Blues boss Mick McCarthy says he was “extremely unhappy with the crowd’s reaction” to Ainsley Maitland-Niles during Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over Reading. The Town manager, who subbed the 18-year-old at the break after he had had a “tough” first half, felt the moaning and groaning from supporters was counterproductive.

McCarthy says he has been pleased with the midfielder, who joined the Blues on a season-long loan from Arsenal in August.

“He’s had about 20-odd appearances, which for a loan for an 18-year-old is pretty impressive, actually," he said.

“I think at times he’s been different class, at other times he’s been mediocre, sometimes ordinary, but overall I’m thinking he’s been seven out of 10 while he’s been here.

“I’ve been delighted with him. If you could get that through a season with senior players you’d take it.

“I thought he had a tough evening the other night, I was extremely unhappy with the crowd’s reaction towards him because it’s not going to help him.

“We’ve taken a young player from Arsenal and he’s come in here to help us and in the main he has.

“I love him, he’s a great kid and if we could get him for next year I’d be happy to do it again.”

The Portman Road crowd was unusually understated throughout on Tuesday, at least until Brett Pitman’s late, late winning goal.

“I just thought it was a difficult atmosphere,” McCarthy continued, reflecting on why that might have been the case.

“We’d dropped out of the top six, we’d lost in the FA Cup, it wasn’t a great game, we weren’t playing brilliantly at all, I fully understand that.

“But it’s not always about playing brilliantly, it’s about winning and if we all stick together we’ve got a better chance.

“But he’s a kid. He wasn’t getting any abuse, it was all the 'ohs' and moans and groans. He was having a tough time and, as we saw, it doesn’t help.

“It wouldn’t help you if someone stood over you oh-ing and moaning and groaning, it’s not easy, believe me. I’m pleased with Ainsley, he’s been great.”

He added: “It’s just so much better when [we all stick together]. And, by the way, I compliment the crowd as well because there was a time in a game, I can’t remember which one, when we were going for it and they were brilliant, and brilliant all through the game. We just had a little spell and they were great. And it’s a lot easier.

“I’ve watched the Reading game again this morning and if I could have watched it in the microwave in five minutes it would have been a lot easier because it wasn’t great, but it’s still better if we’re getting that audible support the right way.

“But I also understand that if you’ve paid your money whatever it is if it’s a pile of poo you’re going to whinge about it. But there are certain things.

“If I’ve got players who are not playing well, there’s no point in me whinging and bawling in their earhole.

“I might be when I’m watching it but at half-time I’ve got to jolly them along and get them to do better. That’s got to be the scenario that helps us.

“But we’ve not had many of them. It was a bad atmosphere from the start of the game, so I think they must have been feeling bad before the game because it didn’t get going at all.

“And we didn’t help it, we didn’t excite them until the 89th minute. Well, no, the first goal excited them, of course. And then we all got woken up and brought back to life with an 89th minute blood transfusion.”

He can understand why fans were less than impressed by the FA Cup replay defeat at Portsmouth, the Blues boss having made 11 changes to his team. However, he says that having an FA Cup run can present problems fixtures-wise.

“I get that, losing and then, of course, it put more pressure on the Birmingham game and we had one sent off,” he said. “I actually thought we played well at Birmingham with 11 and 10 men, it didn’t matter. But it wasn’t going to be with 10 men.

“That meant it was back to back defeats and I think people then start losing a bit of faith. I get that.

“But I also look at Blackburn’s run now with the games that they’ve got because they’re still in the cup.

“They’ve got Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday. We couldn’t fit our rearranged game with them in. We could have had it this Tuesday and it would have suited me better to have it this Tuesday, I think, but I’ve got a goalkeeper who is out and it's just an added risk of injuring Bart and then I’m down to either getting a loan keeper or Michael Crowe or Jonathan Henly.

“So, I've two top class keepers, if the other one got injured, I’m putting that at risk, so we took the 15th March.

“Look at Blackburn’s fixtures and see what they are. It’s ridiculous because they’ve had to put Fulham in, they’ve had to put Middlesbrough in, they’ve had to put us in and it is Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday. It’s ridiculous their fixture list.”

Coming back to Maitland-Niles, of whom Arsenal have high hopes for the future, he added: “Of course, he’ll be in bigger stadiums with bigger crowds moaning at him even more.

“You don’t mind the abuse from the opposing fans, that’s not a problem, that’s fine, it’s when your own fans [are moaning and groaning].

