Central defender Toto Nsiala says Town’s first win of the season will come soon if everyone keeps working hard and sticks together.

After nine Championship games - plus the Carabao Cup defeat at Exeter - the 23rd-placed Blues are still to taste victory under new manager Paul Hurst with 10-man Bolton frustrating them to secure a 0-0 draw on Saturday, all five of Town’s home games so far having ended level.

“It’s hard, there’s not really much to say,” Nsiala said after Saturday’s match. “It could have gone in from the skipper’s header but it didn’t.

“Things are just not going our way with luck and red cards and chances, but it’s going to turn around. That’s football sometimes.

“You go games without winning and then with the flip of a coin it starts happening for you and we’re hoping that if we keep working, we keep together with the staff, the gaffer and everyone it’ll come our way soon. We’ve just got to keep going and keep believing.”

The 26-year-old admits Town will take any sort of victory at the moment, no matter how scruffy or undeserved it might be.

“That’s exactly what’s needed at the moment - a win. It doesn’t matter how it comes, just a win to get the boys going. We’re definitely in need of one,” he said.

“It’s going to come, we’ve just got to stick together and keep going but the positives are that we’ve had a clean sheet today, which we haven’t had all season.”

Nsiala says he and his team-mates have to keep doing what they’ve been doing since the start of the season and eventually they will get that elusive first victory.

“We can’t then go back to trying to hoof the ball and not play football, we’ve got to still try and get out from the goalkicks and play football and take chances, that’s the only way we’re going to win games,” he added.

“It was hard today because they sat off. I don’t think they really pressed or came out, especially after going down to 10 men they just sat off and waited for us, which made it harder.

“Even when we went down to 10 men when Jon Walters went off they still sat off and just defended and it’s hard to find gaps and crosses when you’ve got a team of giants who are going to defend the whole box.”

Nsiala having returned to the team following his three-match ban for his controversial red card at Sheffield Wednesday, which he says was frustrating.

“It’s been hard sitting out for that many weeks and I’m just glad to be back out there and helping the lads out. It was hard watching them from the stands,” he admitted.

“It’s a good feeling that I’m back in there, bench or anything, just to be able to help the lads out.”

In addition to the red card itself, Nsiala suffered a double disappointment with his appeal dismissed by an FA Independent Regulatory Commission.

“I’ve had that before where I’ve been sent off and it’s been looked at and it wasn’t a sending off, but it’s going to happen, it’s the way the game’s going at this moment,” the DR Congo international added.

“You see those sorts of tackles in the Premier League and it’s not even a yellow card or there’s no sending off, but just on the day the ref’s seen it as a sending off and you’ve got to respect him.”

Despite the dismissal, which was widely viewed as extremely harsh at best, the former Shrewsbury man says he won’t be changing his approach to the game.

“No, if there’s anything in my way, if there’s a ball there to be won I’ll try my best to win it,” he insisted.

“That’s just how I play, I want to defend, like I said on my first day, and I want to carry on doing the same thing.”

He admits it’s frustrating that plenty of similar tackles haven't received the same reaction from referees.

“It does [make it worse],” he admitted. “The day after it happened I was watching I think a Man United game and a similar tackle happened with studs-up and there was no yellow card, there was no foul given.

“But you’ve got to respect the job, it’s a hard job, they’re going to get some decisions right and some wrong, you’ve just got to get on with it.”

Nsiala is now almost two months into his time as a Championship player, albeit a spell interrupted by the red card at Hillsborough and the suspension, and he says he has noticed he has needed to be fitter in a faster, quicker division.

“Every league that I’ve stepped up I’ve had to be fitter, that’s one of the biggest things, although I’ve lost a bit of fitness in the couple of weeks.

“Teams are a lot fitter and move quicker and the ball gets moved quicker, so it has been a big step.”

Meanwhile, the Blues’ U23s, who are top of their league table, are in action at Portman Road this evening when they take on Coventry City (KO 7pm).

Photo: TWTD

bobble added 06:32 - Sep 24 not really, we could just lose and draw for the season......
-4

LimitlessBlue added 07:06 - Sep 24 You have to be in the game creating chances, pressing forward for goals to be scored, we ain't doing that so chances are we will not score. Unfortunately mostly league one and two quality signed so quality is now the issue. Very excited by some of the singings when they happened but bar a couple most are not good enough, net result relegation battle.
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brainbox added 07:54 - Sep 24 Why not play the U23 team at Birmingham?
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TraktorBoyz added 07:55 - Sep 24 When we get a new manager
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TraktorBoyz added 07:55 - Sep 24 When we get a new manager
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algarvefan added 08:12 - Sep 24 It's a work in progress and will take time and that's something fans these days don't seem to want to give, it's an instant world we live in! I am like everyone else worried that we will be relegated, I also think we have some damn good young players who are not being given the chance to develop at their own club, there are too many loanees, not a way to build a team in my opinion. I am still prepared to give Hurst time, it's gonna be tough, very tough, but it's what a lot of us wanted, we just say it panning out a different way.

12

bedsitfc added 08:22 - Sep 24 A little concerned but not worried. I would rather be relegated than continue with poor football where we set out to contain opponents every game. We have had huge changes at Portman Road, it takes time and we need to accept this. One deflected goal or one moment of brilliance will change our fortunes. I do believe Walters is not the answer as in starting every game we need to give our forwards the time to build their confidence.

