Town boss Mick McCarthy was happy enough with a draw from the first leg of the East Anglian play-off semi-final derby with Norwich City. What McCarthy felt was a “terrific game” ended 1-1 with Jonny Howson netting the Canaries and Paul Anderson for the Blues in the first half.
"I would say it was a terrific game, a really hard-fought game, whether it was a great football match, I don’t know but it was two teams competing for a big prize,” he said.
"It was never going to be wide open expansive football but it was very, very competitive, although there was no nastiness in it, just players going at it hammer and tongs but within the rules.
"I thought it was a good game and I’d take that. We’d like to be in front, of course, but away goals don’t count. We’ve got to win at Norwich.
"I’ve always been proud of my team, full of admiration for them for the way they’ve gone about their business for 46 games in the league.
"We went behind at a time when we were actually playing well, I thought. We’d just had a chance, Ando had had a shot and then we went behind. Then to come back against them shows everything that my team is about.”
When he was reminded that Town have had a decent away record this season, winning seven and drawing seven of their 23 games, he joked: "Big all the good ones up, we lost at Huddersfield, lost at Blackburn, never had a kick…
"We’re always aware of everything we’ve done but we have had a big results away from home.
"They’ve got to be the slight favourites, they’re a good side, finished third, they’re at home, but it doesn’t always work that way, as we know.
"And I’d settle for playing like that, I’d settle for that game and if we play as well as we did today we’ll be all right.”
He says he’s much happier to go into the return leg level rather than having to chase the match: "It’s a lot easier than being 3-0 down! I wouldn’t like the thought of that.
"It’s a lot easier to prepare for the game. If we had to go and attack, attack from the start and try and get one back it leaves you very vulnerable.
"But I think it could be a very nervy affair from both. You’ve seen we can both defend, one goal could be the difference in it.
"There could be small margins in it, whether that’s a mistake by a player, a bit of brilliance by a player, a mistake by a referee.
"By the way, I thought today’s referee [Anthony Taylor] was great today, I don’t think it was a foul on Tommy Smith [ahead of Norwich’s goal], I think Tommy slipped and Cameron Jerome had just got his foot in.
"I thought he handled it well so I hope we get someone who handles the second leg well as well.”
Norwich manager Alex Neil said he planned to keep his players away from the papers and away from the hype ahead of next week’s game, but McCarthy believes that’s impossible to do.
"We’ll have to put them in the Big Brother house for a week then, unless the Jungle’s on, we could put them in there for a week!” he joked.
"I get that you don’t want them to get hyped up but it is what it is and you’re not telling me that my lads and his lads won’t be at home thinking about it every single day this week.
"Of course, you guys will be turning up. It’s got bigger now, it’s one game before Wembley and you’ve got to deal with it.
"To be fair, I’ve got experienced players, I’ve got men in the team, they’ve not going to get worried about it. It didn’t look to me as if either team got worried by it today. I think it was a good, competitive match. You can’t protect them from everything.”
One piece of bad news for Town is that Luke Varney looks set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, having injured his ankle in the first half.
"We think he’s snapped his achilles,” McCarthy said. "He’s in there on gas and air at the minute. I hope the drugs testers don’t do him now he’s had all that.
"He’s in bits the poor lad. He’s been wonderful, he’s been a breath of fresh air coming in. For a lad who has come in on loan, he like all the loanees has really contributed. He’s just such a great guy, we’ll have to look after him and make sure he’s OK.
"It’s a big blow for him and I haven’t got a player for next week and maybe for Wembley, who knows.
"It’s such a big blow for him. I’m so disappointed for him. You see any player do that, but a lad like him, it’s really disappointing.”
McCarthy says he’ll treat the week ahead just like any other, as he did in the lead-up to the first game.
"We’ll be normal, in Monday, Tuesday, off Wednesday, preparing like we’ve done all season.
"That got us 78 points and if you start doing something different players ask ‘Why are we doing that?’ and it can unhinge them a little bit rather than keeping it the same and treating it the same.”
Norwich boss Alex Neil thought a draw was a fair result: "I don’t think there was a great deal between the teams over the piece.
"I thought in the first half was as we expected, a hundred miles an hour, fighting for second balls.
"I think the unusual thing was the fact that we created more chances in the first half but dominated the game less.
"I thought in the second half the more it wore on the more we controlled the ball but didn’t really create that much in the second half.
"Over the piece we had more chances in the first half than I think Ipswich did. However, did we do enough to win the game? Probably not.”