Town boss Mick McCarthy felt his team had to play exceptionally well to beat Watford 1-0 at Portman Road. Tommy Smith netted the game’s only goal with seven minutes left on the clock.
"I think they had a very good team,” he said. "I think we’ve had to play exceptionally well and defend really well.
"I don’t know how it was 0-0 to when it was, except that both goalies played well and both defences played well. They got blocks in, stopped shots and worked really hard.
"I said at half-time that it was a really good Championship game between two good teams who have got a chance of being up there and it was about who blinked first.
"And they did. We got the goal from a well-worked freekick. We’re always on about trying to invent something, not just putting it in. Hunty and Didz have done that and it ends up in the net.
"They had chances, we had chances, there could have been a lot more goals. How it’s ended up 1-0 I’m not sure.
"I don’t think there was that much profligate finishing, I think it was good defending and good goalkeeping which kept people out.
"Maybe Forestieri’s chance, but he was running at full tilt and it goes over the bar. That was a wasted one for them, certainly.”
He added: "I don’t know about the gap [to the top] or the league, I haven’t looked at that, I’m not really interested, I’m just really pleased with the performance and victory.
"What are we, second? Fourth? I was hoping we were second. I don’t know what the other results are. What are we, two points off the top and about 10 off the bottom six? Not that I’m looking that way, of course.”
He says that while Town supporters will be celebrating, Watford followers eventually probably won’t be too unhappy given their side’s display: "Our fans will go away happy, I’m not sure about the Watford fans.
"Fans want to see when their team win but I think when they reflect on it they’ll think their team has played well, as has ours.
"They’ll think that they’ve come up against a good, well-organised, tough outfit that’s difficult to play against.
"I think we’ve had exactly the same and before we scored if it had ended up 0-0 I’d have taken it and been quite happy with a point.”
Overall, McCarthy says the Blues are going into the international break on a high, just a few weeks after boos had rung around Portman Road following the 2-2 draw with Huddersfield: "It’s great. It was a good performance, good victory, everything about it. We’ve had a good week, haven’t we?
"Two weeks ago I got booed off coming in here and I was seriously pissed off and angry about it.
"It just shows how quickly it changes around. But I know that. I said coming off, I know it changes, you just need results.
"I get the frustration, I get people’s annoyance when you’ve given a two-goal lead up. But that’s when we need the support, that is the vital time you need the support, that’s when I support my players and that’s when I need a bit of support.
"My point is that as a club you’re all in it together, you’re all inside pissing out, not outside pissing in. That’s my view of it.
"And if you are, then you stick with us and you’ve got a chance of being successful. I’m not having a go at anybody, I’m just saying that that is how you create that environment that is hard to beat.
"The crowd were great today, what were there, 22,000? I’ve seen a really great atmosphere in the last two games. It’s been fab.”
Stephen Hunt was again amongst Town’s top performers and McCarthy is delighted with the 33-year-old’s contribution since he came into the starting line-up at Blackpool.
"He’s great, isn’t he? I don’t know what he’s doing but I want some of it, that’s for sure,” the Town manager joked.
"I better not say that or I’ll have the testers on Monday. It’s just a testament to what a good pro he is.”
McCarthy was less pleased with some of the treatment meted out to Jonny Williams, who was forced off through injury after a poor Joel Ekstrand challenge on the hour.
"I take the point that if I was playing against him I’d probably kick him,” McCarthy admitted. "But I thought it was an awful tackle on him, a real take-one-for-the-team, cold, cynical tackle, and there weren’t many of them.
"He’s sat with his thigh heavily strapped and a big, sad face on him. I don’t know [how serious his injury might be] yet, so I can’t tell you anything.”
Asked whether he felt it was a fair result Watford boss Slavisa Jokanovic said: "This is football. Sometimes it’s fair and sometimes it’s not.
"I can be happy with some parts of the game. My team made many, many chances, especially in the first half.
"But I can be disappointed because my team played many minutes exactly how Ipswich wanted to play, we played Ipswich’s game.
"I need more control. My team is working very hard, my team was fighting very well, this is normal, but what I want, what I need is more football, more control.”