Ipswich make superb start with hope of more to come

As first weeks of the season go, Ipswich Town's could not have gone much better.

Gary O'Neil named six debutants in his starting line-up against Sunderland (seven if you include the returning Julio Enciso ) and one of the big takeaways from the opening-day win was that this did not look like a new team trying to find its feet under a new manager.

A few days later, despite making nine changes, O'Neil's side progressed relatively smoothly into round three of the Carabao Cup at the expense of a Leicester side who finished above them in the Premier League two years ago, and who Town failed to get the better of during six meetings under former boss Kieran McKenna.

Town's rise and Leicester's demise is such that, for the time being, they are rivals no more. Ipswich have left them a long way behind.

In 22-year-old striker Emersonn , Ipswich not only have a first Brazilian to play for the club but they have a rough diamond that has that crucial first goal in his new colours early doors. In the aforementioned Enciso, they may have a player who can potentially win matches from nowhere, as his captain Dara O'Shea has alluded to.

O'Neil has been quick to praise the role that O'Shea and other senior members of the playing squad have played in terms of helping the new faces settle. He has also made it clear that not everything has pleased him since kick-off last Saturday and that there is more to come from his squad. This is an exciting prospect before two mouth-watering fixtures on the immediate horizon.

With Manchester United reeling after an opening-day loss to Hull and Liverpool nowhere near the level Andoni Iraola wants them to be longer term, Ipswich can approach both heavyweights with real hope of adding to their early-season points tally.