Frustrated midfielder Flynn Downes admitted that the Blues ought to be taking all three points at places like AFC Wimbledon following last night’s 0-0 draw at Kingsmeadow. Downes believes Town now need to win all of their remaining nine home games.
"We came here to get the three points and it’s not happened, so it’s a tough one to take, but we go again on Saturday,” the 21-year-old said.
"It is disappointing because, no disrespect to Wimbledon, but we should be coming to these places and getting the three points, there’s no doubt. With the talent we have we should be doing that, and it’s not happened tonight.”
Asked why the Blues haven't been getting those results recently, the England U20 international said: "I don’t know, it’s just not going for us at the minute.
"I think earlier on in the season we were getting the early goals and it was giving us a bit of momentum, but at the minute it’s not going for us, we’re not getting that early goal and teams are just hanging on in there like Wimbledon did, it is what it is.”
Downes believes an early goal would have changed the complexion of last night’s match: "Big time, earlier on in the season we were getting those early goals and it was helping us massively, but at the minute it’s just not going for us.”
While creating plenty of chances last night and in the first half at Sunderland on Saturday, the Blues were unable to find the net in either game and their struggles to score are currently costing them.
"Yes, but we’re all in it together,” Downes added. "It’s not just the forwards, it’s the whole team. The midfielders have got to chip in, the wing-backs have got to chip in, everyone’s got to chip in. It’s a team game at the end of the day.
"You can’t just put all the blame on the strikers because they’re working very hard. We’ve all got to chip in.
"All we need is a break, one to go in off someone’s knee or something like that. If we’d have got one here today early on, it could have been three or four, that’s just the way it’s going for us at the minute.”
But the Brentwood-born schemer has no doubt the club’s strikers can get back in the goals, James Norwood and Kayden Jackson having found the target regularly earlier in the season and Will Keane having had a good spell in December and early January.
"One hundred per cent, it’s just not going for us at the minute, that’s all I can say,” Downes continued. "The boys have got the talent, we all know that, we’ve seen it early on in the season.”
Town had a number of nearly moments against the Dons, particularly in the second half in which Downes himself twice went close.
"I had two,” he recalled. "I turned one off a defender and I had another one where Keano got his leg in the way. If he hadn’t have touched that it was a goal.
"They frustrated us and that’s how the game went. We couldn’t get a goal and it is what it is at the end of the day.”
He says it’s important to stay patient in games such as last night’s: "The longer the game goes on and you’re not scoring, it does get frustrating, for all the players and the fans, it gets frustrating for everyone. We’ve just got to go again and look to get an early goal.
"We’ve come to Wimbledon and we should be winning the game. I suppose the longer the game goes on and we’re not 1-0 up or 2-0 up it does get frustrating but, fair play to them, they’ve frustrated us, but we should be doing better.”
Downes says he enjoys forming a midfield trio with Emyr Huws and Cole Skuse: "I like playing with both of them, it’s unbelievable. We’ve just got to keep going, as a team keep going and try and get as many wins as we can.”
The midfielder dismissed claims that the pressure is getting to the players: "I don’t think the boys are feeling any pressure at the minute. We’ve dropped out of the top six, there’s not any pressure on us now, we’re playing with freedom, that’s how we should be playing. We’ve got nothing to lose now.
"Training’s all good, nothing’s changed really, it’s just nothing’s going for us at the minute.”
Having been runaway leaders at the start of the campaign, the Blues are now seventh with teams above them having games in hand. But Downes believes there is time for Town to get back in the automatic promotion running.
"What is it, 13 games left? There are still a lot of games, we have nine at home so we need to make them count,” he said.
"But yes, every game’s important at this stage in the league and, like I said, we should be coming here and getting three points, and that’s that.”
The academy product knows form at Portman Road has to improve quickly with four out of the next five matches at home with Burton Albion the visitors on Saturday.
"Yes, we’ve got nine home games left, so the home form is massive, especially at this point in the season,” he reflected. "We just need the crowd to get behind us, like I say, we’re all in this together.”
He added: "Nine home games, we need to win all of them, simple as that. Hopefully we’ll get the fans behind us and get the wins.”