Boss Mick McCarthy admitted that non-league Lincoln City were unfortunate not to beat the Blues and pull off a third round FA Cup shock at Portman Road, Tom Lawrence’s 86th minute goal rescuing Town and seeing them to a 2-2 draw.
"He’s got us all out of jail, two good finishes from Tom,” McCarthy said. "I thought Lincoln were excellent, I think they’ll be feeling very unlucky not to have won the game.
"I’ll be complaining bitterly about the goals we conceded and I guess they will be as well.
"But they were good, I think they played very well. I knew they’d come here confident, I knew they were a good side, we’d watched them, and they didn’t show me any surprises.
"It’s that classic cup tie between a non-league side and a league side and they were unfortunate not to win it.”
McCarthy was frustrated that having got back on terms in the first half via Lawrence’s first goal that the Blues didn’t gain control of the match.
"I’m bitterly disappointed,” he added. "I’m disappointed that we didn’t capitalise on our start to the second half and we ended up conceding.
"Quite a few disappointments in the game, but the really positive points were that we didn’t lose because we’ve got Blackburn coming here next week, we’re still in the cup and the lads kept going and we got a result out of it.”
He admitted his side didn’t give a good account of themselves: "I don’t think so, but there are a few other results around the place that aren’t particularly good.
"It’s not easy playing against them, they’re a good side, they’re full of confidence, we’re not particularly full of confidence, especially playing here. So maybe it’s not a surprise as anybody might think it is.”
He added: "I don’t think you need to tell you that confidence is a big part in sport. They came here brimming with it, why wouldn’t they as they’re top of the league and playing as well as they are? And we’re not, we’ve got to find that formula and get back to winning ways.”
While naming an experienced XI, McCarthy’s bench was filled with youngsters with a number of players missing through illness or injury.
"There weren’t [many options],” he continued. "Leon Best had diarrhoea and sickness, Chambo and Skusey had swollen knees and we’re still settling them down. Myles Kenlock’s got a nasty knock to his calf from the QPR game.
"David McGoldrick hurt his hamstring yesterday, I hope it’s nothing serious, he’ll have a scan on Monday. That was the sum total.”
Regarding the boos that greeted the final whistle and were aimed in his direction as he walked to the tunnel, he said: "The only thing I can do is to get the team to win and play better and win and that will stop it. Maybe it won’t now, at this stage, but I’m not complaining about that.”
He added: "I can’t really affect that. I tend to try and affect the things in my life that I can, that’s dealing with players, trying to get the best out of them.
"People will be saying ‘you’re not doing that’ or ‘you’re not getting better results’ but that’s all I can do and what other people think of me and what they want say about me doesn’t bother me that much.”
Did McCarthy feel it was a difficult atmosphere with 4,838 Lincoln fans filling the Cobbold Stand?
"I thought it was a brilliant atmosphere, it should have been one we embraced, they did,” he said.
"I thought it was a great atmosphere, their fans were fantastic, as ours have been when we were in the top six.
"And that’s where you’ve got to get to get support like that. I wonder when they were getting relegated out of League Two were they all turning up like that and supporting? No they didn’t, it’s the way it’s is because of their results and the way it is here because of our results.”
What impressed him about Lincoln? "Everything, the crowd, the way they played, they were just very good. I’ve watched them, they’ve been good all season, that’s why they’re top of the league.”
McCarthy paid tribute to two-goal Lawrence, who took his tally to the season to five goals with his first two FA Cup goals.
"They were [wonderful goals],” he added. "I wonder if they’ll be complaining about them going in from so far, like I’d complain about their goals going in.
"Tom’s been excellent and that’s three goals in two games and he warrants it because he’s been excellent, he’s been a really good signing, Tom.”
Lawrence is on a season-long loan with the Blues and can’t be recalled by Leicester in January - even if there is interest in signing him on a permanent basis - without the agreement of all three parties, Town, the Foxes and the player.
The Town boss says he hasn’t yet thought about the replay at Sincil Bank, which is pencilled in for a week on Tuesday.
"I’m not really bothered about that yet to be quite honest, we’ve got Blackburn coming here next Saturday. My thoughts are on that. It’ll be a tough game and I hope it’ll be tougher game for Lincoln than it was today.”
Asked whether he was disappointed not to have come so close to recording a shock victory, Lincoln boss Danny Cowley said: "That’s one way to look at it and there was definitely a little bit of a tinge of disappointment when we got back into the dressing room.
"But I think if we’re honest the overriding emotion is one of pride. I think we took on a good Championship team and went toe-to-toe with them and gave a really good account of ourselves. And I think that was something I think we can be proud of.
"We spoke all week about what we saw as being success for us because we knew that if we just measured it on the outcome we’d come up short. Success to us was at 4.45pm getting a standing ovation from the 5,000 supporters that followed us.
"And we did that. For me, I thought the players were excellent. We found a new level today.
"We asked them before today to bring their A games and then find another 10 per cent and I thought to a man they did that. We’ve drawn, but we’ve taken a very experienced Championship team all the way.”