“I understand it because we weren’t playing well, but he shouldn’t be the person that’s getting the brunt of it.

“They don’t send them out to learn that, but they send them out to play in front of crowds who have paid their money, that get disappointed, they get happy, all that. It’s great experience for him and I think he’s been very good for us.”

Photo: Action Images

bluearmy84 added 06:20 - Feb 5 you kno what theyre like mick. moan like f$&k!! they kill certain players. tabb. hyam and now niles. get behind the team and stop being so negative
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Pagan_Blue added 06:41 - Feb 5 I walked to the back of the stand to buy a coffee half way through the first half and it was so quiet it was difficult to believe there was actually a game in progress. Sir Bobby Robson once described the Ipswich supporters as being ''like zombies'' - it seems like nothing much has changed.
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trncbluearmy added 06:53 - Feb 5 Perhaps it is just the boredom of watching ITFC at home that has got to people. Mick could help the situation by allowing/instructing his defenders to pass the ball to the midfield rather then just hoofing the ball to the oppo at every opportunity. Yes we have improved,yes we are on the edge of the play offs, 3000 fans are going to QPR on saturday to cheer Town on,very few clubs get that kind of consistent away support. Have a look at yourself Mick and the rubbish you dish up at FPR

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paulcooperisgod added 07:11 - Feb 5 It's your job to make us more excited MM instead of boring negative football and with no new exciting young players brought in during January I'm afraid it won't change much. Just afoot note who else can see GERKEN going straight back into to first team when he's fit as he's one of MMs favourites? Yawn
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Westy added 07:17 - Feb 5 If fans let out a moan or groan now and then, it is not usually directs at a player as an individual, rather an expression of disappointment that possession has been lost or a move broken down. If a player looses possession a lot then yes there will seemingly be more directed at him.
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Jewels added 07:22 - Feb 5 It was a very ugly game that's why. Embarrassing really and predictable.
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RYITFC added 07:33 - Feb 5 I don't think that was the case at all. Sure there was probably a few moans & groans but that's what fans of any football club do when the team isn't playing well. As a professional footballer you learn to deal with that, I actually thought Murph got more stick than anyone in the 1st half. I think taking the lad off at half time would have destroyed his confidence far more than a few moans & groans from the fans.

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Umros added 07:35 - Feb 5 Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday...........and there's me thinking that"s what their job is, to play football silly me!, anyway best get off to my Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday job........
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floridaboy added 07:47 - Feb 5 We help pay the wages Mick so we are entitled to express an opinion The boy is still learning but does not warrant a start
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essex57 added 07:57 - Feb 5 I don't think he was ultimately taken off because of fans booing I think he was taken off because he was having a bad game MM said after the game he needed to change the shape that's what he did and we were better can't see why people down marked pagan blue I remember Sir Bobby writing those words in the programme there's was uproar unfortunately it's true of today if we truly support the team it's up to us to get behind the team at all times perhaps that's why our away results are better because the away support is fantastic.

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TheSelkirk added 08:03 - Feb 5 Nonsense. Don't include expressions likes "moans and groans" and "abuse" because there wasn't any. Nobody booed the guy and I don't recall him being singled out. The "oohs and aahs" are usually associated with frustation when a player (any player) plays a really stupid pass or lumps it up in the air for no apparent reason.
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BlueysNosebag added 08:09 - Feb 5 I'm sick of your moans & groans MM along with your crap style of football. I didn't "oh" at AMN on Tuesday and didn't think he warranted being subbed at half time either. He wasn't brilliant but were any of them? How soul destroying for AMN to be singled out by being taken off after 45 mins. I thought Smith or Skuse (despite the penalty give away) were our best players and they play defensive roles so that shows how exciting our forward play was on Tuesday. Still, we did win the match in the end. Onwards.

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ipswichtillidie added 08:15 - Feb 5 Mick your talking out of your ass we all know it. I Appreciate your protecting one of your players but critizing the crowd for a few oooohhhh and Arghh's is stupid. The Ipswich fans are very patient and understanding which is good job really considering some of the drivile you make us watch week in week out.
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Millsey added 08:18 - Feb 5 WOW, that's what I like to see, a blub fest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3

gorse added 08:43 - Feb 5 "We help pay the wages Mick so we are entitled to express an opinion" irritating fallacy, what is it with people being so entitled these days? The board pays the wages, you don't. If you don't like it, don't pay. Tickets aren't taxes and ITFC isn't a democracy. That said I think the Ipswich faithful have displayed remarkable patience with years of often terrible football. What AMN may or may not have got is a drop in the ocean compared to many other clubs.

