Town boss Mick McCarthy felt the Blues’ 3-1 victory over Newcastle United on Sir Bobby Robson Day was a fitting tribute to the clubs’ legendary manager. Goals from Freddie Sears, David McGoldrick and Emyr Huws saw Town to the win, with ex-Blues striker Daryl Murphy netting for the Magpies.

“I think it was a great tribute to Sir Bobby and Lady Elsie, who was here and all the family,” McCarthy said.

“I’m not sure which side he’d be on, I think he must have favoured us today.

"I think the game was a fitting tribute to him, it was a good game. It was a lovely thing to do and it’s nice to be part of it, I have to be honest.”

Was the win and performance against one of the division’s top sides and the Blues’ first back-to-back victories coming at this late stage of the season to some extent bittersweet? “No, it’s just sweet!”

But McCarthy agreed it was Town’s best performance of the campaign: “I would say so, especially with beating Newcastle at home, so I would guess it makes it even better. It’s the best one.”

Did he sense some nervousness from the visitors as they close in on a return to the Premier League? “You get nervous at either end, we were talking about that before the game.

“If you’re in that top two and you start looking at the games and wondering, and likewise for us on Friday night [at Burton], we were nervous. But thankfully we held it together and won.

“But we deserved to win today, we’ve just been better than them all-round, I think. And if anybody goes away talking about Newcastle being nervous and not playing very well, I think that would be an injustice to my team and my players today.”

With their Championship status having been all but secured by beating the Brewers 2-1 on Friday night, did he feel the shackles were off for his players? “Maybe, that’s a good story. But I thought we played well on Friday night when the shackles were on good and proper and if we’d have lost we’d got Newcastle coming. We played well on Friday night.

“That’s a little bit unjust to say that, although it may well have happened. They are feeling it a bit and I did say to the lads there are 25,000 coming here to watch.

“I said, ‘Not us by the way, I’m sure none of the f****rs are coming to watch us the way we’ve been playing here. So if that’s the case, I’m not bothered about that but make sure they’re talking about us when they go home, in a positive manner, and make sure they’ve come and they’ve enjoyed watching us’.”

“So for whatever reason it’s a good performance. I can’t get to the bottom of it and tell you why. Maybe it’s the fact that David McGoldrick’s in his pomp and playing great and Freddie and Tom Lawrence and Wardy, I thought the front four were excellent. Anyway, I’m not really bothered about the reason why, I’m just delighted we did.”

Regarding third goalscorer Huws, who is on loan from Cardiff, McCarthy reiterated his desire to keep the Welshman at Portman Road but says there’s nothing new to add on that front: “I’m only repeating what I’ve said before, but yes.”

McCarthy said he was pleased to send everyone happy and with what was an excellent Portman Road atmosphere, which hasn’t always been the case in recent times.

“That’s because we’ve been shit!” McCarthy added, referencing terrace chants at recent matches. “I’m cool with that, I’m fine. But it’s not been helped by a shit atmosphere as well.

“It cuts both ways, doesn’t it? Cuts both ways. I said when we were struggling and maybe could have got relegated, I said the crowd are part of that as well if it happens.

“And they’ve been a great part of a fabulous victory today and I love to send them home feeling that way.

“And we did for a long time, we had 13 victories on a Tuesday night here. It was fab, it was great. Like I said to you before, I kept the club up, three top 10 finishes and I’ve had a bad year this year.

“Isn’t it great when everybody turns their back on you and sneers at you and actually wants to stop you coming to the game and things like that. I’m glad they’ve enjoyed it today. Good. I have as well.”

Keeper Dean Gerken missed out on a place on the bench again due to a shoulder injury, while Jonny Williams was in the squad but not included in the 18.

Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez was disappointed with his side’s display which he felt was significantly worse than their showing in Friday’s 1-1 home draw with Leeds.

“I am concerned about the change in the team in terms of the performance against Leeds and the performance today,” he admitted.

“We know we still have to win games — and we must improve a lot. We knew it could be this kind of game today and I felt we were ready but it seems we were not.

