Boss Mick McCarthy warned that Town’s relegation battle could last until the final day of the season visit to Burnley after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Blackburn. The Blues dropped to 20th in the Championship only one point from the relegation zone with Bolton, Bristol City, Peterborough and Barnsley all winning.
McCarthy says he can only affect Town’s matches: "I can’t do anything about other results. I’ve said all along since I walked in on November 1st that I think it’ll go right to the very end.
"It’s a matter of having 50-points plus to stay in the league, and everybody’s scrapping for them. We’ve had our good run or we wouldn’t be above the bottom three. Others are having their good run. It’s a matter of starting again next Saturday.”
The Blackburn game, won by a scrappy Jordan Rhodes goal just after the hour mark, was another tight contest, like so many in the Championship, and McCarthy believes there’s not a lot between any of the teams from top to bottom.
"We went to Cardiff and there was nothing in it,” he said. "It’s a tough league, you’ve got to scrap it out, stay with it and make sure you pick the points up.”
Despite Town having being drawn back closer to the danger zone, McCarthy is remaining level-headed: "I always do, there’s no point in being any other way. Having 44 points now, it would look a lot better in the league but it’s still not going to make you safe.
"You’ve got to get your points, wherever you pick them up, keep picking them up and the last game of the season might be relied upon. I don’t know.
"I’ve never sat in a press conference and said ‘We’ll be fine, we’ll be OK’ and I’m not going to start now. Likewise, I’m not going to start grinding my teeth and worrying about it.”
With all the teams at the bottom picking up points here and there the Blues boss says it might take more than the usual 50-ish points to stay up: "It could be, the way it’s going.
"All the teams are battling away and it could be some of the teams that are spiralling down that could have the problem. Let’s hope we’re not one of those.”