Ipswich Town man makes Championship promotion race vow as pressure builds for Leeds United rivals

Ipswich Town won't be allowing themselves to get wrapped up in the promotion race hype over the final phase of the season, says goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky. With eight games to go Kieran McKenna's Tractor Boys are well and truly in the hunt for an automatic promotion to the Premier League.

After Saturday's 6-0 thrashing of Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich are just a point behind Leicester City and league leaders Leeds United and they'll be looking to increase the pressure once more on the other side of the international break as they take on Blackburn Rovers on Good Friday before hosting Southampton in an intriguing top of the table clash on Easter Monday.

It's a promotion race that has gripped fans up and down the country and it looks set to go down the wire. Ipswich, though, won't be changing the approach that has worked for them over the entirety of the season so far, with Hladky insisting the Suffolk side will keep their heads down and remain focused solely on the task at hand.

"Obviously we look at the table, but we just want to go and be ready for another game," Hladky said, as per the BBC. "We've been doing it all season and for sure we want to do it for the last eight games and where we end up, we'll see."

He added: "6-0 is really positive and the best way we could finish the block (of fixtures). It was a great response from the team, it's not easy when you lose a game in extra time.

"We learnt from the previous game (the loss to Cardiff), we start again and it was a great day for everybody."

On the promotion excitement, he added: "It's part of our preparation to come back again if we lose a game, we are not really listening to what people outside are saying."