When Christian Walton returns to full fitness, Ipswich Town goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky feels his performance will be sufficient to retain him in the lineup.
The Czech only participated in one league game as Town earned promotion last year.
However, Walton’s foot injury has given Hladky a chance, and in nine Championship games this season, he has only allowed seven goals.
He said to BBC Radio Suffolk, “Obviously I want to play and right now I think I deserve to keep playing.”
That’s not a lie. I’m having a good time. I’ve been doing my very best since the start of the season. I don’t speak for the other 25 guys on the team, but we are all in terrific form right now.
Hladky initially arrived in the country in January 2019 after joining the Scottish team St Mirren.
He joined Salford City 18 months later and played for them as their first-choice keeper until the 2020–21 season before transferring to Portman Road.
Walton, though, was Ipswich’s top pick for League One games the previous season until he tore his plantar fascia in the preseason, which causes pain in the heel. He returned to training just over a week ago.
In Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Huddersfield, Hladky produced a series of strong saves, and Ipswich will have the chance to retake first place in the Championship on Tuesday when they host Hull City.
“We never give up and always have the confidence to score. We simply keep reiterating that, but we speak a lot about perseverance and faith in what we’re doing,” the 32-year-old said.
This season’s games won’t be simple, so we must be ready, dig deep, and occasionally put in the extra effort.
“We can advance together as long as we can maintain our bravery and have the support of our fans.”
McKenna was happy with the perseverance displayed by his squad, which required a header from Brandon Williams in the 87th minute to return from Huddersfield with a draw.
We don’t discuss points all that much, he said.
“We’ll keep focusing on the performances, whether we win, lose, or draw… and we know if we do that, that’ll help us get the results that we want.”
McKenna is awaiting updates on attacker Nathan Broadhead, who was sidelined with a thigh issue during the Huddersfield match, and midfielder Lee Evans, who suffered a knee injury during a first-half clash and had to be replaced.
.
