Chief executive Simon Clegg paid tribute to Town’s 9,000-strong following at the Emirates Stadium for last night’s Carling Cup semi-final second leg and said it was a proud night for the club, despite the Blues falling to a 3-0 defeat and losing the tie 3-1 on aggregate.

Clegg was impressed with Town's largest travelling army since the trip to the San Siro to face Inter Milan in 2001: “I thought the fans were fantastic today and the players appreciated the support they were getting from the fans.

“It was disappointing in some regards because we came here with a one-goal lead and I thought the team did incredibly well to hold on for another hour. There was some good defensive play, but it wasn’t to be and two goals in quick succession like that hurts you badly.

“But the players were there in their own right and should be very proud of their achievement. I think it says a lot about the football club, they showed a lot of passion and they made the club proud and I hope they made the fans proud.

“It was a proud day for everyone at the club, the owner, myself and everyone. It was a great occasion. It’s an awesome stadium to play in and I think the boys raised their game, certainly for the first hour. They had a couple of chances, but it wasn’t to be.”

The Town chief says everyone at Portman Road now needs to concentrate on climbing the Championship: “We need to focus on the day job. Wembley was a fantastic dream and we were nearly there, but not on this occasion. Onwards and upwards and we’ll get back to the business of moving us up the league.”

Clegg flat-batted questions regarding the Blues’ transfer dealings, although he confirmed that two deals, understood to be the loan move for Jimmy Bullard and the £150,000 signing of Andy Drury from Luton, are close: “I think that we are near on a couple of situations and I would expect people to be hearing some movement on what our intentions are over the next couple of days.”

The chief executive says Town are conscious of Portsmouth target David Norris’s position — the midfielder is out of contract at the end of the season and can talk to other clubs having turned down his initial two-year offer from the Blues — with the 29-year-old’s wages appearing to be the sticking point, Town having been keen to reduce costs over the last year and with attendances down this season.

Clegg hopes the matter will be resolved in the near future with manager Paul Jewell set to meet with Norris and Gareth McAuley, who is also one of the 21 players whose terms are up in the summer, later this week: “We will talk responsibly with all the parties involved and get the situation sorted out sensibly. When the time is right, a statement will be made.”

Photo: Action Images

muhrensleftfoot added 17:25 - Jan 26 Clueless Clegg. What a waste of space he is. Bring back Sheepy
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ipswichtown1978 added 17:34 - Jan 26 still the stingy c*** won't pay for the toilets on the coach! Bus 3 people u will no what im on about fricken disgustin!!!! lol well played town, u did urselfs proud! :)
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Big_Foot_Blue added 17:43 - Jan 26 I was on bus 3 IT78 and I know exactly what you mean, disgusting but well played town, Ive watched the highlights and on summary I would say Bendters world class goal was the turning point. To go through we would have needed 0-0 but we did well all the same COYB
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truckertractorboy added 18:15 - Jan 26 Don't like slagging anyone off but anyone who thought that us 9000+ fans were quiet last are complete idiots and really must book a hearing test.I'm proud of us all and my sore throat
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bluecrossy added 18:33 - Jan 26 we were so quiet !? do us a favour.
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tractaboy added 18:47 - Jan 26 Yeah what a muppet all you could hear on the tv until Arsenal scored were the town fans! You all sounded brilliant! Even towards the end of the game when town pushed forward more it was all town fans. I think the gooners were bricking themselves for 60 minutes! Well done all 9000 of you!
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Somersetractor added 19:09 - Jan 26 Yep. I was in with the Arse, frustrating as hell, but town fans absolutely made the consistent atmosphere in what I think is quite a soulless feeling ground, I think I heard the Arse sing about three different songs most of which was when they were winning. Not a very passionate bunch. Bloooooo army!
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confoosed_dot_com added 19:52 - Jan 26 Atmosphere was great throughout from Town fans, speaking as another whi has no voice today! Even the report in the Evening Standard mentioned how noisy the fans were! And while I agree with Clive Baker that we shouldn't revel in a 3-0, we are relative minnows, we did hold them for 120 minutes and deserve to be proud of the display
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ITFC_Singapore added 20:33 - Jan 26 As a long distance fan who was forced to watch on tv, i would agree that the noise from the town fans didn't sound very impressive. But that of course is down to the positioning of the microphones and the sound levels they use from them, so no reflection on what it was really like. Wish i'd been there to hear the noise in person !
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devontractorboy added 21:03 - Jan 26 'Towns travelling army plays tribute to Clegg' Now there's a headline we'll never see on here!!!!!
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warwickblue added 21:31 - Jan 26 It seemed to me that, at both grounds, the Arsenal supporters were simply bewildered by the passion, enthusiasm and sheer noise that we made. You could see them looking with a kind of "What the....?" thought bubble coming out of their heads. Face it, however good they are, watching Arsenal is NEVER going to be as much fun as following Ipswich.Like driving a Rolls Royce down the M4 will never give you the same buzz as driving a Granada in a Demolition Derby.

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Umros added 21:36 - Jan 26 Was in home support, near away, nasty bunch of so called fans. Many of which won't be going to Wembley FACT 31,800 tickets, 50,000 Arsenal last night..........you do the Math.........try supporting a local team gooner boys.
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austractor added 21:37 - Jan 26 Norris and Bullard are two very different players. Jewell has said he wants to keep norris, so my guess would be that our other expensive midfielder (leadbitter) is on his way but nothing can be said about that until the replacement is in. Selling Leadbitter will get a decent fee, that fee will cover the bullard expenses. Then, when bullard leaves at the end of the season, Drury will take over that role for a fraction of the cost of leadbitter or bullard and clegg will have achieved his cost objective. Whether Norris is right to not sign his new deal is anyones guess, and just a guess because you have no idea what he is on, what he is asking for, or what the club have offered.

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kipper added 21:49 - Jan 26 Fabian Wilnis in with the away crowd before and during the game, what a legend. I wonder how many recent ex Arsenal players would mix with their club's supporters.
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BrightBlue added 21:59 - Jan 26 Great atmosphere last night and the singing was fantastically loud! Some really nasty 'part time' Arse supporters near me in block 123.... the rendition of "your shirts to small for you" sung to the thuggish 'hulk-like' bloke was genius!! Well done one and all.
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ipswichtown1978 added 22:16 - Jan 26 Fabian Wilnis is a blue, is a blue, is a blue, Fabian Wilnis is a blue, he hates naarich where was Cleggy mixing with the fans before the game i ask??
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BrightBlue added 22:23 - Jan 26 ipswichtown1978 I haven't stopped singing that all day!
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BlueJewells added 22:37 - Jan 26 :D lol
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bobble added 06:32 - Jan 27 if he wants lots of noisy fans maybe he should reduce the ticket prices at postman rd...............
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ClassyIpswichLass added 09:30 - Jan 27 Poor old Clegg. He pays tribute to the travelling fans and he still gets slated. He's probably thinking "I wish they'd sing like that at PR" We're thinking "I wish I could afford to go to PR" Possible deal: Town cut ticket prices by 50% while in the bottom half of the division. Attendance rises by 50% and noise increases by 300%. Got to be worth a try.
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