“We were not focused or mentally ready. It is difficult to explain that but that is the reality. As soon as we scored and had control of the game we made another mistake.

“We are paying for our mistakes and we have to learn from that. But it is still in our hands.

“This was not us at our best and we have to change quickly. We all have to take responsibility — we win and lose together.

“Was it our worst display of the season? I don’t know and I’m not worried about that. We lost and that’s it, and I am disappointed because of that.

“We know something is wrong and we have to analyse the situation. We have had a lot of very good performances this season and we need to do it again.”

Photo: TWTD

TimmyH added 18:51 - Apr 17 I hope Lady Elsie was listening to this post match interview or manages to get round to reading an article on what he said then she would know what McCarthy is like and why there has been some discord between him and the supporters...no excuse for that on this day.
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midastouch added 18:52 - Apr 17 It seems that olive branches don't grow in Yorkshire then! If he was managing at Prem League level (ha ha!) with all the added exposure on MOTD and Sky and so on, he'd be hung out to dry for making comments like that! Even Keane didn't stoop as low as calling the fans ****ers! C'mon Mick, get over it and move on, surely you've been round the block long enough to realise that getting stick is part and parcel of the game, especially when you serve up too many boring and hopeless performances as you have done this season. Every time you get a chance to try and build some bridges (today would of been the perfect opportunity after all!) you go and blow it! Poor class Mick!

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TimmyH added 18:53 - Apr 17 Lets be honest you can see why MM and Keane clashed...from the same pod.
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hogster1970 added 18:53 - Apr 17 Well what a performance and great win buy all the players and hats of to MM for keeping his nerve and not his dafault setting. How ever us the fans sorry f@ckers have had to put up with defensive dross served up from your inept team selections and only through injury have the players on the fringes Eg kenlock josh and Spence to Webster and Jonas aswell as scuse ect. That you have found a balanced good starting line up oh and not a hoof ball in site because we have no Murphy. But ofcourse us fans make them descions !!!!!!!!. And I still say if Webster and Jonas was fit then Jonas would be left back and chambo right back. But if you are staying I would sit down MM and have a long hard look at the stats of games ect and see were you went wrong over the last 18 months and we're it all went wrong towards us paying f@ckers. If you are man enough to sit down and admit to us fans you was wrong then you may win some over and come.back and stick to a more attacking line up from now on in. But great display lads and I can see us struggling to keep kemlock aswell as bart in the close season

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blue75 added 18:54 - Apr 17 As I've been called a f****r I shall comment like a f****r! If we'd played with half of that commitment and effort for the last 21 home games and a FA Cup game we'd be chasing promotion!!! As a Ipswich fan I'd like to say what a great team performance really deserved to win today what a fitting tribute to the great Sir Bobby.
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midastouch added 18:57 - Apr 17 You can also tell that when you get on the wrong side of Mick that's your lot! How many players have crossed him and been sent packing! It's poor management to never give anybody a second chance. Of course there are certain red lines that can't be crossed, but sometimes his stubbornness strikes me as petty!
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BlueNomad added 18:58 - Apr 17 He was repeating what he had said in a team talk - he shouldn't have said it in an interview but that was dressing room talk. All dressing rooms have blue air. Maybe it should be seen in that light? There are many twtd'ers who use inappropriate language in describing him. That is unacceptable too so perhaps there shouldn't be too much of a rush to self-righteousness on here. As for the bigger crowds - yes people went to see Newcastle. There were several families on my train who were going for the first time - because of the opposition and not because it was SBR Day. Hopefully loads will come back because of what they saw.

