games. Obviously, you have to realise where we are and it comes to a point that you’ve got to pull your finger out and get some results.

“Equally, when we are in a period like we are now, we’ve been winning games, we can't get too high and get carried away with it because if we suddenly drop 1 or 2% and think that we’ve done our job then we’re going to lose more games than we win and we’ll still be in the situation that we are in.

“We are still in the bottom three. Until we get away from that and start moving up the table, we’ve done nothing yet. It’s just about staying level. We lose together as a team and we win together. Keep everyone in check and have the bravery to take on a challenge like this."

The R's early-season struggles meant many were quick to write them off but Colback's motivation isn't proving those doubters wrong.

He explained: "That's normal, football is a lot of talk.

“The way we were performing wasn't good enough. We know that as players, we don't need outside members to remind us of that. We knew that people were saying we were down at the start of the season. I think that happens too often.

“Even with the position we were in, I think 99% of people would have said QPR are gone but it happens all the time, clubs get written off. We've just shown over the last few weeks that we’re here to compete.

“It might be different for other players, but for me, it’s more of a self-pride thing. To look at the table, even as it is now, it's difficult to look at because you're in the bottom three. It should hurt as a player looking at that.

“So it's more of a self-pride thing for me rather than proving people wrong, it's your own responsibility as a player. The fans deserve more than what we've given. We’ve picked up some wins recently, which is good for them, but we need to give them more and Loftus Road certainly deserves more.

“I remember it being a really hard place to come as a place and we need to earn that back. It’s boring but it’s game by game and see how far we can get.”