The midfielder will spend the rest of the season in Suffolk after leaving Ewood Park on loan in January. He’s made six appearances for the Blues so far, four of which have come as starts.
It’s fair to say that he hasn’t exactly been a regular, with Sam Morsy and Massimo Luongo remaining as Kieran McKenna’s first-choice midfield partnership, but he’s determined to continue adapting to Town’s style of play, which is different from what he’s used to.
Unsurprisingly, the 26-year-old doesn’t know where his long-term future lies, and discussions will be held with new Blackburn boss John Eustace once the season comes to an end. Even then, a fee would have to be agreed between the two clubs, but Travis was keen to highlight that he’s loved his time at Ipswich so far.
“Whatever happens this season, it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “Obviously I’m still contracted to Blackburn, which is a fantastic club, but we’ll have to see what the future holds.
“I absolutely love it here and I love Portman Road.”
With that in mind, it sounds like he made the right decision to move down south for the first time in his career, joining a club in the midst of a fierce battle for automatic promotion.
The switch certainly provided a more challenging experience for Travis, but he’s adamant that it was the right move.
“There were teams that I felt I could’ve joined who would’ve been an easier option, where I would’ve stepped in and played every single game,” he admitted. “At Ipswich, I knew it’d be tougher to get in and get games, but the reward could be massive.
“There’s no point in taking the easy option in life. I’m still young and this is a fantastic opportunity, a bit of a risk, so I’m really glad I took it.”
The aforementioned race for a top-two finish now seems to be a four-horse race, and Ipswich have pulled ahead of Leeds United and Southampton after beating Plymouth Argyle over the weekend. They now sit just three points behind Leicester City, so the table makes good reading for Town fans.
However, Travis knows how quickly things can change, as all four teams have found out at various points throughout the campaign. He isn’t getting drawn into it too much, instead looking to focus on the upcoming games.
“You see with Leeds and Leicester, people probably thought that they’d be miles ahead and it doesn’t work out,” he explained.
“There’s always going to be loads of ups and downs. We’ve just got to keep concentrated as a group of lads and not focus on that, take every game as it comes.
“The teams around us have fantastic players, so it’s not like they’re just going to fall away. I feel like it could go right down to the wire.
“Anyone can beat anyone in this league. At the end of the day, when you’re coming in and playing teams more towards the bottom of the table, they’re scrapping to stay in the league while we’re scrapping to get out of the league. Anything can happen on the day. We’ve just got to stay mega dialled-in.
“It’d be a perfect world if we can win 11 out of 11, but I feel like there will be some ups and downs.”
Travis wants to play as much as possible in the next nine weeks, but he can only do so if he’s eligible. The Liverpool academy graduate is on nine bookings for the season, meaning that he’ll pick up a two-match ban if he’s given a yellow card against Bristol City tonight or during Saturday’s game at Cardiff City.
It means that he’s walking a bit of a tightrope, just like team-mate Morsy, who’s aiming to avoid a three-match suspension before the end of the campaign. That being said, Travis won’t let the prospect stop him from playing his usual game, although he’ll try his best to avoid another caution.
“A big part of my game is my tackling,” he said. “I can’t go into the games thinking ‘I’m going to get a yellow card here, I’m not going to make that tackle’. I’ve just got to play the game as I do.
