Caretaker-manager Ian McParland paid tribute to his players for bouncing back from Sunday’s 7-0 thrashing at Chelsea to defeat Arsenal 1-0 at Portman Road in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final. McParland expects to hear officially that he’s leaving the club on Thursday with new manager Paul Jewell set to formally take over.

McParland said his players did everything he asked of them: “They sweated blood, they were fantastic. It showed a lot of character for them to bounce back after Saturday’s game.

“I knew when I spoke to them yesterday morning that they’d be fine. They came in after we’d done little bits on the training ground and I knew by looking at them that there would be a performance going in tonight.”

The Scot used veteran midfielder Mark Kennedy in midfield holding role he hadn’t previously occupied for the Blues, but says it was a position the 34-year-old had played before elsewhere in his long career: “I asked Sparky if he could play in there and he said he used to play in there sometimes at Wolves for Glenn Hoddle. He’s a clever footballer and that three in the middle were fantastic.

“The whole XI were fantastic but that three in there, Healy, Norris and Kennedy, they kept Arsenal from penetrating. Carlos wide and Connor Wickham worked hard down the line.

“They did a great job, a fantastic job. I said at half-time, ‘Stay in the game and keep it 0-0’. We needed to stay in the game and keep it 0-0 for as long as we could as I thought we’d make a goal.

“I thought we were always dangerous at corners and long throws. I’m absolutely delighted for the players, really proud of them.”

McParland says he’s not too upset to be leaving Portman Road, having seen it all before in football: “I’ll just dust myself down and get on with it. I’ve been in the game a long time and I’ve suffered a lot of disappointments and there have been a lot of good things.”

The 49-year-old is yet to hear officially whether he will be kept on but expects to be told he is leaving when he meets with new manager Paul Jewell when he takes charge on Thursday morning. Jewell’s regular assistant Chris Hutchings and West Ham coach Wally Downes have been linked with roles on the former Bradford, Sheffield Wednesday, Wigan and Derby manager’s backroom staff.

Jewell stayed away from the dressing room before, during and after tonight’s match and will meet his squad for the first time in the morning.

McParland says he expects the new boss to be a success with Town: “I know Paul Jewell well, he’s a good lad, an honest lad and he’ll do well here.”

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger felt his side had a lot of possession but didn’t do enough with it: “I’m disappointed and the players are as well. We had a lot of the ball but didn’t make a lot of it and Ipswich defended with heart and intelligence, and gave us problems on the counter-attack.

“They showed that you can have 70% of the ball and lose games. You have to give a lot of credit to Ipswich, they defended well. We were not sharp, were not creative and looked vulnerable defensively.”

The Frenchman dismissed suggestions that his team was complacent: “No, I don’t think so, I feel we had an off night. You could see from the start that every single pass was a problem. We rely on a lot of sharp and crisp passing, and that was always a problem for us tonight.

“Ipswich won, you have to congratulate them. They fought for their win, you can say that,” he said.

Wenger refused to blame his defenders for the loss, believing his entire side were under-par: “As a team we didn’t have the performance we were looking for tonight and were below our usual level in every department. It would be unfair to put the blame only on the defenders tonight, as we weren’t at our best in any department.

“When you play in one half, the long ball has 50 yards in which to be dangerous. That’s normal. But I felt we had more and more problems as the game went on.

“We looked more in control in the first half but in the second we looked much more vulnerable defensively in the second and I put that down to fatigue.”

Despite the defeat, the Gunners’ boss still expects his side to reach the final: “I believe that we’ll turn it around in the second leg, but we got a good warning tonight that we’ll have to produce a different performance.”

Photo: Action Images

thechangingman added 09:04 - Jan 13 I've just got into work (I am a secondary school teacher near Nottingham) and after 20 long, torturous months of pain, disillusionment and frustration I have a smile back on my face again! I'd forgotten how good it feels to have a team who performs and gets results - its something I can quickly get used to though!!! Anything is possible in that second leg now, my feet will be on the ground, BUT after a LONG wait I am going to enjoy every second of today. Loads of kids have already said, "Well done on Ipswich sir..." and I LOVE IT!!! Who needs Mourinho? We've got Paul Jewellio!!!!

