Sone Aluko was frustrated after the Blues allowed a 2-0 lead, established with his first two goals for the club, to slip as Cambridge United came back to draw 2-2 at the Abbey Stadium, the sixth time Town have failed to win having gone in front in League One games this season.
Aluko, 32, set the Blues on their way to what should have been a third win on the trot and back-to-back league victories for the first time this season with goals on 10 and 36.
"A frustrating one in the end,” the Nigerian international said. "To go out and start very well, controlling a lot of the first half, we were 2-0 up and controlling the game, playing a lot of the game in their half, so to concede just before half-time was tough. But I think after the goal we managed to end that half pretty well.
"The second half was just managing the game, seeing it out and in the end we fell short, on a set piece as well, which this season we’ve been good at, so that’s a very disappointing result in the end.”
Was it particularly frustrating as so much time is spent working on those situations? "Every team does now, everyone knows their jobs, winning that first contact and if you don’t that second one is crucial.
"And we lost both contacts today and that’s something that hurts the team and with the amount of work we put into it, it’s disappointing.”
He added: "It’s not individuals, it’s a team thing. From the desire to stop crosses, the desire to squeeze up before.
"It’s not just after the corner, it’s things that happen before and we all take responsibility for that. We’ll go again and we’ll keep working at it and that’s football.”
Aluko’s first goal for the club was a memorable one, the winger beating a defender to the ball before lobbing deftly over keeper Dimitar Mitov.
"I saw him slip so it wasn’t what I was planning to do initially but when he slipped I thought I’ve got to relax on the connection and there’s no way he’s going to get it and it went in,” he recalled.
The second goal was a predatory effort after the ball fell to him after it had hit the post from a corner.
"It just happened,” he said. "I love those goals, you don’t have to work too hard, stay on your toes and I just squeezed it in somehow.
"I don’t know what happened before it dropped to me because there were a few boys ahead of me. I just saw the ball drop to my feet and left foot squeezed it under him.”
The Hounslow-born forward might even have had a third with an effort from inside his own half when Mitov slipped as he cleared when well out of his goal.
"To be honest, I look back at that one now and I had a lot more time than I thought,” he reflected.
"I think I rushed it. He slipped again, but I think it was Macauley Bonne that kind of half took my eye away from it. It’s unlike me to panic in that situation but I rushed that one.”
Asked whether it felt like a defeat in the dressing room, he said: "Yes and no because we still played well for long parts of the game, so we’ve got to give ourselves credit for that. But yes, it’s two points dropped for sure today.
"There’s only one way out of this, which is to work hard, analyse the game and go again Tuesday and then Saturday with the games coming thick and fast now.”
Aluko, who joined Town in the summer having left Reading, had praise for the 2,513 travelling Blues who made the trip to the Abbey.
"Incredible,” he said. "Since I came to the club, the support has been fantastic. Most games it’s 20,000-plus at home, filled the away allocation again today and they’ve been brilliant, so hopefully we can give them some happy times.”
Aluko was pleased to be back in the team with his only previous league start the 5-2 home defeat to Bolton.
"It was good,” he continued. "I love playing football, I’ll play any game, zero fans, full house, I love it, so it was good to be back in the team and it was good to score a couple of goals as well and I hope my form continues like that.”
He admits it’s frustrating watching from the sidelines as a sub: "You get behind your team and trust that they’ll do the job, and hopefully you can contribute to games as a sub.
"When you’re watching you’re analysing the game, saying ‘OK, if I was the pitch where could I affect it?’, so it’s tough.
"I’m better player on the pitch than I am a sub, it’s hard when you’re not affecting the game.
"I’ve sat out a few games now since the Bolton game, so I think that was part of the reason why my performance was so high - I just wanted to show the manager that I want to come and contribute to this team now.”
Manager Paul Cook has said players who work hard during the week will get chances with matches coming with great regularity.
"Yes, and we’ve got a strong team,” Aluko added. "We signed 19 players in the transfer window, good players as well, so every day you’ve got to be on it in training, you’ve got to make sure you’re in his eye and making the selections for him difficult.
"That’s all I can do and I think I’ve done that this week, he put me in the team and hopefully I repaid him today with the performance, but ultimately you want the win.
"Playing or not playing, everyone knows the ambition of the club is to get promoted. Two points dropped today is not great but it’s a long season.”
Reflecting further on the intensity of training at Playford Road, he added: "It’s not quite at pre-season level, but it’s tough. He works us hard and because of the number of players we have and the squad we have, if you’re not in the team that’s a lot of boys who don’t play, so the tempo has to stay high that if you come in you’re ready. And, to be fair, most times when he’s changed the team, that’s [been the case].”"
Quizzed on whether Tuesday’s trip to Portsmouth, who were beaten 4-1 at Rotherham yesterday and are 12th, Aluko said: "For us, all games are big games now. Teams know what we did in the window, they know we’re an ambitious club, so they’re coming at us.
"Everyone wants to beat Ipswich and get a good result and they see when they draw or when teams beat us that they’re clapping their fans and going around like it’s a cup game almost.
"We have to take that on the chin and have to embrace that and Tuesday will be no different. We’re a big team, they’re a big team, so we loo forward to those fixtures.”
Asked whether he’s fit enough to play on Tuesday following Saturday’s match and then again when Fleetwood visit Portman Road next weekend, he said: "We train hard so everyone’s ready to play in the games. I feel fine, so hopefully if I’m selected I’ll be in good form.”