Town boss Mick McCarthy says the “derogatory” post-match comments made by some opposition managers this season has made taking points off them all the sweeter. A number of managers have complained about the Blues’ approach having seen their teams drop points to McCarthy's fourth-placed side this season.
Former Fulham and Wigan bosses Felix Magath and Uwe Rosler complained that their sides had been roughed up after being defeated by the Blues, while Watford manager Slavisa Jokanovic claimed that Town were "more physical” than his side - despite Jonny Williams having limped off following a dreadful Joel Ekstrand challenge - and that his team weren’t as adept as the Blues at their "direct game, with many long balls”.
Last week, Cherries manager Howe said he felt Town had "come away with something from a game when perhaps they didn’t deserve to” and claimed his side should have been awarded a second-half penalty.
"It makes it all the sweeter when we piss the opposition manager off, it’s great!” McCarthy said.
"There are some of them think they’re a little bit above us. They maybe are better footballers and stroke it about a bit more and it really irks them when the two comprehensive lads come and rough a few schoolboys up. They don’t like it, do they?
"It just gives me greater satisfaction when we do it and even better satisfaction when they whinge about it.
"And it wasn’t a penalty. As I said to them in their room, while I’ve got a hole in my backside it wasn't a penalty.
"He said ‘In your opinion’ and I said that’s the f------ opinion I’m giving, nobody else’s. I’ve not asked anybody else.
"What do they think they’re going to do? Do they think teams are just going to think ‘Let’s just have a nice, pretty game of football and the best team wins’? It doesn’t work that way.”
He added: "I think there are a few clubs that look down their noses at us and think they’re better than us and then they get slapped or we take something off them. And I think it’s derogatory sometimes, the way they do it.
"It really does irk them when you take points off them, especially when they think they’re better than you, which is better still.”
Regarding today’s opponents Charlton, he says they’re a similar side to Town: "I think they’re a really solid, well-organised unit. We could be talking about us.
"Are they as expansive as Derby or Bournemouth, who I heaped praise upon and yet we still managed to get derogatory comments made about us, which surprises me.
"I don’t think that’s what they are. I think they’re more like us, they’re tough and hard to beat and hard to play against with quality players within that unit.
"But they’re a solid Championship team. That’s nothing to be sneered at that because a solid Championship team, Burnley, got promoted last year with a couple of really good strikers [Danny Ings and Sam Vokes], that were the top strikers.
"But let me tell you, everything else behind that was really disciplined, hard-working, get back in, 4-4-2, make yourselves hard to beat, then you’ve got two strikers.
"I think Charlton are in a similar vein to that as we are and a few others that are doing OK.”
He believes the Addicks are genuine play-off contenders, just like the Blues and plenty of others.
"I think we all are after the games we’ve played,” he continued. "When we’ve got to this stage, who knows what will happen in terms of injuries, suspensions and whatever else, people buying or selling in the transfer market over the new year.
"But I think when you’ve played as many games as we have and we’re in there, we’ve got to be. I think all the top 12 teams are play-off candidates.
"You lose two games and you could be 12th. You win two games and you could be in the top six.”