Town boss Mick McCarthy hailed a “proper team performance” as the Blues won 1-0 away at Leeds to put Friday’s thrashing at Reading firmly behind them. Tommy Smith scored the winning goal in the 32nd minute.
"That was a proper team performance unlike Friday night,” McCarthy said. "But Friday night was one of those nights when we were under par and Reading were different class. They only had six shots, they scored with five of them. It was one of those nights.
"I was never going to get carried away, despite the tone of the questions yesterday in the press conference - ‘Was I going to change everything?’.
"You should know by now, I’m not going to and I trust the players. ‘Do you expect a reaction?’ Of course I expect a reaction. Why? Because they’re a great bunch of lads and they’re terrific. It hurt them as much as anybody.
"So I’m delighted for that, I’m delighted with the clean sheet and really with an all-round, tough resilient performance.”
He added: "I said we were a bit open [on Friday] and I took responsibility for the team and the way we played.
"But I’ve a back four tonight that defended like my back four normally does and I don’t think Gerks has had a save to make, to be honest with you.
"They were ably assisted by the lads in front who worked hard, but that was a proper defensive performance.”
He admitted he felt quite low after Friday’s game: "I didn’t think it was the end of the world but I thought it was fairly close! Only at the time, you know when you’ve lost and you’re on the sidelines and you’re having to take it in, it’s not nice, that’s a really tough time.
"The real period of healing is coming in on the Sunday, as we did. I didn’t have them in on the Saturday. The temptation is to say ‘Right, we’re all in, you’re not having a day off’.
"We came in on the Sunday, I had a look at it, I didn’t it show all to the players, we showed them individual bits and it helps me repair how I feel and feel better about myself. But with a calm, level head as usual.”
Following Friday his backline faced criticism, but McCarthy says it comes with the territory: "They do, don’t they? I said when we were top of the league that you go from god to dog very quickly in this game unfortunately. It doesn’t take long.”
The Blues manager says Friday’s performance was far from typical of his side so far this season: "We haven’t been really that below [par], we had a really difficult night on Friday.
"Having got back against Brighton, we were different class for a long time and then we just got done with a sucker punch and a deflection.
"We played all right in that game, so we’ve had one really bad performance and bad result and, of course, it was on the telly and every Joe Soap saw it so they all know about it.
"I came here and watched Leeds on Saturday and at half-time their fans were saying ‘You’ve nowt to worry about here, Mick’. I said to them that they probably said exactly the same when they watched us the previous night. I was never worried that we weren’t going to play better tonight.”
The Town boss was again delighted with the performances of widemen Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Ryan Fraser: "When I was signing them they said they’d like to speak to Mick McCarthy or the gaffer before they came.
"I knew all about them as players but would they accept that if you don’t run around you don’t play? If you don’t close down, you don’t tackle, you don’t do the dirty stuff then you’ll be sat on the sidelines? And neither of them are, they keep playing, don’t they?”
Fraser limped off in the second half along with Cole Skuse, who McCarthy says is the bigger concern of the two: "Ryan less serious than Cole, I think.
"I don’t know what he’s done but it looks like he’s rocked his knee and he got tackled at the same time. We’ll have to wait and see tomorrow. He’s different class, Cole, he’s a really good player.”
Regarding referee James Adcock not awarding a penalty when Sam Byram claimed he had been fouled by Jonas Knudsen late on he added: "I’ve looked at it again and he has got the decision right. Why he has dived I have no idea because he’s in on goal, and he doesn’t touch him.
"It would have been easier to give, so I applauded his courageous decision because it would have been the easiest thing in the world to give it with 22,000 here baying for blood, it would have just been simple and to send Jonas off and that would have been wrong.
"So I’m absolutely certain that Leeds will be moaning about it, thinking it was a penalty, but it wasn’t, I’ve seen it. He got it spot on and I admire his courage.
"If he’d have given it you’ve have looked at it afterwards and gone, ‘Well, it wasn’t a penalty, but it was under lights, at Leeds, it’s Tuesday night, the crowd are baying, it’s an easy one to give’. Fair play to him. And, of course, I’m delighted and Uwe will be spewing.”
He admitted that he saw it as a foul at the time: "I thought it was a penalty, I couldn’t see anything else, but I’ve just seen the replay and it’s not. Well done ref.”
McCarthy confirmed that central midfielders Kevin Bru and Teddy Bishop came through yesterday’s U21 game at Birmingham OK after their hamstring injuries, as did recently signed winger Tommy Oar.
Leeds manager Uwe Rosler felt his previously unbeaten side got drawn into a match more suiting Town: "We knew in the beginning of the game that they would make it very difficult for us to get on the ball, and they did.
"The game got very scrappy and the first time the ball came in the box from a corner, they scored.
"Against a team like Ipswich it’s very difficult because they’re defensively solid. They were running down the clock, they made it difficult for us in the second half to find any rhythm whatsoever.
"A few decisions went against us, crucial decisions. I’m not blaming the referee, it’s just a fact that in the first half we had appeals for a penalty for a clear handball.
"The referee maybe can’t see but the linesman has an absolutely clear view on it. And there was Sam Byram’s situation. It was a situation where we felt had a strong case for a penalty.
"Overall I’m disappointed that we didn’t show enough courage and bravery to force our game on the opposition.
"We got drawn into their style of play and we’re not that sort of team. And when you play the majority of the game [like that] you will be second best and that’s exactly what happened.”