Leif Davis is delighted with Town’s impressive start to life back in English football’s second tier but warned
“The Championship is still one of the hardest leagues I’ve played in and it’s still difficult.”
Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Huddersfield saw the Blues drop points for the first time on the road this term to leave them sitting second in the table, two points behind leaders Leicester with a Portman Road double header to come this week when Hull’s visit tonight is followed by that of Preston at the weekend.
Davis said: “We’ve done really well so far and done what we had to do. But it’s still early doors, plenty of games left and we have to keep it going.
“You could tell last season how hard everyone is prepared to work and we thought it was going to be a big step up to the Championship, although we have not found it as difficult to cope with as we might have thought it would be.
“It just shows that doing more of the same, working hard with the manager and the coaching staff, is paying off again.
“The manager has worked at the top level and he knows what to expect from the players. I’ve heard people describe this season’s Championship as the toughest it has been for many a year but we’re coping well so far.
“It’s not a case of it not being as difficult as we thought it would be because it’s not as good; we’re working very hard and that’s what has earned us a good start, not that the league isn’t as strong as it has been, definitely not.
“You only have to look at the clubs that came down from the Premier League and the top-quality players they have.
“It’s still tough but we are well prepared to compete at this level. Also, you don’t realise how tough it is until you’ve played in it.
“Just watching Championship games, you don’t learn that. The level of hard work needed at this level is way higher than what was required in League One.”
Davis, 23, looked back on the draw at Huddersfield, adding: “It was a hard-fought point on the road because they certainly didn’t make it easy for us. They knew what we like to do – play football, play out from the back, build up and get our attacks going from there – but they stopped that.
“They went man for man on us and we don’t get that very often, which made it difficult for us to figure out what we needed to do.
“But after we went in at half-time, I thought we came out a lot better in the second half.
“The ball was in their half for the majority of the time but it was a tough game overall and one point is better than zero at the end of the day. We were unhappy not to win the game but at the same time happy that we managed to come away with a point.
“We can play good football but we have a gritty side to us. We’ve got that as a team and as individuals as well, which we’ve shown at times this season.
“We’ve come back from being 2-0 down against both Cardiff and Wolves in the Carabao Cup to win 3-2, which was down to spirit and character, and again on Saturday we might have gone behind but we came back to make sure we took something from the game. We showed a lot of heart to make sure we didn’t lose that game.”
It was from a cross on the left by Davis in the 87th minute that Town levelled against the Terriers, loan signing Brandon Williams diving to head his first goal since arriving from Manchester United.
But Davis admitted: “To be fair, I couldn’t really see what was on because I had Freddie [Ladapo] and one of their players in front of me.
“At the last minute I hit the ball across and I couldn’t even see Brandon diving in to head it because my view was still blocked.
“I saw the ball was in the net and I couldn’t really believe it. I’ve watched it back a few times since then and it was a great header and I’m buzzing for him because he has been working really hard since he came in. When he came on at half-time, he did everything he had to do and changed the game.”
Chelsea loanee Omari Hutchinson, whose goal earned three points at Southampton last month, continued to impress at the John Smith’s Stadium and Davis believes there is plenty more to come from him and fellow 19-year-old Dane Scarlett, who is on loan from Tottenham.
Davis said: “Omari is on fire at the moment and he’s a very talented player. He’s still young but he’s got absolutely everything you need to be a top player. With the ball at his feet, he’s incredible.
“With Dane we see his quality every day in training when we have shooting and finishing drills – he seems to score every single time. I think he will surprise a lot of people when he’s fully match fit. He hasn’t played a lot of games but when he does, I think he’ll show his quality, impress and show people how good he is.
“Axel Tuanzebe is another one. He’s getting close to full fitness and, again, he’s very good. You can tell he has played at the top level as well, especially the way he reads the game so well.
“He has clearly learned a lot from playing with some big players and he’s bringing that to us now. He’s done really well since he joined us, he has fitted in well and we’re looking forward to when he can join us on the pitch. Like Dane, when the time comes, he will show his quality.”
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