7

essex57 added 08:55 - Feb 5 If we were 6th from bottom and scrapping for survival I could understand what the hell some supporters want is beyond me if they actually know themselves
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WeWereZombies added 08:58 - Feb 5 Maybe I should change my username to We Are Zombies
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vanmunt added 09:00 - Feb 5 I can understand Fraser starting every match as he really is a great player and every time I see him I wish he were a Town player, AMN I won't shed any tears when he goes back to Arsenal reserves. Its a shame we don't have a young Town player pushing for a start in his position.
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Surco72 added 09:06 - Feb 5 By MMs thinking should be a definite three points v Blackburn then as they will be so tired by playing 2 games a week . Think ANM play has worsened over the season due to our lack of football passing and the style of hoof ball we play , looked good early on played out wide with the ball on the floor
6

SouperJim added 09:14 - Feb 5 Supporters are only human, it's very hard to be upbeat about your team when as Mick rightly says, you're having a blip that gives you little to shout about. I do agree that it is very unfair to grumble about AMN, as he's a very young player and supporters need to understand that as a result he is unlikely to show the same kind of consistency as a senior pro. With that said, I don't think anyone is getting on his back per say, you're just going to hear a grumble or two when he misplaces a pass or picks the wrong option. That's life. Those making comments about boo boys and Robson's zombies are way wide of the mark for me. We're not the best crowd in the country, but we're not the worst either. We're actually very loyal and stick behind our team at times when many crowds would not. Mick has restored my sense of pride in my football club, it's not perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than it has been in recent years. That doesn't mean I can make noise all on my own when the atmosphere is flat, but it does mean I've got more to sing about than I have had for a while. Long may it continue.

6

RobbieBobson added 09:15 - Feb 5 Yawn. A manager's job is to motivate and inspire those that they lead. This includes both players and fans. Direct and negative tactics, the decision to play a second string 11 in the Cup using the excuse that you are resting your best players to focus on the league and then to lose 3-0 to Brum has clearly demotivated everyone. In my many years of managing people, I have also found that completely ignoring the views of the people you lead can have an impact in their enthusiasm. Here I refer to the frustration that the vast majority of people are fed up with you choosing your favourites whether in form or not, and making no effort to improve the squad outside of the freebees we keep taking on and releasing 'by mutual consent'. Keep marginalising those you lead and you start to lose them... first step is usually that people don't engage, this is quickly followed by people leaving. In the case of ITFC, the lack of engagement means a gloomy atmosphere, this will quickly turn into people not attending and gates fall. Give us something to get excited about Mick, please

8

parkinshair added 09:17 - Feb 5 Oh come on!! A cold Tuesday night with the supporters smarting about a poor FA cup campaign and zero action in the transfer match watching a match which was the footballing equivalent of Mick Mills singing Joy Division. Is it any wonder the natives were restless. You've been in the game long enough Mick as you like to remind us fans at every opportunity and if you were that worried about AMN sensitivity then you shouldn't have started him.

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brittaniaman added 09:26 - Feb 5 Niles was the Wonder kid when he first came here and I agree !!!!! BUT as the season has progressed he seem to have lost that Flair of taking on defenders, also now he loses the ball easily ???? the moans and groans were a natural reaction from the crowd MM. on a brighter not I remember the game when he picked up the ball in our half and ran with it until he was fouled in the penalty area !!! The loss in the cup and the Birmingham result was a big disappointment for the fans Hence the lowest crowd of the season on Tues night MM.

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dirtyboy added 09:46 - Feb 5 Negativity breeds negativity. Positivity does the opposite. It's not rocket science and yet still people moan. Moaners never do well in life, they're the ones you see the younger generation overtake at work or at the gym or wherever and guess what? They moan that they didn't get the results or promotion without any reflection on why. This rings true, "if you're not prepared to to be part of the process, then you don't deserve to be part of the outcome"

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Count_Arthur added 09:58 - Feb 5 I wasn't over impressed when the he told the fans behind him to "F* off" at the of last season either! What he fails to appreciate is WE'RE Ipswich Town supporters, WE pay our hard earned wages to support our team (which is hard to do when you don't earn as much as MM or the players). And therefore we have every right to moan and groan if we want! At some point MM, and the current squad will move on and be just as partisan to their new clubs, but we'll still be at Portman Road supporting our club, and cheering them along, AND whinging, it's what we do Mick. Same as your previous club's supporters did.

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