Town boss Mick McCarthy is hoping for favourable weather as the Blues go into a rare period of 10 days between Championship fixtures. Next Saturday’s home game against Reading has moved to the following Tuesday - February 2nd - as the Royals are in FA Cup fourth round action against Walsall at the Madejski Stadium.

The free week means McCarthy and his staff will have more time to work with the players on the training field, as long as the weather doesn’t throw a spanner in the works as it already has done on previous occasions this month.

“If we could get on the pitches, that would be handy,” the Blues manager said. “If they’re not frozen or flooded that would be a real help.

“[When games come Saturday-Tuesday] you just turn around and get playing. It’s unusual but nevertheless [the Reading game will] come around pretty quickly.

“We’ll have a couple of days in the week but then we’ll be back to Tuesday-Saturday again.”

When they face Reading the Blues will be looking to stretch their remarkable winning run at Portman Road on Tuesday nights to 16 games, their last Tuesday home non-victory having been the 2-0 defeat to Watford in February 2013.

Town could have another free weekend due to their scheduled opposition’s FA Cup commitments in February.

Blackburn, who are currently down to visit Portman Road on Saturday 20th February, the weekend of the fifth round, face Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium in a fourth round tie this Saturday.

Photo: Action Images

Spirit_of_78 added 12:56 - Jan 25 Why oh why do the majority of you complain about McCarthy? It is what it is, we are where we are, we're broke we're surviving, any of you complaining got the money this club needs to move on.....? NO! now why can't you lot get behind your team, get off the managers case and be grateful we are still Ipswich Town!! Or jog on and become a budgie!!
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Bluebongo added 13:53 - Jan 25 Well said Spirit of 78, at last a sensible comment.
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Kirbmeister added 14:13 - Jan 25 Agree with the last two posters. I used to enjoy reading this site and the comments as most were informative and expressed a whole range of views. Now they are mostly made up of piss takers and not very funny ones at that.
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TR11BLU added 14:57 - Jan 25 Cue the Tues record coming to an end....We always lose to Reading.
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Bluebongo added 15:05 - Jan 25 I dare not tell you how long I,ve been supporting the Town, but I was a regular in the Div.3(south) days and still a season ticket holder now.If some of these fans think that these are bad times,they aint seen nuthin. (we had plenty of good times too)so get behind the team and stop moaning,and if you,ve got to moan keep it to yourselves, don,t grate on us TRUE SUPPORTERS.

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Westy added 15:28 - Jan 25 I am a long-standing Season Ticket holder, and true, football fans can be a fickle lot but I cannot abide the win a game and sing McCarthy's praises and lose a game and 'McCarthy out' fraternity. Have some consistency and support the team through thick and thin. I don't agree with everything the Government does but that doesn't mean I want to leave the Country.
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essex57 added 15:35 - Jan 25 Sorry Westy meant to push agree arrow couldn't agree more in fact the news comments on the site is getting very depressing to read god knows what it would be like if we were 8th from bottom.
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battyblue added 15:53 - Jan 25 we could well see soon essex57
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Cheshire_Blue added 16:06 - Jan 25 One defeat and the usual empty vessels are making the most noise
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Crawfordsboot added 16:37 - Jan 25 Well thankfully page 2 is a lot more reasonable read than page 1. Having supported Town for 60 years I find the page 1 moaners so depressing but console myself with the thought that they are not really presenting reasoned argument. In reality this board gives them a platform to vent their wider frustrations and gain instant gratification and relief from the tedium of their sad lives. I think it has little to do with real support andcommitment to the club.

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strikalite added 16:56 - Jan 25 Just work on the first twenty minutes of games please Mick because we always seem so slow out of the block.....get at 'em!! I wonder how many goals we've score in the first half an hour of games at PR this season?
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RRanger added 17:20 - Jan 25 PenguinBlue. Were you at Birmingham City last Saturday?
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Bluetone added 17:27 - Jan 25 I can also trace my days following the Town back to when Scott Duncan was our Manager and will always support the team provided they play or try to play football NOT just punt the ball up the park and hope someone in a blue shirt can get on the end of it. That I can never forgive. Even if we do achieve promotion to the Prem using those tactics it will never supply the nucleus of a squad to keep us there.

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BanksterDebtSlave added 18:12 - Jan 25 Unfortunately the Internet has proved the making of some right miserable, negative, keyboard warrior types....it seems they really like Internet 'voting' too....and possible live in Norfolk!!z
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Bluetone added 18:29 - Jan 25 Quite right Bankster some live in Essex, some live in Norfolk and some even live in other countries so what is your point?
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WhoisJimmyJuan added 18:30 - Jan 25 It's one thing to disagree with another poster's views but quite another to suggest anyone who doesn't like MM's tactics is therefore not a Town fan and should not be on this site. Everyone is entitled to a view as long as it politely put and within the rules Phil has set. Whatever your view some of the comments lately have been disgraceful, none more so than suggesting that "if you don't agree with me, get off this site."

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jas0999 added 18:48 - Jan 25 It's your fault we have a spare week Mick. It will however give you and Evans time to work on bringing some quality additions into this hard working but average squad.
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Westy added 19:20 - Jan 25 I think some of the criticism about the long ball / 'hoofball' is unfounded. Luke Chambers tends to hoof it, but we do play a lot through mid-field and down the wings too. If the long ball is a genuine pass and it finds the man then that is a good pass in my book. Arnold Muhren was renowned for being able to pick out a player over a long distance - nobody was complaining when he did it.

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Fatcatevans added 19:36 - Jan 25 Westy please don't mention Muhren when talking about the current town tactics. There's a huge difference in an inch perfect pass from the Dutch master to the hit it and hope methods currently being employed by the town at present. Our current midfield are devoid of creativity.
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BanksterDebtSlave added 19:40 - Jan 25 When every feature, even ones about the weather, becomes an excuse to repeat the record about goofball and slate the team and management I don't think it' beyond the realms of possibility to suggest that some of you might be Norwich supporters on a wind up. It even got to the point where some of you suggested, after the excellent performance against Leeds, that the players must have been ignoring instructions......truly pathetic!!

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BanksterDebtSlave added 19:44 - Jan 25 So that would be hoofball ...,!
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airliner added 19:50 - Jan 25 Like that's going to happen. We have a team of World Cup stars such as toure and digby lol
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Bluetone added 19:55 - Jan 25 @ blue bongo and westy so you too probably remember when we had proper wingers like Willie Jones, Tommy Trenter (now he was quick) and Joe Broadfoot and even creative slide rule pass ones like "Sticks" We had midfield who commanded the midfield and supplied the forwards. Even if you overlook the Robson glory years we still played football. So is it any wonder that we despise the currant tactics the Manager employs?

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BanksterDebtSlave added 20:02 - Jan 25 Comments like this........Beattiesballbag added 22:18 - Jan 12 Thank you Leeds Utd for the early goal! Forced MM to take his overbearing shackels off the players & let them show what they can do, as you would not have seen that excelent performance which created the best atmosphere for a long time, had he been allowed to approach the game with his normal contain & catch on the break approach. I know he wont allow it to continue, but give the players their head........they may slip up occationly but would win more than they lose & playing as positively as that is what would bring the fans back to Portman Road. .....So presumably he's now told them that even if going a goal down to "keep those shackles on" !

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birdie82 added 20:31 - Jan 25 Brighton signed sidwell , another rival making moves for a bit more quality...If we can't afford it I would rathe MM say rather than conintually telling us the squad is good enough like we will believe it. He thinks we haven't watched football before and will hang on his every word!
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