Town boss Mick McCarthy said he apologised to his players at their impromptu post-match on-pitch meeting as he felt it was his presence which led to the toxic second-half atmosphere during the Blues’ dismal 3-0 defeat to Hull City and impressed upon them the importance of sticking together.
Asked what he said at the meeting of players and staff after the final whistle at an again fractious Portman Road, McCarthy said: "That we’ve got to stick together, absolutely. You just make sure everybody knows that. I don’t doubt that for one minute, they’ve got my support and I’ve got theirs.
"And it was a tough old evening but it really is a matter of sticking together and not fragmenting because if we do then it’ll really go pear-shaped and I don’t the atmosphere represented the way we’ve been playing, to be quite honest.
"A bad night tonight, but we’ve played against a bad team with good players. And fundamentally it’s a disgrace that they’ve been down there all season long with those players, so fair play to Nigel Adkins, he’s finally got them going and he’s got a good team.”
McCarthy said his side started well with Jordan Spence hitting the post in the eighth minute: "We did. We conceded a soft one but it looks like a good strike but I don’t think he should have got a shot as free as he did on the edge of our box.
"[Allan McGregor] made a good save from Wardy and I think it was from a goalkick which should have been a corner that they scored their second from.
"We just got out of shape, to be quite honest, and they picked us off. And they were a good side then, they were better than us tonight.”
The Blues boss explained his six changes in the third game of four in 12 days: "And we’ve got Saturday to go. Waggy and Callum were probably the bigger changes but both have played the games, both are on nine bookings, if they get another booking they’d both be suspended for two games.
"They’re the squad, the squad I’ve got and I made the changes and I thought that we could compete with the players I put on the pitch.”
Asked about the toxic second-half atmosphere, McCarthy said: "It was horrible. It was awful.”
Did it make it difficult for his players? "It’s dreadful, as I said to them at the end. To their eternal credit they kept going actually, not one of them stopped. The heads didn’t go down, they kept running, they kept tackling, they kept chasing, they kept trying to play.
"And I thanked them for that and I apologised because it was probably my presence there that caused that atmosphere and they shouldn’t have to play in that.
"But that’s the way it is at the minute. I just thanked them for their efforts and made sure they all stick together and that everybody saw that we are as one, which we are.”
How does it feel on the touchline when chants are being aimed in his direction? "It feels lovely, of course it does. It’s a lovely feeling.”
Does it get to you? "It’s not nice but I can stand that. I can stand it so long as the lads are with me I can stand anything.”
Does he feel it’s undeserved? "I don’t think it represents how we’ve played recently and the results that we’ve had.
"But it does seem like unless we win that’s always going to happen now. Not a lot I can do about that except win, try and win.”
Is winning now enough to get fans back on side? "You tell me, you’ve got the ear of them better than me because I don’t listen to them or take a great deal of notice.”
After the opinion was offered that it probably wouldn't be, given the impasse has gone on for so long, he responded: "If that’s the way you think. But that might not change my opinion.”
Hull manager Nigel Adkins was delighted with his side's victory which sees them move nine points from the relegation zone.
"It was an excellent away performance from the players,” he said. "That’s back-to-back victories. We’ve come away from home, got a clean sheet and three goals.
"We did all the things you’ve got to do to win a game of football. Our performances have been consistently good.
"There’s no flukes when you get the result. Yet, you take nothing for granted, we have to keep building.”