Midfield playmaker Jack Collison has endured a turbulent few months in his footballing career, but the Welsh international is putting in the hours off the pitch, in order to get himself match fit for his new club, Ipswich Town.
The 26 year old is currently part of a squad vying for promotion from the Championship, with the centre midfielder having already experienced the delight of going up to the Premier League with West Ham United in 2012. Collison said he is enjoying every minute at Portman Road, with his main aim of gaining match fitness in order to get a regular spot in the starting XI.
Collison said “The boys are flying at the moment. We’ve got three wins on the bounce before the international break, and we’ve just got to continue that good momentum. It’s a great club, and it has a fantastic manager in Mick McCarthy. It looks like we’re on the up, and it’s nice for me to be involved.”
Collison also added that he is looking to extend his stay with the promotion chasers, and is putting in the graft off the pitch in order to get himself match fit and earn himself an extension to his current deal.
“The aim for me is to get a bit more security”, said the former Hammers academy star. “Obviously to do that I’m going to have to get myself fit and try and work my way into the team because at the moment I haven’t played yet, and I’ve had a couple of niggling injuries. It’s up to me to get my head down and work hard, get fit, and then we’ll see what happens.”
After coming through the famed West Ham academy under the watchful eye of Tony Carr MBE, Collison quickly established himself as one to look out for as a 17 year old. After impressing with the youth and reserve team in East London. The versatile midfielder made his debut away at Arsenal in 2008, and went on to make 105 appearances in a seven year period. Obviously, Collison still keeps an eye on West Ham’s results, saying that after last season’s difficulties, the new signings have helped the Hammers rise to a staggering fourth after 11 games.
“It was a tricky season for West Ham last season. But the new signings that have come in have all hit the ground running. It’s not often you get that. Sometimes the new players take a while to bed in, especially the ones from abroad. Looking at Sakho and Valencia, they’ve done brilliant, but with me still keeping in contact with some of the players there, they say that Aaron Cresswell has been one of the best players at the club.” Said Collison.
“It’s nice to see the boys do so well. I’ve still got a lot of friends down there, and it was a big part of my career. But Football moves on quickly and so have I, and I’m looking forward to the next challenge which is to put my stamp on Ipswich.”
Part of Collison’s move to the Tractor Boys was to regain his spot in Chris Coleman’s high flying Wales squad. With 17 caps already under his belt, Collison is aiming for more, and feels Ipswich is the right place regain his international spot.
“First and foremost, I’ve got to get myself fit and available for selection and try and force my way into the team at Ipswich. Obviously if I can do well over a long period, I think Chris Coleman will have another look and get me back involved because that’s the goal, and with the team doing so well it will be great to be part of it.”
“It’s good to see that unbeaten in the group still. I think Chris Coleman has now had a bit of time with the squad, and he’s managed to put his ideas across. From the backroom staff, to the meeting’s he has, is all down to Coleman’s hard work and the boys are in and amongst it are also doing well at club level and seem to be maturing. Looking at the likes of Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey over the last couple of seasons they’ve kicked on massively. It’s been a huge plus for Wales and everyone is enjoying the confidence.”
“It’s now time for Wales to qualify for a major tournament. There’s been a lot of talk over the last five or six years about young Welsh players all coming through at the same time. Now there really starting to get the results and long may that continue if everyone stays fit and everyone seems to be buying into Coleman’s ideas. The team spirit is excellent and hopefully by the end of qualification, they’ll be preparing for Euro 2016 in France.”
Once match fit, it’s certain that with his vital knowledge and experience in the second tier of English football, Collison will play a pivotal role helping Ipswich gain promotion, while also getting back his place in the Wales set up.
You can follow Jack Collison on Twitter (@Jcollison31) by clicking here
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