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McCarthy Hints at Changes for Owls Clash - Ipswich Town News

Boss Mick McCarthy has hinted that he may make changes to his team when Sheffield Wednesday visit Portman Road on Tuesday, but won’t seek to address Town’s downturn in form by bringing in “shedloads" of signings.

Since the turn of the year the Blues have taken just four points from 15 and have dropped from second to fifth in the table. Previously they had lost just once in 21 games in all competitions.

What does a manager do to reverse such slips in form? "We’re not changing bodies around, that’s for sure.

"We’re not bringing shedloads of players in and changing it, and I don’t see any reason for it because they’ve been great.

"They will have a dip. I might have to look at freshening it up with the players that I’ve got, of course, and keep going.”

Quizzed further on whether Town’s recent results have sped up any plans he has to add to his squad, he pointed out that the emergency loan provision only becomes available this week in any case: "Well, I can’t do it until Monday.”

The Town manager isn’t one to panic after a few poor results just as he didn’t get carried away during the Blues’ previous excellent run.

"If you let acclaim go to your head, you start thinking that you’re something that you’re not, which I’ve never really had trouble with,” he said.

"And I’ve never really had trouble with dealing with people giving me abuse either. But I don’t think we’re at that level yet, are we? I wouldn’t have thought so.”

The Town boss expects the battle for the promotion and play-off places to go right to the very end of the season.

"There are some good teams in and around us and no doubt we’ll be scrapping away until the last minute of every game to the end of the season to make sure we’re in the promotion push,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rotherham manager Steve Evans felt his team’s display was one of their best of the season.

"I said to the boys in the build-up to today was that the first thing you have to do with Ipswich Town is earn the right to be in the game,” Evans said.

"And I don’t think we did that for 10 minutes, I think we stood off them a little bit and they can just run over he top of you, as they threatened to do.

"So, we taking in terms of a battling performance and then having ability on the ball and breaking with some real quality, then arguably it would be up there with our best performances.

"I’ve seen us give some terrific performances but given the quality of the opposition I think that has to be up there.

"It’s easy to say afterwards but I said leading up to the game that if Mick McCarthy’s not the best manager in the Championship then there aren’t many in front of him.”

Meanwhile, one-time Town loanee Sixto Peralta has hung up his boots at the age of 35.

The man known as Mumo, who made 21 starts and eight sub appearances, scoring five goals in the 2001/02 relegation season, most recently played for Chilean side Universidad de Concepción.

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