Blues boss Mick McCarthy believes his side’s 1-0 win at Birmingham in his first game in charge back in November was vital to Town staying in the Championship. Former loanee DJ Campbell netted the only goal of that match after eight minutes to take the three points away from St Andrew’s.
McCarthy said: "It was hugely important. You get one opportunity to make a good first impression, and that’s what I did.
"People would have said ‘Safe pair of hands, good manager, he’s done this, done that…’, but it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, you’ve got to do it all over again and capture people’s hearts and minds and imaginations.
"Get them believing in what I do and the first win did that to start with. Believe me, if you lose the first one, then suddenly lose the second one, it’s a really difficult job then to lift people.
"So, you come in, everybody gets a lift, you’ve got to make the most of it. And thankfully we did. It was hugely important.”
The Blues boss wants Town’s Championship status finally confirmed today: "I don’t want to be going to Burnley needing anything and waiting on other results. Our opportunity to do it is here and we want to make the most of it."
He says that with Town within an inch or two of the finish line he and his staff have approached this week just like any other, not wanting to add any stress to the situation: "We’ve just continued as we have. You don’t want to continually drum it into them because it puts even more pressure on them when they’re playing.
"We need something out of it, but they’re not daft, footballers know what they need. And they want to win, they wouldn’t be in a Championship team like Ipswich if they weren’t winners in the first place.
"They don’t come and then suddenly change that attitude. I think it’s been proven with the group of players that have been playing, they’ve got a really good attitude towards it. They don’t just switch it off and switch it on. You can’t."
McCarthy says he wouldn't be surprised if the Championship provided more surprises in the final couple of matches: "It has been so bonkers this league that something even more bonkers could happen, and I don’t want it to be involved in that in any shape or form.
"So, we’re going to make sure, as we always do, that we do the job right and get something out of the game. We’re going to try and win it, but we don’t want to get beaten, that’s for sure.”