Town owner Marcus Evans has given his backing to manager Mick McCarthy and outlined the five-point, “sustainable and consistent” long-term strategy he believes will provide the Blues with “the best chance of promotion out of the Championship” in a lengthy column for today’s match programme.
Evans says he has every confidence that McCarthy will get the Blues back on track, despite the disappointing first half of the season.
"No one is more frustrated about that than Mick and the players and no one is working harder than Mick, his staff and the players to turn it around,” Evans writes. "Mick is vastly experienced and I’m confident he can get us progressing again.”
He adds: "Plans for the club to move forwards are always at the front of my mind.
""This has been a tough season so far, and, no excuses, we haven’t lived up to our potential with results and on occasions performances being below the standards of the last two seasons.
"That said, I am not the only one who has seen bright points and I believe if we follow the strategy outlined in this article then we will not be that far away from competing, once again, at the upper end of this league.”
The Blues owner, who is entering the 10th year since his takeover, says Town are competing on a "non-level playing field” with eight Championship clubs with parachute payments following stints in the Premier League and others having the benefit of very substantial - if often temporary - funding from their owners.
"My view, based on the finances available to us compared to those with parachute budgets and the small group with, often short-term, huge owner investment, is for your club to maintain a sustainable and consistent strategy, which I firmly believe provides a foundation each season for a promotion challenge,” Evans continues.
His five points are a "significant financial commitment to the Academy”, providing a sustainable and competitive squad salary budget, making funds available annually to buy younger players who can be developed, a stable management team and producing a side which will play "attractive and exciting football”.
You can read Evans’s column, in which he goes into each of these points in greater detail, in full on the club site here.