Boss Mick McCarthy felt that a draw was a fair result after the Blues’ opening game of the Christmas period ended 1-1. Derek McInnes, his opposite number, thought his side ought to have won and should have been awarded two penalties.

McCarthy said: “I think it was a fair result. I didn’t think we played particularly well, but I think they did play well and we should congratulate them, actually.

“I was glad to get in at one-each at half-time, to be honest. It wasn’t [anywhere near the Forest and Millwall performances], it would be lovely if we could get that — from the bottom of the league to every single week playing like that, it would be great. But it wasn’t going to happen, it’s never going to happen.

“Maybe these are the hardest games, against sides playing for the same thing. Expectation is high against the teams around us, but seeing the results today the league’s just bonkers and it’ll continue to be, right to the very end.

“I’ve never said anything other than that it’s going to be a bitter scrap right to the end, and that’s the way it’ll be.”

Asked whether the wet conditions reduced the quality of the match, the Blues boss quipped: “I think the two teams played their part in reducing the quality of the game!

"I thought they played well in the first half and we maybe struggled with their shape a little bit.

“In the second half we got to grips with it and I thought we had some opportunities that we could have done better with, but we didn’t.

“That’ll be the difference. The teams that finish in the top six as opposed to the ones that finish in the bottom six, they’ll be the ones that put the ball in the net. I guess they could say the same. They could have been sat here with the victory.”

McCarthy says he withdrew DJ Campbell just before the hour mark to try and make more of an impression on the five-man Bristol City backline, confirming that the on-loan QPR man hadn’t suffered an injury: “I just freshened my strikers up.

“I had Michael Chopra on the bench and I think he’s a worthwhile sub, he’s a good player and I don’t think it was happening for us up front.

“That’s what I do, change it, try and freshen it up, as it happens it didn’t particularly work that well. Daryl got a nasty knock on his knee at the end and I’m hoping that he’ll be OK.”

The Town manager, who says no one else picked up niggles, says there were positives to be taken from the match: “We took a point from a game we could have lost, we’ve not been beaten twice on the bounce, which we could have been and didn’t crumble when we could have done and we’ve got better in the second half. I think we were slightly the better side in the second half.”

Regarding midfielder Cheick Kourouma’s exit yesterday, McCarthy said: “He’s not good enough for us. I can’t dress it up any more than that.”

Robins boss Derek McInnes was disappointed his team didn’t win: “I’m a bit frustrated, truth be told, I thought we were a far better team. I thought we were very dominant in the first half.

“I thought it was a bit more even in the second half, but I still think we played with confidence and when you play as well as we did in the first half and create as many chances, there’s a frustration that we haven’t picked up all three points.”

The Scot also thought his side should have been awarded two penalties, the first when Luke Chambers blocked a shot from Paul Anderson early on and the second when Guirane N’Daw stopped a Jon Stead strike.

“My biggest frustration other than the fact that we haven’t taken some of our chances came from two really strong penalty claims,” he said.

“I thought there were two handballs, I’ve watched them again and we got punished against Blackpool a few weeks back for something which was nowhere near as evident as out there today. We’re disappointed with that.

“But you always know when you play Mick’s team that you’re going to have to battle and scrap for everything you get, and that’s what we had to do today.”

Photo: Action Images

kuyski added 18:52 - Dec 22 MM ！TRY your best get the suitable man for the team in January IN MICK I TRUST
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TractorBoy666 added 18:56 - Dec 22 Not the result we all wanted but it's always going to be ugly against teams around us unfortunately. The performances of some players out there today though were woeful. Can't understand what Jewell ever saw in Drury as he is a liability. Hyam in for Drury for me. As for Martin, he is just too inconsistent as are the whole team at times. Now that it happens, we are back in the dog fight again and Charlton is a game where we should look to get the 3 points. People that were slating JET were way too harsh, and at least when he came on it livened the game up a little bit. At least we didn't lose.

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oscarwhiting added 18:56 - Dec 22 Good to c that in that last bit some people r beginning to fear us(a bit)
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brittaniaman added 18:57 - Dec 22 Well we can forget Ebanks-BLake now (if he was ever on the radar) last night he scored 2 for Wolves, so they will not part with him now will they ????
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Garv added 19:00 - Dec 22 Not much to say after that
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essexitfc added 19:01 - Dec 22 We were nowhere near our best but we didn't lose which was important. Needs to be better against Charlton and Wolves. COYB!
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StuartBrett8 added 19:21 - Dec 22 We need a left winger, number one priority in January
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BillBlue added 19:44 - Dec 22 I was pleased that ReoCoker was left on the bench but surprised and disappointed that Hyam was left there too. However, I was even more surprised when the second half started and no substitutions had been made and so it went on. Why Mick, why didn't you change things round to try and create some positivity? It is all very well saying that is what you do but then, why didn't you do it? A very, very disappointing day and that could be a very costly result too. COYB

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Talbs77 added 19:58 - Dec 22 I agree that a point is better than nothing but I have to say I was disapointed with the way we played today. They just seemed really flat, there wasnt the same energy in midfield or quality of passing there was in the Forest/Millwall games. Lee Martin especially dissapointed me today. It looks to me that his contract situation has got to him a bit but you have to earn your contract and at the moment he's just not good enough. The midfielders HAVE to score more goals than they are at the moment. But I'd like to finish on a positive and say you won't see a better finish than Tommy Smiths today, absolute quality, he's looking better every game. A potential captain in my view.