0

costadelblue added 09:27 - Jan 13 it just show what a bad job RK was doing with the players he had cos that was not even are first time. the good times are coming i think
0

TimmyH added 09:43 - Jan 13 Got the tactics spot on! good energy levels too (which has not been apparent when ever I have seen Town play) and boyd but a good atmosphere and attendance! But can Town be motivated to play like that week in and week out in the kick it and scarp for it league? lets hope so - best of luck to Jewell and COYB
0

Paulc added 09:43 - Jan 13 Great result , real passion from all the players - Literally not one mediocre performance - wenger blames fatigue for second half performance yet had an extra 24 hours rest over our boys. Shame the 7 or 8 pages of negativity is reduced to 4 when there is a positive! Long ball wins the game, 1 up front - yet no complaints about tactics on here - Interesting?
0

NW10_Tractor added 09:51 - Jan 13 The support at Portman Road last night was FANTASTIC. The Fans didn't let the team down and the team didn't let the fans down. I'd be confident in saying: Get yer passports ready boys and girls, we're off on a european tour!
0

gypo added 09:54 - Jan 13 sweated blood i c#m my pants !!! ipswich 1-0 -tamas priskin 1st goal -100-1 -£2 pound bet now going to rub it in a arsenal fans face and he owes me a tenner. HAPPY DAYS please stay charlie
0

stinkiusminkius added 09:54 - Jan 13 Superb win and thoroughly deserved. I'm not a fan of Delaney but thought he was excellent. Also Peters and Priskin superb, which just casts bigger question marks over that Keane bloke and his strange use of them - thank god he's gone. Not convinced by O'Dea, Healy and Kennedy, but did well last night. Does anyone know if away goals play a part in these semis?
0

hogster1970 added 09:59 - Jan 13 just got my away tickets as my 10 year daughter has great powers of persuasion, but again just proved what a kn@b keane was at managment and getting the best out of players, well done cm you desrve a town night hood sir lol. not getting caried away though for the 2nd leg but will be the biggest ipswich party since 2000 what ever the result
0

sotd78 added 10:01 - Jan 13 I am 52 and have seen some great ipswich teams. This game ranks amongst a top ten. A bunch of players who played their hearts out and deserve every accolade they are now getting. I would have been pleased to have got 0-0 and kept the tie alive. To go to the Emirates with a goal to defend means we can still dream. It might be a tall order, we might yet get stuffed, but last night was our night. It goes down in history and adds to TWTD (Those Were The Days). Well done ITFC

0

owdboy1 added 10:02 - Jan 13 Away goals do count double in the event of a draw. Then extra time and penalties. At last the tactics were right - most of our wins have been with a defensive midfielder ; did'nt ever think it would be Kennedy. Charlie M - where have you been for the last three months? Probably Delaneys best ever game for the Town.
0

s6blue added 10:12 - Jan 13 from start to finish that was a truely outstanding professional performance. Not one player hid or looked in awe. Back four were organised and brave. Midfield 3 never stopped and the front 3 were a nuisance and were the first line of defense. I just hope the boys can recover quickly and ggive millwall a good hiding on saturday
0

bluelady added 10:26 - Jan 13 Jewell must have thought Sunday - omg what have i done and today must think his birthdays have all come at once!!! Hope Charile M is kept on for the rest of the season, tactical genious last night (or just maybe our new manager had a word or two?).... Hadnt got Emirates tickets, fickle fan i know but just couldnt bare for my ten year old to see two heavy defeats at the hands of Arsnal, now rectified tickets booked and away we go! Last time i went to such a big game was Wembley and 9 months pregnant :-)