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Currie10 added 08:24 - Sep 24 Bla bla bla. Believe it when I see it.
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OwainG1992 added 08:37 - Sep 24 To be fair I like Nsiala think he'll prove to be a very good signing for us. Hopefully the results will turn soon.....we're unbeaten in 2! (Yaaaaayyy)
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JackADP added 09:14 - Sep 24 “Nsiala says he and his team-mates have to keep doing what they've been doing since the start of the season and eventually they will get that elusive first victory.” I mean surely something will have to change, as right now, it hasn't been working...
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brittaniaman added 09:23 - Sep 24 Daily Mail is today calling Hurst Zero of the week !!!! Let us all hope that he can prove them Wrong Soon ?
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wedge88 added 09:27 - Sep 24 a clean sheet against 10 men big deal!!!
3

BaddowBlue1 added 09:33 - Sep 24 Wasn't it Birmingham where we broke our winless run when MM took over? Hope lightning does strike the same place twice.
7

Bert added 09:48 - Sep 24 Fair enough comments from Nsiala but some of his defending in the first half was awful. That said I think he is capable of developing into a good player. He is right in that Bolton parked the bus second half and with their whole team behind the ball it is difficult to penetrate. Like Hurst, I would have preferred that Jackson could have had the opportunity to have gone on to score rather than have the Bolton player sent off for a foul. More often than not the away team shuts the game down and it becomes a drab game.

3

blueherts added 09:50 - Sep 24 Slim pickings to pick through . Only things I can keep positive about is Huws and Dozzell will come back Brentford had a bad start last season and now look at them !! U18 and U23s are tope of the league Err that is it BIT I think we will come back !! Tiger has inspired my belief in rising from the Ashes !
1

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 09:59 - Sep 24 On the basis of what I've seen so far, I think several of the players we have signed could be described as of average Championship level but no more: Nolan, Edwards, and Nsiala fall into this category. Some of the others have yet to prove that they are even of this level. At the very least, they need to be surrounded by more experienced Championship campaigners to help them make the step up. The main problem seems to be we haven't replaced our strike force of Waghorn, and to some extent Garner, with players of similar experience (or quality?) As for the loanees, Edun looks quite handy, but Chalobah flatters a bit to deceive. Again, he would probably do better with other more experienced players around him. And unfortunately, it looks as if JW is not going to be fit much of the time. I want all our players to succeed, but until we sort out both midfield and attack, I can't really see where a win is coming from. Still, strange things happen in football - sometimes.

5

afcfee added 10:19 - Sep 24 I can't see Hurst turning it around. In the Norwich game perfect chance make subs before with 20 mins left doesn't and we are punished then Saturday makes all the subs when you are playing against ten risks an injured player and makes all the subs with 20 min left throwing away the advantage. Managers are judged by decisions and his have been very poor. We haven't won but haven't played our youngsters which wouldn't be as bad if had. Loaned out players we should of kept not playing youth and playing injured players? For me he's on borrowed time would love to be wrong as seems decent guy but just not sure he's up to it. I'll be behind him and the team but if wasn't such a big fan i would be backing against us every time and be doing well off the bookies. Instead I'll keep pumping on us to win saying we have to win eventuality but I'm betting against my head and with my heart. I know it's early days but what we going to do get to 20 games without a win and keep saying "needs time" or "Bobby robson took time for it to come good". Another 4 games without a win and has to go for me.

4

TimmyH added 10:34 - Sep 24 Really Nsiala!?!...you can't consistently not win and keep blaming things not going our way, we're simply not good enough for the standards which should be achieved at this club.
6

Butcherboy added 10:35 - Sep 24 I'm getting bored with all the excuses coming out of the club.
2

Karlosfandangal added 11:04 - Sep 24 We have a manager with no Chamionship experience who have tried to move too quickly. We need to keep the Webber's Waghorn,'s and Garner's and bring in about 4 quality players. Difficult when players want to go, but feel Evans should have taken a hit in January and maybe let them go for less if they still wanted to go or offer a contract to keep them here and then allow Hurst to bring in more players. Hurst has moved to quickly Waghorn and Garner should have been allowed to leave once we had got a proven goal scorer. Replace a 16 a season Championship player with a 16 a season Div 2 player was never going to work. Most of the fans could see that, we were all excited that we were bring in new players but none of real quality. Fingers crossed that by Christmas Mr Hurst and the new players will have found their feet and have enough to keep us in this division. Then next season sell those that have not cut it and replace with quality that can.

2

NormEmerges added 11:12 - Sep 24 Nsiala is hardly likely to say anything else, is he? From what I've seen on videos (sadly I can't get to many games) I'm unconvinced that those brought in are better than our players coming through. I think the likes of Kenlock, Emmanuel, Downes, Dozzell, Morris, Nydam will do better gaining experience at Championship level than in lower leagues. Did Woolfenden do so badly when in the team? After all we couldn't be any lower with the youngsters in the team.

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itfc58 added 11:22 - Sep 24 I really wish i could believe you Toto but i just cant see happening. I'm not blaming the players as its not your fault that far too many lower league players have been chucked in at the deep end all at once, i'm blaming PH for doing it, but mainly MARCUS EVANS for blindly letting him dismantle our side, Very sad days at Portman Road how will we ever win when we cant even score?

1

Barhamblue added 12:46 - Sep 24 As much as I like you Toto, the simple fact is, we don't have any championship quality. Unless there is 25 million invested (which we know there won't be) in Championship proven players in January, there is not a hope in hell in staying in this league and I've been watching ITFC for 43 years. Let's hope I'm wrong.
2

BlueBlood90 added 12:49 - Sep 24 I don't buy that it's down to luck. Perhaps it can be when it's one or two games but not nine games! We have a manager who has invested in a lot of players who just aren't good enough and doesn't know what his best side is. He's just throwing random team selections out there and hoping one of them comes off.
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timkatieadamitfc added 12:51 - Sep 24 @bedsitfc - the football we're watching at the minute is not much better if any than under MM. That first half against Brentford was dreadful.
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