Manager Mick McCarthy was disappointed that his side conceded former Blue Darren Bent’s equaliser just after half-time as Town exited the FA Cup at the third round stage after losing 2-1 at Aston Villa.
McCarthy said: "As you can imagine, I’m chewing about the goal we conceded just after half-time, but if you give them the opportunity to do it, they’ll do it and we just gave them that opportunity, to be fair.
"We sorted the problem with N’Zogbia out in the first half, we nullified that and then we went and scored. We allowed it to happen and it changed the course of the game that goal.
"Once we stopped N’Zogbia playing in behind, I don’t think they got near us in the first half. In the second half, having conceded after 45 seconds or whatever it was, it was always going to be tough and they were on top for a good part of it. But I still felt that we settled down and had a couple of good chances ourselves.”
McCarthy said he was happy with new loan signings Patrick Kisnorbo, David McGoldrick and Aaron Mclean: "Very pleased. Patrick’s not played at that level or at that intensity for a long time and it speaks volumes for the way he’s kept himself right and fit because he got through the 90 minutes.
"The two lads who came on, David looked like he was finding his sea legs for a while, it bounced off him a couple of times, but he created a great chance for us near the end there and as he got into the game was fine.
"As for Aaron, he looks a real handful, well, he is a handful, I’ve seen him. I was pleased with their contributions.”
The Town boss also had praise for keeper Scott Loach, who was making his first appearance under his management: "I thought he played well, he acquitted himself well. You get one opportunity to make a good first impression. I thought he played well in the game.”
McCarthy was also impressed with the way 18-year-old Elliott Hewitt, who was making his first start for the Blues, coped at right-back: "The way they were playing with the wide left and the full-back coming forward, I thought he did particularly well. Then they put Agbonlahor up against him and he’s a handful for anybody.
"He’s another one that hadn’t played at that level, at that intensity, so it was pleasing that he got through it.”
The Blues manager admits that a replay wouldn’t have been ideal but says that he would have welcomed an equaliser: "Not particularly, but I didn’t want to lose.
"It’s funny after you lose, you say ‘Oh well, we wouldn’t have wanted a replay’. But at 90 minutes when we were pressing I’d have took a goal and took a replay.
"But it may have got in the way. It’s not going to get in the way now, so there’s no point in talking about it.”
Overall, he feels Town continue to move in the right direction: "Very much so. The performance as a whole, especially conceding as we did. In the past we’ve gone on and conceded another one and another one, we’ve lost by five and six by doing that.
"We didn’t, and having weathered that, we looked like we might have nicked it, we had a couple of chances. So, that’s a real improvement. There were some positives in it, some pluses certainly.”
McCarthy says the signings of McGoldrick and Mclean don’t mean that he’s given up the chase for DJ Campbell: "No, not really, we’re trying to do a permanent deal.
"I knew he was going back to play, so there was no sense in me speaking to Harry again. I spoke to DJ last night, wished him well and told him that I’d still like to sign him.”
Campbell played the full 90 minutes as his parent club QPR drew 1-1 at home to West Brom, with another former Blue Kieron Dyer netting a last-gasp equaliser.
Villa boss Paul Lambert thought his side deserved the win: "The onus is always on the home team especially when you play against a team from below you in a different division, so it’s always tough and that’s the first hurdle that you have to overcome. Then you go a goal down, but all credit to the team, I thought we deserved to go through.
"The first goal gave us a little setback but we never panicked or anything, we kept on playing the way we were and I thought our first goal was exceptional, the move was very good.”