Leif Davis: Ipswich Town defender says promotion hopefuls must 'raise the bar' after Rotherham scare

Leif Davis began his career with Leeds United and joined Ipswich in July 2022

Defender Leif Davis says Ipswich can't afford to "play like that again" after being given a scare by struggling Rotherham at Portman Road on Tuesday.

Town edged out the bottom-of-the-table Millers 4-3 in a thrilling game to move third in the Championship, level on points with second-placed Leeds.

Ipswich face Birmingham City next on Saturday, after Leeds play leaders Leicester on Friday night.

"We've just got to keep focusing on ourselves," Davis, 24, said.

"We don't worry about the table, we could not have asked for a better position.

"If we'd said that [third in the table] at the start of the season, we'd have snapped your hand off."

Town's dramatic triumph on Tuesday was sealed by substitute Omari Hutchinson in the 95th minute, ensuring a third win in a row for Kieran McKenna's side.

But the nature of the victory was not ideal as far as Davis was concerned.

"The main thing is we got the three points in the end, but we can't play like that again," Davis added to BBC Radio Suffolk.

"Because, if we do, we'll throw the games away and that's when it'll get tough for us."

Tractor Boys need to 'raise the bar'

Ipswich's return to form followed a loss of momentum that started around the turn of the year, when they endured a run of only one win in nine Championship matches.

But just two of those games ended in defeat and Davis says that may be pivotal when it comes to the final standings.

"Every team's going to have a rough patch but we stuck together and we didn't throw a lot of points away - we stuck some important points on the board and they could be crucial come the end of the season," he said.

"It could go down to the wire."

Davis says the squad need to "keep raising the bar" as they embark on the final 13 games of the campaign, against teams who may try to emulate the direct, physical approach that Rotherham caused them problems with.

"We've seen what teams like that can do to us and obviously we've got to go back to the training ground and analyse what we can do better," he added. "We just need to keep learning."