Chuba Akpom knew that the summer after Ipswich Town’s promotion to the Premier League had to be different.

By his own admission, the 31-year-old didn’t thrive in the Championship last season, starting just seven games and scoring twice.

The Blues had agreed an obligation to sign him from Ajax at the end of the campaign, but there were more questions than answers about his future at the end of the campaign.

So Akpom did the only thing he could do. He jetted off to the Algarve in Portugal and got to work by himself in the off-season, hoping to get himself back to his best ahead of his return to Suffolk.

“I spent the whole summer just working for this season,” he explained. “I isolated myself. I went training camps and left my family in England to prepare for this season.

The 31-year-old trained in the Algarve following last season's promotion (Image: Ross Halls)

“It definitely meant a lot to me, and I think I took last season personally because, although we got promoted, I don't feel like I had the impact I wanted to have.

“I took that personally when I worked hard in the summer, and now I feel like I'm in a better place mentally and physically.

“It helps even more when I've got the trust and the confidence from the manager, who's telling me I'm part of his plans and stuff like that. He's always highlighting to me, to the team, the impact that I'm having when I'm helping the team.

“I feel like my whole thought process has changed, and I feel like I'm a hungrier player. There's still lots to show. You talk about there's still lots to show.”

Discussing what his summer months looked like, Akpom revealed: “Once the season was done, I had a family holiday and then I came back. We were talking about going on another family holiday, but I just wanted to get back into the zone of being locked in with football.

“So I did my own training camp. I went abroad for a week by myself and I just did some double sessions, triple sessions for a week. I just wanted to come back, raring to go.

Akpom scored in defeats to Manchester United and Arsenal (Image: Ross Halls)

“I felt fit, I felt much stronger and I just said to myself, whether it's a new gaffer or a current gaffer, I just want to impress in pre-season and really show the player that I am. That was my thinking behind it.”

“I definitely had more of a point to prove this summer. A few times last season, it was hard for me, being on the bench, not feeling like you're having an impact on the team.

“I said to myself, 'that's not going to happen again this year'. I really want to show what I can do in any way I can.

“I think it was a bit more personal this summer.”

There was no guarantee that Akpom was going to remain an Ipswich player following Kieran McKenna’s departure. In fact, many felt that a summer exit from Portman Road was likely.

Manager Gary O’Neil, however, had other plans.

“I feel like, from day one, since the gaffer came in, he's put a lot of confidence in me,” Akpom stressed.

The attacker has gained the trust of manager Gary O'Neil (Image: Ross Halls)

“I didn't have the best of seasons, so it would have been easy for him to just say, ‘listen, I'm going to get my own strikers in and I'm not depending on you’.

“But from day one, he's showed a lot of confidence in me, and he's pushed me and said that I'm going to be part of his plans. I think that's helped me a lot.

“I feel like Ipswich fans, Ipswich staff and my teammates are starting to really see the real me compared to last season.

“I think there's so much more to show, and I've just got my head down, working and ready for whatever opportunity I get.”

Getting regular minutes in this Ipswich team is certainly a challenge, especially up front, where Emersonn, Zian Flemming and Akpom are all vying for one starting spot.

There’s plenty of options in every area of the pitch.

“From the goalkeepers to the strikers, there's lots of depth, there's lots of competition, and I think you need that in the Premier League,” Akpom argued.

“It's extremely competitive, and of course I'm competing against my fellow strikers, but we're also pushing each other to do well and pushing each other to help the team.

Akpom has been competing with Zian Flemming to lead the line ahead of Emersonn (Image: Ross Halls)

“I would call it healthy competition, and it's all going to help the team.”

Akpom might still be chasing his first start, but he’s certainly got a part to play in this Town team. He has two goals to his name in all competitions, featuring off the bench in every game apart from the 3-2 win at Crystal Palace, where he was an unused substitute.

“It means a lot,” Akpom admitted. “As you know, my career has had lots of ups and downs.

“I've gone to different countries, different leagues. To be back here in England and not too far from London, where I was born and raised, is fantastic.

“I'm definitely not taking it for granted. Any second that I get on the pitch, I just want to show what I can do and help the team as much as I can.”