Vaclav Hladky: Ipswich Town goalkeeper determined to hold on to shirt

Nine of Vaclav Hladky's 10 appearances last season were in cup competitions

Ipswich Town goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky hopes his form will be enough to keep him in the team when Christian Walton regains full fitness.

The Czech only played one league game last season as Town won promotion.

But Walton's foot injury has given Hladky an opportunity and he has only let in seven goals in nine Championship matches this season.

"Obviously I want to play and at the moment I think I deserve to keep playing," he told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"I'm working hard every day, I'm trying to help the team.

"I'm not going to lie. I'm enjoying myself. From the beginning of the season, I'm trying my best. We are in good shape right now, not just me, but all 25 players in the squad are in good shape.

Hladky first moved to Britain when he signed for Scottish club St Mirren in January 2019.

Eighteen months later he joined Salford City and was their first-choice keeper throughout the 2020-21 season before moving to Portman Road.

But it was Walton who was Ipswich's first-choice for League One games last term before suffering a torn plantar fascia, which causes pain around the heel, in pre-season - but he returned to training just over a week ago.

Hladky made a number of good saves in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Huddersfield and Ipswich have the chance to reclaim top spot in the Championship on Tuesday when they face Hull City at home.

"We never give up and we always believe we can score. We keep talking about resilience and belief in what we're doing, we just keep repeating that," the 32-year-old continued.

"There aren't going to be easy games this season and we have to be prepared and sometimes dig in and put in the hard work.

"As long as we can stay brave and the fans are behind us we can grow together."

McKenna was pleased with the character shown by his team, who needed an 87th-minute header by Brandon Williams to come home from Huddersfield with a point.

"We don't talk in [terms of] points 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 news on forward Nathan Broadhead, who missed the Huddersfield game with a thigh problem, and midfielder Lee Evans, who hurt his knee in a first-half tackle and later had to be substituted.