Ipswich Town's Christian Walton backs club to 'thrive' under pressure of being promotion favourites
Ipswich Town goalkeeper Christian Walton has vowed that the club will "thrive" under the pressure of being among the favourites to win promotion from League One this season.
Many bookies fancy Town's chances of finally making it back to the Championship after three seasons in the third tier.
During that time, Ipswich haven't finished higher than ninth, but confidence is high that things might be different this time under boss Kieran McKenna.
That was illustrated by the fact that thousands of fans turned up to the club's Open Day on Monday which was back for the first time since 2019 after a break because of the pandemic.
Speaking to ITV News Anglia at Portman Road, Walton, who joined the club in January on a permanent deal following a successful loan spell, said that the expectations surrounding the club could only be seen as positive.
Watch an extended interview with Christian Walton
"We know what sort of club you're joining here when you sign and it's a club with a lot of expectation and that should be the way," he said.
"I think players do thrive off that. I think you need that added bit of pressure maybe. I'm going to really thrive under it and I'm looking forward to it."
Ipswich will kick-off their League One campaign on Saturday against Bolton Wanderers who took six points off them last season.
More than 23,000 tickets have already been sold for the clash and Town will be hopeful of getting off to a fast start.
At Monday's Open Day, fans were given the chance to take pictures with members of the first team squad and were then able to watch boss McKenna put the players through their paces.
Such a big turnout from supporters is testament to the belief that is starting to build, and Walton is loving being part of it.
"I'm really enjoying my football and I'm really enjoying stuff away from the pitch, like living in Suffolk. The Dedham area is really nice, obviously Ipswich itself with the Marina - you've got some lovely parts of Suffolk," he said.
"It's nice to be stable somewhere now in my career. I need to keep going from last season and see what happens this year."
Meanwhile, Ipswich have announced the signing of Leeds United left-back Leif Davis for an undisclosed fee.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know: