Town boss Mick McCarthy admitted he was embarrassed after the Blues were dumped out of the FA Cup by Vanarama National League Lincoln City after a 1-0 defeat at Sincil Bank. McCarthy also revealed that central defender Adam Webster is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines - perhaps the rest of the season - having suffered an ankle injury.

“They played well, they deserved to win,” McCarthy said afterwards, admitting that it was his worst result as a manager. “Not in the manner that they did with the freekick at the end, but overall their performance was better than us and they deserved to go through.

“[The freekick] was poorly delivered and Tom Lawrence who has carried us with his performances and his goals, comes in and apologises, but irrespective of that it shouldn’t end up in our net because they cleared it. They’ve deserved it but the goal shouldn’t have come that way.”

How does he explain a Championship side being beaten by a National League team? “If I knew that I’d pack this job in and write a book and I’d tell Liverpool how they should have done it against Plymouth and everybody else, Leeds going back to Colchester all those years ago when I was a Leeds fan.

“I’d have sorted everybody’s lives out, there’d be no cup upsets, there’d be no fun, you wouldn’t be talking to me and I wouldn’t be sitting here embarrassed.”

He added: “Too right I am [embarrassed], we shouldn’t get beaten by a National League side whether they’re top of the league or not.

“But they deserved it, they played better than us, they were more competitive than us. I can’t really give them any more praise than I’ve heaped on them already. Absolutely, they deserved it and I am embarrassed.”

Does the TV audience add to that embarrassment? “If there had only been 9,500 seen my embarrassment instead of how many million, then of course, it does.”

He continued: “I thought they were excellent today, I thought they were very good. They dominated the game. I’m going to give the credit to them.

“We didn’t play as well as them, I thought they were very good today. We can go on and on with this, I’m going to give them the credit. Anything I say is going to be kind of detrimental to them, they were very good.”

Did he feel Lincoln were more up for it? “It would appear so. It looked that way. Yes, I would say they were, definitely. Why that is I don’t know.”

Was he disappointed that his players couldn’t rise to the occasion? “Of course it disappoints me, I couldn’t come in here and be happy about it, I’d have to be disappointed, I’d be a fool if I said I was any other.

“I’m disappointed with the performance and the manner of the defeat and everything that goes with it. But I’ll still congratulate them because they deserved it.”

McCarthy says he’ll take the brickbats that will inevitably come his way on the chin: “I’ve got to, I can’t do anything else other than take it on the chin, as I said however many million people have seen it. Of course I will.”

Was he tempted to stick with the side which beat Blackburn at the weekend rather than making five changes? “No.”

Didn’t he feel it was a game for Andre Dozzell? “I don’t think it was a game for Andre. But no was the answer.”

McCarthy revealed that in addition to the result, defender Webster has suffered an injury which will sideline him for some time: “Adam’s got a bad ankle injury.”

Will he be out for the season? “We’ll see, we’ll find out more tomorrow, he’s had a scan, we need to see the results.

“If we needed any more injury problems, that certainly wasn’t one we can cope with, to be honest. That’s a tough one for him as much as anything as well because he’s been having a great season.”

Speaking to BBC Radio Suffolk regarding his future and calls for him to move on, he added: “If Marcus, if the club want to sack me, so be it. If the fans are that sick of me, then that makes life difficult for me at every game all of a sudden.

“When we win it’s OK, when we’re losing it’s ‘Mick McCarthy you’re football is S-H-1-T’ and I’m ‘getting sacked in the morning’.

“There’s nothing between them, I’ve had wonderful support from the fans, I’m not going to complain about them either, they want to see better than that and that was disappointing for all of us, even more so for those guys that have travelled up, paid their money and come and watched a dreadful performance.”

Imps boss Danny Cowley said the win was among the highlights of his career so far: “In terms of an atmosphere or a one-off game that was a great experience and one that everyone associated with Lincoln City Football Club will remember for an awful long time.

“It was a good time to score in the 90th minute, it was fantastic. I thought it was a terrific ball by Adam Marriott. He just delayed it, waited for the support, he timed the pass perfectly, the weight was fantastic and what a brilliant finish from Nathan Arnold.

“He pressed the life out of the game for 90 minutes and to find that energy and to get beyond him in that moment and to have the coolness to round the keeper and score, it was a fantastic goal. And I thought over two games we deserved.”

Photo: Action Images

BrettenhamBlue added 23:25 - Jan 17 Webster with a bad injury just to add to the misery.
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Walk_the_Wark added 23:26 - Jan 17 Clearly not embarrassed enough you sad sad individual
3

Notts_tractor added 23:28 - Jan 17 Shame. No hint of someone considering their position in there. In any other walk of life there would be massive pressure to resign, but no, doesn't seem to have even occurred to him. It just epitomises the arrogance of the man.
9

dav86 added 23:28 - Jan 17 Utterly embarrassing, Mick have a heart and just go!!
3

ipswich1992 added 23:28 - Jan 17 Just resign you are totally out of ideas. This Douglaslovingsauraus must go now!!
7

TrueBlue1998 added 23:29 - Jan 17 Those 11 players should have been able to win that match, perhaps Mick got it wrong but they still should have had enough to win it
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dugoutdave added 23:29 - Jan 17 You're embarrassed.? So is everyone who has ever supported Ipswich Town. You have made a mockery of a once proud footballing club. You helped us 4 yrs ago. Now help us again... and leave
22

TheDailyTractor added 23:31 - Jan 17 But why change it? we weren't amazing Saturday but a lot better than most performances recently. Just when there was the smallest glimmer of hope of us turning it around we put on a performance (and I use that term loosely) like that. Disgusting. We have smashed rock bottom. Don't bother sending me a season ticket renewal. save your paper. Better still refund the fans who travelled to watch that garbage.

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Suffolk_n_Good added 23:32 - Jan 17 So you're still here then...... you aren't fit to wear the badge on the jacket, you are an embarrassment to us, the club, & hopefully enough of an embarrassment now to Evans, but somehow I don't think he has the balls to sack you.....
7

Knightsy added 23:33 - Jan 17 Yawn , same rubbish
1

sirmichealmills added 23:33 - Jan 17 And the ITFC wheel of failure just a keeps on rollin, I wonder if chambers will say anything after that one. Speak to you on the greens tomorrow mr chairman Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
1

toxtethblue added 23:34 - Jan 17 Why hasnt he gone yet? Please don't tell me he will still be in charge on saturday?!!! Boycott the game!!!
3

Mark added 23:34 - Jan 17 It wasn't just a one-off embarrassing cup shock though, was it, the first Lincoln match was embarrassing too (as was the EFL Cup exit to Stevenage) and many fans were not even surprised sadly. Ipswich have not been able to pass the ball properly for a long time. If it wasn't the game for Dozzell, how was it the game for Douglas? Skuse and Douglas together never seems to work, so I was surprised to see us line up line that tonight. So negative against a non-league team. We just beat Blackburn and were promised a strong side, so why make five changes?! The midfield was absolutely dreadful, yet despite us being totally outplayed still McCarthy held back the subs until there were only 15 minutes left, and even then he kept 35-year-old Douglas on the pitch, even though he had a yellow card. It just seems like poor decision making. Beyond that though, the failure to coach and motivate the team to play any football and to string any passes together was painful and embarrassing to watch. We just wanted to hoof it at every opportunity, totally throwing away to opportunity to win over any new fans as the nation watched on BBC1. Instead the ITFC fans endured the first league defeat to a non-league side since 1960. Webster out too...the only centre back who can pass the ball. The bad news keeps on coming. Barring a losing run putting us in relegation trouble, the season is over here and now on 17th January. The owner now surely needs to decide whether he wants McCarthy to lead us next season, in the final year of his contract. If not, he might as well make the change now surely rather than letting Mick spend money in the transfer market on players who might not fit a new manager's plans, and rather than letting the season ticket renewal packs go out with Mick still in charge.

43

miltonsnephew added 23:36 - Jan 17 I thought we played ok 🙈 In all seriousness Marcus Evans has to back Mick massively (Make these well needed player purchases), or sack Mick! That's the only two options. I do feel this is very much Marcus E doesn't want to spend then that Mick is a rubbish Coach. We need signings and we need them now. We need 5 or 6 players. And Douglas, Coke and Best off the wage bill, the sooner the better.

10

TractorBeezer added 23:37 - Jan 17 Mick you set up to stop Lincoln not to outplay them. You and the team looked clueless. I do agree with you that Lincoln deserved to win...both games.
14

smellmycheese added 23:37 - Jan 17 Marcus sighs at Webster injury..... There goes my multi million January sale.
8

grubbyoik added 23:37 - Jan 17 We lost because of you McCarthy.. Your tactics.. your training.. your signings.. Their manager is a far greater tactition than you.. their players believe in their manager.. our players do not believe in you! Neither do I..
16

hoppy added 23:37 - Jan 17 Thing is, they weren't 'excellent', they were average, and we couldn't even match that.
25

Penguinblue added 23:39 - Jan 17 There is something he can do about it. The decent thing. Resign. McCarthy OUT
9

runaround added 23:40 - Jan 17 McCarthy out. I think that about covers it!
8

smellmycheese added 23:41 - Jan 17 OUT
1

Drew added 23:42 - Jan 17 They did not play well, they were average at best. We are just a shambles of a side.
10

62WasBest added 23:42 - Jan 17 “We didn't play as well as them..." No sir. We didn't play at all. You would have had more cohesion from 11 strangers picked up at random on the route to the stadium. "Strangers in the Night" should become the new Ipswich theme song. Not one leader on the pitch. Not one footballing brain on display. Well, not in a blue shirt anyway. Shamefully poor and utterly inexcusable.

11

Bluesquid added 23:45 - Jan 17 So Mick, how has it come to this that Lawrence has been carrying us with his performances? What's gone wrong that one player has to carry us?
10

Palestine added 23:45 - Jan 17 Hmmm.. First 90 mins of watching town this season, brings me up to speed. Things are now so consistently dire that my own passion and pain has diminished greatly, such that I wasn't shouting (too much) at the tv, just watching and analysing. I'll start with a positive. I thought Emmanuel looked very promising indeed. I had no idea he had so much about him going forward. Almost a little bit Mings-esque! And he had our best shot that he made out of nothing. Looks very useful, and way more useful than Chambers at RB. However Knudsen on the other side? Oh dear. He loks totally out of his depth, got done plenty, couldn't get near his man, and his long throws are terrible, it's merely an extension of the 'long ball at all costs' strategy of MM. Other than Emmanuel, I thought Digby looked maybe ok, and one that can develop. Berra and Chambers struggled. Gerken made a good save but I think we all know he isn't Championship quality. Uber defensive midfield that could create nothing, and didn't even win half its battles. We won buggr all first, second or third balls. Skuse is fine, but you can't play Douglas with him. Bru or Dozzell would've been better. Obviously. Best did nothing, but it it must've been horrible for either striker as there was no service. That said it looked like much more of a game for Freddie who would've given them trouble and created more. No great surprise. Outplayed for 90 last week, and for another 90 today. At no stage was MM able to do anything that changed that. We hoofed, mis-passed. The players have lost the ability to pass and move, it is super static and 'lump it!'. They were tidy, passed, did things right, and their longer balls consistently found front two, whereas ours were miles off. Finally MM's bs re Cup competitions has well and truly been exposed now. When we played Man U it was very clear we weren't going to go up there and have a go, just go through the motions and lose as expected. Other teams however take it to Prem teams and get results. That's not possible for MM though. But when we play lower league teams it never works the other way round! We generally lose, and are mostly outplayed to boot? This just doesn't add up. Something is very wrong here. Tonight is pretty much the worst as there is no promotion excuses this year. This was MM on live tv trying to win it, and to make up for last time, by putting out a defensive team and being beaten and outplayed (easily) again! It is hard to see how Ipswich's decline can be halted with ME in charge I think. I think ME has to go, and MM should too. I'd happily give Rowett a go. Seemed to do well at Brum, and don't think that represents a risk in terms of getting relegated. The thought of spending money to watch this Town?!!! No way! Please no!

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