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blues1 added 19:58 - Dec 22 billblue. what the hell are you on about? he did make changes to try to turn it around by bringing on chopra & jet. the fact it didint work isnt micks fault. at least read the story if you dont attend the game, then you wont make such a stupid comment.
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BillBlue added 20:07 - Dec 22 blues1. Yes I did read the article, in full, and that is precisely why I made the comments I did. Perhaps past your interpretation? COYB
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TimmyH added 20:07 - Dec 22 and once again agree Talbs! - where are the TS knockers now? (oh they've all hibernated) - but today we never looked up for it, in lets face it a pretty important match and it ruined my coupon (that'll teach me a lesson never to bet on your own team and a Championship game). Surprisingly disappointed.
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h32 added 20:10 - Dec 22 blues1 - ...... through your 'blue' tinted specs' again I guess ..... the changes were not what most people expected I would say - and do you have to be insulting with your comments ??
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MathieandMarshall added 20:14 - Dec 22 I see billblue point. Changing the two strikers was the only change made. We needed to do something tactically to get to grips with their formation first half. Also disappointed to see a fit Luke Hyam on the bench. Esspecially after the impact he had against Forrest at home! Tommy smith our best player today.
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village_blue added 20:15 - Dec 22 Thought that today Henderson was back to being hap-hazard, In the second half he was doing his Superman impressions again coming for the ball on at least 2 occasions with his right arm in the air and got nowhere near the ball.Just think that about 6 weeks ago we would have lost the match we didn't so that must be a bonus for us.Just seems strange that we always struggle against the teams at the bottom of the league and perform much better against the teams at the top of the league.

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TimmyH added 20:19 - Dec 22 @village_blue - well at home anyway, not so sure about away.
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Talbs77 added 20:23 - Dec 22 TimmyH how you doing fella?! Merry Xmas to you and the rest of the people on here by the way! If it makes you feel any better, I backed the town on me accumulater also! They always let me down when I back them so a lesson learnt there me thinks! I must own up and say I have criticised Tommy in the past as always felt there was a clanger in him be it the 1st or 91st minute. I think MM must have worked on him however that seems to have disapeared now and he looks so much more confident and dominent especially in the air. Dont think he'll ever be John Mcgreal but I'd like him and Chambers to be a bit better in their distribution. His finish was superb on the turn, was stunned when I realised it was him! Him and Chambers have gone from strength to strength but they have to keep it up. Look guys the squad is developing and will continue to until the end of January. We were in such a bad way when MM came in it was always going to be a relegation fight the whole season. We just have to keep doing what were doing now, keep picking points up along the way and hopefully we will be ok.

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shoopdelang added 21:03 - Dec 22 Playing crap and still picking up a point . Good sign that is in my opinion. You are never going to play well and boss every game but it is important that in the games you are not playing well to come out of the game with something
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Edmunds5 added 21:20 - Dec 22 Not the best result ever but I think today puts into context what the league is about, we have beaten to teams in the top half of the table and well in N.Forest and Millwall, but we've put in very average displays against two teams near us in Peterborough and Bristol City. So perhaps next game we will win and the teams that won i.e Barnsley, Sheff Wed and Peterborough wont, not that we want to be relying on other results but lets look at the bigger picture. I do feel we need a couple of reinforcements, I feel the defence is actually looking fairly settled but we need more spark in midfield and a bit more of a threat up front, a striker who is going to be constantly in the game like Becchio at Leeds because I feel our strikers rely to much on the correct service and I dont think our midfield are creating enough. Anyway, I can't see any reason why we can't go to Charlton and get 3 points.

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blue_beats_yellow added 21:23 - Dec 22 Definitely think Ipswich could have taken all 3 points at the end but I'm sure Bristol also felt they could have got a second when they were on top in the first half. Full credit for not crumbling and losing a tricky game but we should be looking to get 3 points from these games. That said, I'd be happy to get a draw at Charlton, a place I seem to remember us struggling over the years. A win and 4 points out of 6 from these games would be a fantastic return! CMON YOU BLUES

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Lower_North added 21:27 - Dec 22 I still think we are gonna trip more teams up at the top than the bottom..
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manualthetisfanclub added 21:27 - Dec 22 Poor performance today,looked as though they thought they would win by just turning up,got to work harder than that.for me January can't come soon enough,but easier said than done though getting the right players in,if available and right money.our front 6 really hasn't got any real goal threat in them(all bar dj maybe) and the subs really have nothing real to offer which is quite worrying IMO.got to say that tommy smith my top man at the moment,always liked him,as fellow poster already said definite skipper material, I love his attitude he loves the club,heart on sleeve kind of guy!

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BuckieBlue added 21:49 - Dec 22 Positive: when MM arrived we'd all have accepted being out of bottom by Christmas which obviously we are. Negative: depending on how loan situation develops we could be starting with half a new team come mid/end January, time to gel etc. But with MM here i think we'll be ok.
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blues1 added 22:23 - Dec 22 no h32 i was not insulting ne1, was just saying it an idiotic comment to blame mcarthy for his changes not working, he cant force changes to work , just hope they do. of the changes he did make, murphy was injured, so jet was only alternative on the bench. bringing chopra on was the right change also with dj having a very quiet game. like many im certain there are on here, i too would have liked to see hyam come on in place of drury who i believe simply isnt good enough. as for my "blue tinted glasses", no, todays performance was poor, the worst at home since mm took over but as mm said himself after the win at birmingham in his 1st game in charge there will be good and bad days. clearly today was the latter.billblue. would like to know your interpretation of mms comment that he makes changes but they didnt work? personally i take his comments as he said them. dont try to put a spin on what hes said.

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blues1 added 22:27 - Dec 22 that should have read i dont try to put a sin on what hes said
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