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ChimayBlue added 18:58 - Apr 17 Wonderful result on a wonderful day. I wish I had of been there and the pints must taste lovely. I will react to what he's called us on another day.
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runaround added 19:03 - Apr 17 Sir Bobby Robson was well known for being a gentleman & acting in a proper Manner. Mick has shown none of that style with his comments & is in danger of taking the shine off our best result & performance of the season. Thinking it shows once & for all how much change is needed in the close season. Shame as we played well today & thoroughly deserved our win
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brendenward35 added 19:06 - Apr 17 I'm sure in any job if you called the paying customer what Mick has called the 25000 Ipswich fans then p45 would have been in the post. Great chance for ITFC to sack him without paying up his contract. Go on Marcus get rid of this idiot
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Charlie_pl_baxter added 19:09 - Apr 17 Anyone else notice how sorry the equivalent article on the club site is? That can't actually publish hanks of what he says.
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Bert added 19:13 - Apr 17 Does the Press Office, Milne and Evans not give PR advice to MM ? They should. However, the outers will hang onto any crumb to justify their own foul mouthed taunts during a game. Lessons all round I think.
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Andy32Cracknell added 19:13 - Apr 17 Good performance, great result and lovely day. Mick McCarthy, you are a first class Penis.
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Bert added 19:13 - Apr 17 Does the Press Office, Milne and Evans not give PR advice to MM ? They should. However, the outers will hang onto any crumb to justify their own foul mouthed taunts during a game. Lessons all round I think.
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martin587 added 19:14 - Apr 17 Mr.Evans,if you have any respect for OUR club you should sack MM for those comments alone.It's an utter disgrace.
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midastouch added 19:16 - Apr 17 Rarely visit the club site, as in truth it's p*ss poor compared to TWTD! ;-) I wouldn't be surprised if you typed in ITFC.co.uk in the not too distant future if it didn't just automatically redirect you to the Marcus Evans Groupies website!
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christiand added 19:17 - Apr 17 MM can't help but keep living in the past. Yes great you kept us up, then after being top 2 we scrape into the top 6 due to Derby's late season collapse, next we finish 7th but a long distance away from 6th and playing some shocking stuff and this season we have been extremely poor at times playing so much long ball and negative football - the statistics show this too. For me, MM is lucky he is at a club with fans so patient otherwise he'd be long gone. I think today shows that with the right manager and coaching staff at the club this could be turned around and quickly. Terrific result and performance today, but MM you still need to go...COYBs!!

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bigolconnor added 19:18 - Apr 17 Why why why did you have to say that. You did so well. Then you just went and spoilt it. I actually don't think that that is acceptable. I would definitely say calling fans fukrces is a sackable offense. He obviously knows his time is up. Good luck at Wigan Mick.
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ipswich4life added 19:18 - Apr 17 Changes nothing MICK OUT
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Umros added 19:18 - Apr 17 But your comments are not. A complaint email going into the club. I took 9 of my family today including 4, 6 and 9 year olds, he has tarnished all by use of foul language. This is unacceptable and he should be sacked immediately.
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bluearmy84 added 19:18 - Apr 17 mick for me is spot on!!! honest as the day is long !football is a working class game and he oppitomises that and his side show their work rate today!!! i thoroughly enjoyed today and have stood by mick through the good and the bad!! and from what i saw today gave me real heart going into next season!! i actually like the fact he sticks up for himself he gets backed into a corner and fights back!! what would you rather have someone who is gonna lay down and die because if he had of done we would be in a terrible position! we now have enough points on the board and realistically what more can you expect from a manager with f$c£ all funds!! i sit in the south stand and someone tells me to watch my language perhaps he should get his head out of his ar5e and ahow some passion and actually sing as atmosphere was poor til we scored non existent!! great perfomance freddie and ward chambo espicailly

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Swn98 added 19:19 - Apr 17 Bluemachines he's only stating what it's been kite if you want to hear foul language come and sit behind me to hear it
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senduntd added 19:19 - Apr 17 Come on somebody what did he really say. Don't believe Mick would use foul language
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surgery added 19:22 - Apr 17 TimmyH. Agree entirely of course. Whilst one was a good player, the other was a 2nd / 3rd rate donkey. Can you imagine how it must have gone down being told by latter how to "play" ?
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TractorBeezer added 19:24 - Apr 17 McCarthy is a senior manager of a division of a the Marcus Evans Corporation and in that capacity is presumably expected to act as an ambassador as well as representing the Football League. Insulting the supporters when attendances are dwindling (except today) and ST sales down should be dealt with..
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