Town boss Mick McCarthy wasn’t getting carried away despite the Blues’ 3-0 win at Doncaster taking them into the top six for the first time under his management. McCarthy’s side went fifth, although they’re likely to fall back after the Championship’s evening fixtures.
"Recent performances have been good, but this league is so bonkers that you could have that good run and get into the top six and you could lose three on the bounce,” he said.
"Didn’t they beat Leicester here, Donny? And they beat QPR here. That’s the league. And I see Charlton have beaten Brighton today.
"If you remember it last year, when we were in the bottom three, we’d come off the pitch and we’d won and everybody else had won as well.
"That’s just the way it is. You’ve just got to keep picking up points wherever you can. I thought last week’s point against Watford was a great point. Weren’t beaten, we drew, and we’ve consolidated that with an away victory.”
The Blues boss was pleased with his three strikers as he again employed his 4-3-3 system: "We’ve played that now for a number of weeks and it’s worked well for us.
"I thought they were very good, although I don’t think we played very well in the first half and I think 2-0 flattered us at half-time.
"We had a lot of the play but didn’t really do enough with it, I think their goalkeeper made one save very early on.
"But then we’ve scored from two great deliveries from corners, which is important, but I can’t say that we were making their keeper save all the time.”
He added: "I thought in the second half we could have done a bit more damage really. I don’t know if Frank’s goal is offside.
"I think at that time if it goes to 4-0 [we might have scored more], but I thought they kept going, Donny, they had a good header which went by the post.”
He played down suggestions that it was a comfortable victory: "I’ve been 4-1 up at half-time and managed not to win it so I tend not to rest on my laurels and think it’s over until the final whistle’s gone.”
McCarthy had praise for his keeper for a vital stop from Mark Duffy’s freekick shortly before half-time: "I thought Dean Gerken made the match-winning save for us.
"He’s a good keeper, which is why when he dropped one at Wigan and I was asked whether I’d leave him in the side for the next game I said I would.
"He’s turned out to be a really, really good goalkeeper for us, a part of that back five which is doing ever so well.”
The Town boss was similarly glowing regarding man of the match David McGoldrick: "He’s been terrific. His all-round contribution, he’s not just a goalscorer, he gets back and defends, he goes back and defends corners. He’s been a proper bloke for us, a good player, but a good guy.
"I thought Murph had scored [the first goal] but it went in off Dids and I’m not bothered as long as it went in.”
Doncaster boss Paul Dickov was unhappy to concede the two goals from corners: "I was really disappointed with the result and the performance.
"I thought it was a scrappy game and then to concede two goals from set pieces the way we did really put us up against it against a team which is full of confidence with good players in it.
"As a management team and a group of players we can work as much as we can on formations and on tactics with and without the ball, but you can’t legislate for people switching off at set pieces, especially against a big, physical team with the aerial strength that they’ve got, and concede two goals and expect to get back in the game.”
Rovers have nine first team players currently out injured which Dickov admits has been tough: "The one thing I don’t want to do is make excuses, but when you’ve got five of your defenders out, three centre-backs and two full-backs, it’s going to make it difficult for you.”