Paul Cook talked up Ipswich Town striker - 3 goals at Portman Road told a different story | OneFootball

Paul Cook praised striker Joe Pigott after his move to Ipswich Town, but he struggled to make an impact at Portman Road.

As Ipswich Town prepare for life back in the Championship, many are tipping them as one of the promotion favourites next season.

After winning back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League, Ipswich returned to the top flight following a lengthy absence last season, but the step up proved to be a little too much for them, and they were relegated with a total of just 22 points.

However, relegation was the first setback in what has been a remarkable journey for the Tractor Boys under manager Kieran McKenna over the past three-and-a-half years, and given the strength of their squad, they should be one of the main promotion contenders in the Championship next season.

McKenna has transformed Ipswich since his arrival at Portman Road, but much of the hard work in building the squad that delivered such success for the club was done by his predecessor, Paul Cook, who brought the likes of Christian Walton, Cameron Burgess, Sam Morsy, Wes Burns and Conor Chaplin to Suffolk.

However, while many of Cook's recruits went on to play a key role in the Tractor Boys' promotions under McKenna, he was also responsible for some failed transfer deals, including the signing of striker Joe Pigott.

Paul Cook issued bold Joe Pigott claim after Ipswich Town arrival

Cook oversaw a huge overhaul of the Ipswich squad in the summer of 2021, and Pigott became the seventh signing of a window that would eventually see 19 players arrive at Portman Road when he completed his move from AFC Wimbledon.

After spells with a host of clubs in the EFL, Pigott had spent the previous three-and-a-half years with the Dons in League One, and he joined the Tractor Boys off the back of the best season of his career, during which he scored 22 goals and provided five assists in 52 appearances.

With that in mind, it was seen as a big coup that Ipswich had managed to secure the services of one of the leading marksmen in the third tier, and judging by his comments after sealing a deal for Pigott, Cook was clearly thrilled to welcome his new addition to the club.

"To get a lad of Joe’s quality across the line is an absolutely massive plus for everyone at the Club," Cook told the club's official website.

"Twenty goals last season speaks volumes for itself. The reality is that if you don’t score goals, you won’t win football games. To get someone of Joe’s calibre in, with his goalscoring record; we’re all excited and looking forward to working with him."

CEO Mark Ashton revealed that the Tractor Boys had beaten Championship clubs to Pigott's signature, and he claimed that his decision to make the move to Suffolk was "a show of support for what we are trying to achieve at this football club".

Joe Pigott failed to live up to Paul Cook's high expectations at Ipswich Town

Given that Pigott had reached double figures for goals in two of the previous three League One seasons, it was easy to see why Cook was confident that he would be a success at Ipswich, particularly as he would be provided with service from the likes of Burns, Chaplin, Bersant Celina, Sone Aluko and Kyle Edwards.

The early signs were certainly positive as Pigott made a strong start to his Tractor Boys career, with the striker scoring two goals in his first four appearances for the club against Burton Albion and former club AFC Wimbledon.

However, despite being widely billed as title favourites, Ipswich endured a nightmare start to the season as they failed to win any of their first six league games, and as Cook tinkered with his team in an attempt to find a winning formula, Pigott soon found himself out of the starting line-up, while there were even occasions where he was left out of the squad altogether.

Pigott did manage to score one further goal for the Tractor Boys in a 2-0 victory at Gillingham in the EFL Trophy in October, but he was unable to force his way back into the team in the league, and his fortunes did not improve after McKenna replaced Cook in December.

It was, therefore, little surprise when McKenna allowed Pigott to join Portsmouth on loan in July 2022, but after he scored just seven goals in 44 games during an underwhelming spell at Fratton Park, he made a permanent move to Leyton Orient the following summer, which brought his frustrating two-year stint at Portman Road to an end.

Unfortunately for Pigott, it did not work out for him at Brisbane Road either, and while he helped Wimbledon to promotion from League Two last season after returning to Plough Lane on loan, he netted just four times in 37 appearances, with only 13 of those coming from the start.