0

bobble added 10:30 - Jan 13 sounds like ebola but could be a mild case hopefully wait till we get this new striker megson up front boy are we gonna start amassing points yahoooooooo
0

ITFCson added 10:33 - Jan 13 Can some1 please tell me the situation on away tickets? What is our allocation? And being a non-season ticket holder what are my chances of getting a ticket?
0

bluelady added 10:35 - Jan 13 ITFCson think there are nine thousand and you can try as of tomorrow. Got my tickets today as i am a season ticket holder and they had plenty left at that point, phones are a nightmare so it maybe worth going down?
0

camblue added 10:35 - Jan 13 Keane would have taken Priskin off after an hour.
0

bobble added 10:36 - Jan 13 man i am number 88 how groovy is that ? life is just going perfect since i put pluto on the front of my van keane got the boot we lost 7-0 to chelsea and beat the gunners and i found 10c outside woolworths the other day. no 22 i aint gonna swap unless your holding foldin
0

bluelady added 10:37 - Jan 13 camblue, you joking he wouldnt have played him! would have been Wickham up front as loan striker or even risking an injured Scotland.......
0

ITFCson added 10:45 - Jan 13 Ok....thanks bluelady, I will go down 1st thing tomorrow.
0

NorwichBlue138 added 10:49 - Jan 13 superb performance by all 11 last night, as many have said Peters and Kennedy MOM for me. Peters worked his socks off, and Kennedy was the calm head in midfield to plug the gaps. It might look negative, but would be happy to see us play that formation week in week out, as it is basically a 4-3-3 when Carlos and Connor get down the wing, and it takes out the defensive frailties having Kennedy sitting in. If they all play like that, would be happy to see Leadbitter bench warm for a couple of weeks. Also, great to see the stadium nearly maxxed out -- the home support really does get the boys going! So please continue to come along, this is just the beginning of something magical under Jewell, we need the support whether we are playing Doncaster and Scunthorpe or big teams like Arsenal!! COYB, well done McParland, can't wait to see what tricks Jewell has up his sleeve for the rest of the season!!

0

TractorJed added 11:07 - Jan 13 Well done and good luck Charlie. Goes to show when the team have a game plan, stick to the instructed tactics and work hard for the manager that results can be earnt. Massive game on Saturday - come on you blues!!!!!
0

brian_a_mul added 11:37 - Jan 13 Congrats Charlie on this wonderful result. Tactics and formation were brilliant and unexpected! Arsenal diddnt expect that from Town and diddnt know what to do! I would like you to stay on as part of new coaching team. You know Paul Jewell well and along with Downes and Hutch, together you could make a very good team. Your knowledge and experience with our current squad would be valuable for the rest of the season. If u do leave Charlie, than best of luck.

0

bluelady added 11:39 - Jan 13 norwichblue at least Jewell will have a fresh view on each player, Leadbitter is no longer guaranteed a place as his was with Keane irrespective of performance. Think there is far more to come from him and if he knows he has to fight for a place may bring the best out in him - think is performances have been lack lustre at best this season, a player who knows he has a place whatever. Scotland similar situation and think another choice is to play him up front with Prisken sat just behind (Keane always did it the other way around which i could never work out, a slow poacher doing the running around and a less than confident striker who is creative stuck in the box!)

0

dobbie73 added 11:47 - Jan 13 It was an amazing night, and so proud of the boys. No negatives whatsoever, other than the few idiot Arsenal fans looking for a scrap afterwards! Every player in blue stood tall and did their job brilliantly, and what a way for McParland to sign off. Well done everyone, let's keep it up and make Jewell's job an easy one!! PS - can anyone recommend a quick cure for a very knackered throat???

0

tallguy6767 added 11:53 - Jan 13 I don't know where that performance came from but what a pleasure it was to watch it and it made me feel pride for our club again! So hope this is going to be a change in fortunes for us. Keep it up lads ! C.O.Y.B.
0

Blogs 297 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls