Midfielder Cole Skuse says Town are still very much in the promotion hunt, despite Saturday’s disappointing 0-0 home draw against struggling Wigan continuing their recent dip in form.
The Blues have won just one of their last six games in all competitions, however, they remain fourth in the Championship, three points behind leaders Bournemouth and Derby in second and two points off third-placed Middlesbrough, although with all three having a better goal difference.
"We couldn’t break them down,” Skuse admitted after the draw with the Latics. "They came here with game plan, which worked for them.
"It was tough for us to get behind them and create some chances but a point’s a point.
"Add them all up at the end of the season and hopefully it will be enough for us to be where we want to be.
"We managed to get a couple of chances but we couldn’t capitalise. It is small margins and we didn’t do enough to win.”
The 28-year-old also admitted that Daryl Murphy’s absence due to a calf strain had an impact: "Murph is always going to be a miss. He has had an incredible season and scored lots of goals.
"But you can’t help getting injuries and we have lads who are more than capable of coming in and doing a good job. We are still very much in the hunt. We take this point and we move on.”
Skuse hopes that today's transfer deadline passes with none of the senior squad having departed, as manager Mick McCarthy and managing director Ian Milne have said should be the case.
"Hopefully no one will move on,” the midfielder added. "We have a great group here, we are a really tight unit and we want to keep that spirit.”
Meanwhile, Wigan skipper James Perch was pleased with the draw: "That was a good point against one of the top teams in the league and I felt we perhaps deserved more.
"It was a pretty even game without too many chances, although I should have scored with a header towards the end. They had a couple of shots but overall it was boring really.
"Our shaped worked well, the gaffer’s team selection paid off and we knew it would be a tough fight but we got the point.”
An electrical fault at Portman Road meant that there was no hot water in the away dressing room after the match.
"The lads weren’t happy about that but I was alright, I had the bath and I nicked the last of the hot water!” Perch added.