Diop: Always Special Against Your Former Club But No Extra Motivation
Friday, 9th Oct 2026 16:12 by Kallum Brisset
Town defender Issa Diop is excited to return to Portman Road this weekend but insists facing former club Fulham provides no extra motivation.
Following the first extended international break of the season, the Blues play their first Premier League game for three weeks when the Cottagers make the trip to Suffolk on Saturday.
The winless Whites sit second-bottom of the table after five matches, while Town sit in mid-table having already won twice in the early stages on their return to the top flight.
Diop, who made the switch from Craven Cottage to Portman Road over the summer, is not treating the clash any differently to any other game and hopes to get back to winning ways on home soil.
“Not really, because you’re always motivated,” he said. “You know the players that you play against better, so that might be the only difference.
“It’s always special when you face your former club. In the end, it’s just a football game. Now I play for Ipswich, so I hope we’re going to beat them tomorrow.
“It’s been a long time that we didn’t play at home with the internationals, so I’m very excited and I hope we’re going to win the game tomorrow for them.
“We want to win against Fulham, and Manchester City \[next weekend\] is the same. Even if I played for Fulham, I just want to win and it’s not going to change anything. The only different thing is I know the players better than other teams.”
Reflecting on his time in West London, Diop added: “It was good. I just had a good time over there with good people, a good coach, a good club. I just have good things to say about Fulham.
“We had many good memories. I can’t pick one special one, but many good memories over there.”
Last season, Diop started just eight of Fulham’s Premier League matches and was heading into the final year of his contract during a summer of change at Craven Cottage that also saw long-serving manager Marco Silva depart.
Town swooped to sign the 29-year-old in July for an initial £8.5m fee, and the defender has since played every minute of the Blues’ five league matches so far this term.
However, Diop says the desire for more game time was not a major factor in his decision to sign at Portman Road, insisting nothing in football is ever guaranteed.
“Not really, because when you go to a club, you’re never sure that you’re going to play every game,” he claimed.
“Even when I first came here, no-one told me that I was going to play every game. It’s normal in football, you have to fight for your place, so that wasn’t part of my decision.
“I think you can see they have a very good project. I see the training ground, very good, and it’s a very good club. I think it was the right step for me and a good opportunity.
“Maybe you’re going to believe me or not, I don’t know \[about other interest\] because I don’t really speak about that with my agent. I just tell them to let me know when it’s really close with the club.
“They just called me and told me that Ipswich was interested. It was more or less pretty done between both clubs, so I don’t know.”
Comparing the feeling of Silva’s departure to that of former Town boss Kieran McKenna, he added: “A little bit, because when you’re a successful manager and when he’s leaving the club, it might be a bit difficult for some players to change or switch.
“It’s our job, so we’re used to that and we’re used to changes. Football doesn’t stop, so we don’t have time to stop or to think about the past, and we just need to adapt.”
Diop was not the only player to make the switch north-east during the summer, as the experienced Saša Lukić was also signed from Fulham to bolster the Blues’ midfield options.
The Morocco international said: “I was very happy because he’s a very good player. He was a very good addition for the club and for the team.
“It makes things a little bit easier when you know players to adapt, especially when you’re in a new club. He’s very good for the club, first and foremost, because he’s an experienced player and top quality player.”
The long international break, coupled with the Town’s previous two league fixtures coming away from home, means this weekend will be the first Premier League match on home soil in more than five weeks.
Three of the Blues’ five matches before the next break are at Portman Road, and Diop says picking up points on home turf will be crucial to achieving survival at the end of the season.
He said: “It’s always important. If you asked me this question at the beginning, I would have said the beginning of the season is a very important part of the season. Every block of games is important, and this one is very important as well.
“When you’re promoted, the home form is always important. That’s what we said at the beginning of the season. We want to be really hard to beat at home, and I hope we’re going to be really hard to beat at home.”
Now a full international, there was no respite for Diop during the recent break as the defender played three times for Morocco over the past fortnight.
“It was the first time that the international break was long like that, but it was only one week more than usual,” he said. “We’re used to that, now we’re all back in and we’re ready for the game tomorrow.
“When you’re away for the national team, you have games as well so you focus on those games. I’m very happy here, everyone is very nice at the club and everyone is welcoming.
“We have a very good group of lads and very good staff, so everyone makes the stuff easier for you to adapt. I’m very lucky and happy.”
_Photo: IMAGO/Action Plus via Reuters Connect_