Vaclav Hladky, Ipswich Town’s goalkeeper, says he is still totally focused on the club’s promotion pursuit despite ongoing contract negotiations.
The Czech goalkeeper spent much of his first two seasons with the club on the bench, but Christian Walton’s pre-season foot injury opened the door for him to play in the Championship.
Hladky certainly made advantage of the opportunity, with a run of vital saves and some superb footwork keeping him in the starting lineup all season as Kieran McKenna’s side maintains an unlikely bid for back-to-back promotions.
Celtic are apparently interested in bringing the former St Mirren man back north of the border, but his agent claimed at the end of December that ‘the priority is to agree on an extension and advance to the Premier League’.
When asked for an update on the issue, Hladky replied, “There isn’t much I can say.” Obviously, there are negotiations, but they can take time, and nothing has been done so far.
“I’m in my ‘tunnel’, and all I want to do is concentrate on the next game, as is natural for a player. I have people to deal with.
“In terms of the quality of the competition, there is no doubt this is my best season in football in terms of my performances.
“There have been other seasons where I was enjoying myself, for sure, but this is Championship level and I am happy to help the team and prove my quality.
“Kieran is a dream manager for me and I so appreciate being here.”
Hladky’s ability to function as an additional outfielder has played a significant role in keeping Walton out of the lineup.McKenna prefers his players to lure the press before making their way out of the back to find the spare man.
This high-risk method has yielded significant rewards through consistent training.However, there have been some glitches, with Town losing 3-0 at Preston last month after Sam Morsy was caught on the ball after receiving a short pass from Hladky.
“It’s important that you are on the same page as your team-mates and with the manager,” said Hladky.
“We are all in it together, trying to help each other, so if something happens playing this way we just basically have to reset and go for another one.
“I wouldn’t say it is easy, but we are working on it. We have obviously given away a few, but nothing that we have to be too concerned by.
“December, January and February are not the easiest of months to play out from the back, especially away from home where the pitches and conditions are not always great. But we work on it every day in training, even in the heavy rain and when there are puddles, so that we are ready for the games.
“This is the way we want to carry on and you have to stick with your style of football. If you don’t, it’s not you, and you lose your confidence and you can lose the game. So, basically, we have to play through the difficulties. If you stick with your plan, you can get the reward.”
After a strong start to life in the second tier, Town won only one league game in nine during a difficult stretch of fixtures either side of Christmas. After six consecutive triumphs, the Blues regained second place. However, a 2-1 loss to Cardiff on Saturday, including two stoppage-time goals, dropped McKenna’s team to third.
As a recently promoted club, scoring 78 points in 37 games is extremely impressive. The final table is uncertain, but the season has been entertaining and worth celebrating.
“We can’t hide from it,” Hladky said of the massive award, which is now practically within touching reach.
“We know where we are, but that’s more for the media and for the fans.
“I’m being completely honest when I say we only think about the next game.Looking too far ahead is the largest issue we face, as it is not effective.
He added, “It’s been an unbelievable season.” We’re enjoying the journey.
“We spoke at the beginning of the season that it would be difficult and a new challenge for us. We simply wanted to be prepared for each game and improve ourselves over the season.
“What you are seeing now is the impact of really hard work in training. Our mindset is that we can win every game and that we can be successful at any stage of the season and any stage of any game. There’s just massive belief.”
