The team and crowd have fed off each other at Portman Road over an incredible two-year rise, but things felt a little flat on and off the pitch during Tuesday night's 1-0 defeat to fellow early season strugglers Crystal Palace.
Still searching for their first Premier League win in more than 22 years, the Blues have been made 14/5 outsiders to end that run against a Bournemouth side that have taken the scalps of Man City, Arsenal and Tottenham already this campaign.
Liam Delap celebrates a goal in front of the Town fans. Kieran McKenna says the supporters can help lift his side todayLiam Delap celebrates a goal in front of the Town fans. Kieran McKenna says the supporters can help lift his side today (Image: Steve Waller) Asked about the difference supporters can make for an injury-hit side massively fighting the odds, McKenna replied: "You can never complain about the support we get at this club, it's amazing, but there's an opportunity there for them to directly impact what happens on the pitch.
"It's probably easier to do that against Liverpool, Man United, Aston Villa, teams who have been competing in Europe, when expectations are maybe lower. In the home games against Everton and Crystal Palace we haven't quite reached those heights in terms of the atmosphere on the pitch or off the pitch.
"It's understandable, because people want the team to do well, they look at the league table and attach extra significance to those type of games. But we have to find the balance between backing ourselves and also respecting the level of the opponent.
"Palace have had 10 years in the Premier League. They're a very, very good team. We know the journey of our team. To have a 50/50 game against Crystal Palace, as the game was, takes the boys doing a lot of good stuff and working really, really hard.
"That might not translate to what it might have looked like in the Championship or League One, but it doesn't mean they're working any less hard. They're working harder, I can guarantee that.
"There were some good things the other night in the performance. We don't have an even game with Crystal Palace if we're not doing some good things because of the level they have. We didn't manage to create as many chances or intensity in the game as we would have wanted to make it a classic Portman Road game, but we're not always in control of that because there's another team out there trying to stop us doing what we want to do and the teams at this level are much better at doing that than any team this club has played against in an awful lot of years.
Town fans have backed the team in their thousands - and the team need them again todayTown fans have backed the team in their thousands - and the team need them again today (Image: PA) "All we can do is crack on with the job, do our absolute best, try and play football in a way that makes our supporters proud and also gives us the best chance of getting points.
"The supporters have been fantastic. I hope and believe they will be right behind the players on Sunday, try and enjoy the game, get behind the players, enjoy the fact that we're competing against a really, really good Bournemouth side and enjoy seeing the boys try and step up to that challenge. When they do that we know that gives us the best chance of getting the performance that we want and, importantly, getting some points."