Assistant caretaker-manager Gerard Nash believes Mick McCarthy could have had Town challenging for the top six this season but for the injuries which have struck the squad throughout the campaign.
The Blues currently have 10 senior players unavailable, having had similar numbers sidelined at earlier points in the season.
Nash says he owes a lot to McCarthy, who appointed him U23s coach two years ago, and says the last week or so has been far from run of the mill, as is the case at any club when a manager moves on.
"I think it always is surreal,” he said. "I’ve put on record my thanks to Mick McCarthy, I kind of don’t really want to speak about him loads because we all need to move on.
"But it is surreal because of how he left. He said himself, the staff and players, we all enjoyed working with him.
"My own personal opinion, if he’d had a lot of the players who have been in the treatment room fit all season, I’d be backing him to get us in the top six. Obviously it hasn’t happened and he’s moved on.
"Yes, it has been surreal and that’s what happens at football clubs. Most of the players are experienced and they’ve probably been at other clubs where it happens, managers leave and there’s always change.
"I think everybody’s quite adaptable to that now. Maybe we’re different as a club because it hasn’t happened so often. Yes, it’s been surreal and we’re all just trying to keep together and stick together for the final three games of the season.”
He says instilling a togetherness on and off the field is the prime target for the remaining three matches.
"We’ll obviously just be keeping the fires burning for three or four weeks, there’ll be bigger decisions made by the people in charge of the club,” he continued.
"We’ve just got to try and keep the team performing as best we can, be together as a club.
"Ideally we’d probably like to introduce some of the younger players if the opportunity arises but we just want to keep it going as best we can and I think, hopefully, starting on Saturday, we’ll be able to bring a bit more togetherness for everybody and hopefully kick on from there.”
Despite being younger than some of the players he’s been coaching, Nash says the senior squad’s attitude has been first class over the last week.
"I’ve never had anything other than respect from all the players and I’ve given the same back, there’s been nobody’s mentioned my age,” he said.
"I think we’ve got a really good dressing room in terms of people, first and foremost. And I don’t just say that willy-nilly, I’ve been here a long time and there’s some really good people in that dressing room who care about the football club and who have the right standards that you want in the dressing room.
"And I think you saw that on Saturday. The people who played, they gave everything they could for the club.”
When it comes to selecting the team, Nash says Bryan Klug names the XI but with input from Nash and fellow assistant Chris Hogg.
"Bryan’s in charge, he is the caretaker-manager. He’s been very open with Chris and I, sharing our ideas but Bryan’s in charge,” he said.
Having watched both Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa in action for McCarthy, Nash has been able to provide insights into their systems and tactics, although says all matches are available at the push of a few buttons these days anyway.
"That’s correct, but nowadays there’s Will Stephenson, who is the club’s analyst, and you can now watch every single game you want anywhere in the world,” he added.
"A lot of the analysis work is done by Will, he did it with the gaffer and TC, so the players are well-versed with how he works, how we operate, so it’s carried on as normal in that regard.
"I’ve seen the opposition but Will, [goalkeeper-coach] Malcolm Webster, [fitness coach] Andy Liddell, key staff, they’re still here, they’re still working as hard as they always have and I think that’s actually helped with the continuity within the dressing room so far.”