Joint-top scorer Brett Pitman has vowed Town will put this season’s disappointment behind them and have “a right go” to make up for it next term.
Mick McCarthy’s men looked to be on course for a repeat of last season’s play-off finish but a run of just one win from their last nine games has all but put paid to their challenge.
Pitman, whose 10-goal tally puts him level with Daryl Murphy, said: "It is obviously disappointing for everybody — the fans, the players and the management.
"We are all feeling it. It’s been tough for the last couple of months, since probably the Bolton game. That’s one I look back on where we should have won and I think it killed our momentum a little bit. We’ve found it tough, probably since then.”
The ex-Bournemouth player, in his first season at Portman Road, admitted he had hoped to be in the play-off frame right to the death. He added: "We were hoping but it’s not to be, so we’ll move on.
"We will try to win as many games as we can between now and the end of the season and we’ll come back next season and have another go.
"We’ll have a right go again next season. We’ve got an honest group of lads and I think that’s the only way they’ll know how to do it. We’ll have a right go.”
Town went to Bolton last month seeking a third successive league win and it looked very much on the cards until the dying seconds when they conceded a penalty that was converted by Stephen Dobbie to earn the Trotters a 2-2 draw.
Asked if that was a mental blow for the team Pitman replied: "I’m not sure if it’s been a problem but it definitely hasn’t helped.
"When you’re 2-0 up away from home to the team at the bottom and you concede in the manner we did it’s tough and it’s probably taken longer than it should have done for us to put it right.”
Pitman, 28, believes his first campaign as a Town player has been mixed, adding: "I’ve scored goals when I’ve had chances but in the past couple of months we probably haven’t created as many chances as forwards would like.
"But that’s not just the people creating, it’s us as well. The team always come first and I would swap scoring all the goals I’ve scored for Ipswich to be in the play-offs and have a go. But it’s not to be.
"Did I expect more from myself? Maybe slightly but I’ve never set myself targets. I think I scored 14 last year for Bournemouth so I was expecting to be in and around that mark but it is what it is.”
Pitman dismissed the idea of a personal battle with co-striker Murphy for the title of leading goalscorer.
Asked if it would mean anything to him he responded: "Not really, no, to be honest. Like I said, I’d have swapped scoring all the goals for the play-offs. We’re a team and it doesn’t matter who scores. We’re happy for anyone who scores.”
Manager Mick McCarthy has been pleased with Pitman’s first campaign with the Blues: "We had healthy competition for striking places with Murph, Didz and Freddie and with Luke Varney, subsequently since he came back to fitness.
"I think he’s had a good first season. He’s scored 10 goals, which for somebody who hasn’t started week in, week out, he’s contributed hugely to it.”
Like the Jersey-born frontman, McCarthy believes the strikers haven’t been getting chances of late.
"We did get service to them early on,” he added. "Why that has changed, that’ll be well worth looking at. I know a lot of the reasons. We will sit down and analyse it and find out the rest.”