Boss Mick McCarthy admits that the number of goals Town are conceding is a concern but doesn’t believe it’s an inevitability that the Blues will ship goals while playing their current system featuring four attackers.
Town were defeated 2-0 at Aston Villa on Saturday, having drawn 2-2 with Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City in their previous two matches.
Overall, opposition sides have scored 28 times against them in their 18 Championship games up to now with only five sides having conceded more.
"Of course it is [a real concern] because we’ve been in every game. We were equally as good as Villa until the goal went in on Saturday,” McCarthy said. "In fact I thought we were better than them until the goal went in.
"And I was bemoaning it because I thought he fouled Bart. If our disallowed goal was a foul, there’s is because he had his hand in his face and the other fella jumped into him.
"But the defending after that, we had players who ran past the flight of the ball and then it shouldn’t have ended up in our net.”
Given the quick turnaround between games McCarthy says there’s little he can do on the training ground between matches.
"It’s as much about showing them,” he said. "We pick the things out from the games and we’ll show them, TC’s very good at it, the strikers certainly, but anybody who has done something in the game. They can’t get out on the training ground and do it.
"There are some things you just can’t replicate anyway. Mistakes come from ridiculous things. You think, ‘How the hell has that happened?’ and it’s a matter of showing them and hoping they don’t do it again.”
Might the lack of a settled back four have been a factor in the lack of solidity at the back? "Could be,” he admitted. "Mistakes have really led to it, we’ve not been opened up in too many games. Goals have come from mistakes and not always from defenders either, I might add. Mistakes made that leave you open and getting punished.
"It might have had an impact, we did have a really solid back four, maybe we’re missing Christophe Berra more than we think. Who knows?”
But McCarthy dismissed the idea that his current 4-2-3-1 system with lone out-and-out striker Joe Garner and three attacking players - usually David McGoldrick, Martyn Waghorn and Bersant Celina - behind him inevitably makes the Blues more vulnerable.
"No. Were any of the last four goals, were they down to our system, six goals, adding in Hull? No,” he said.
McCarthy admits that it is an obvious conclusion fans might draw: "I know. Don’t tell me what fans think please because you don’t play four attackers, you want six attackers. If you play one, you’re being defensive.
"Just analyse the games, analyse the goals that we’ve conceded. Were Villa’s goals down to us playing that system? Or was it that we didn’t clear a corner kick that’s got nothing to do with any of the attackers, and then we didn’t defend it.
"The other goal was a ball in behind our back four who didn’t defend it. Let’s go back to Sheffield Wednesday. Was it our attackers? Well, maybe we lost it up the pitch, so maybe if I was starting to point fingers.
"But no, those goals weren’t down to them. Hull, the way we played? No. Not at all. So in answer to your question, I think it’s a big fat no.”