Town boss Kieran McKenna insisted he still believes the Blues can pick up the points required to secure Premier League survival, despite today’s 4-1 defeat to his former club Tottenham Hotspur and Wolves’ 1-0 victory at AFC Bournemouth leaving them five points plus goal difference from safety with only 12 games left to play.
McKenna’s side performed well in the first half with striker Liam Delap having had a number of early chances before Brennan Johnson, son of former Blues frontman David, gave the visitors a two-goal lead.
Omari Hutchinson’s third goal of the season nine minutes before the break gave Town hope, but Spurs netted twice in the second half through Djed Spence and Dejan Kulusevski to seal a third Premier League win on the bounce and consign Town, who are without a win in their last seven, to their ninth defeat at Portman Road this season.
"We’re, of course, really frustrated by the result,” McKenna said. "I think there were lots of good things in the performance, no doubt that we started really, really well, should have been ahead. I think we were the better team in the first half.
"A couple of home games in a row that we should go in with a lead on the balance of play and on the chances, and we go in with a deficit. So we’re frustrated by that.
"There’s no doubt that their execution whenever they got their big moments around our penalty box was better than our execution whenever we got our big moments around their penalty box. That was the difference between the two teams.
"I think there were so many good things about the performance, there’s so much growth on the pitch, there’s a lot of growth still to come, but it’s a stage of the season where we’d like to have points on the board and it’s a game where we certainly could have had some and it could have been different, but it’s gone against us and we don’t get anything for that.”
He added: "Of course, it’s frustrating, it’s a frustrating game, but it is what it is. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves, we have to work to improve. I think we have improved in many aspects, I know we’ve had a difficult loss, so it doesn’t feel like that, but I know that we have. I believe very, very strongly in how we are working day-to-day. But it’s also it’s clear that margins have gone against us too often.
"Certainly I don’t think we’ve had anything resembling luck in many different aspects this year, but also our execution compared to the opposition execution hasn’t been at the level quite often and small margins have gone against us in games and in moments in games that have taken matches away from us.
"It’s frustrating. It’s not a stage of the season where we want to talk about growth or performances or pride in the performance because we want the points on the board. But at the same time we can’t lose patience with the good things that are going on.
"I know that they are there and there’s evidence of it on the pitch and I see evidence of it day-to-day. So we’ve got to keep working to improve and see where it takes us.”
The first two Tottenham goals came from skipper Son Heung-min breaking into the left of the area. Did McKenna feel that his side might have opted to foul the South Korean before he crossed the 18-yard line?
"No, they weren’t situations for me where there should be fouls,” he said. "They were two situations that we should do better in, no doubt about that, both in defending the individual actions and then the covering of those actions.
"Again, you talk about margins going our way, our right-back [Axel Tuanzebe] was missing today for two yellows for committing one foul in the first half of a game [at Aston Villa] that meant we played 50 plus extra-time last week with 10 men and then we have to make another change to our backline today, which in our position, of course, makes it more difficult.
"That was a challenge coming into the game and we didn’t defend those situations well enough in the first half.”
Despite the result, McKenna and his team were given a warm reception by their fans at the whistle and the Blues boss was asked how he is taking the situation with Town having won only once at home this season.
"I’m fine, the support is really appreciated,” he continued. "We don’t take it for granted, not every club gets it, but I also know that the club knows and the support knows the journey that the team’s been on. Can get bored of saying it, but that’s the reality.
"We know playing Tottenham at home is a big step. Five years ago, we were in the middle of League One and they were in the Champions League final. It’s been a really quick rise to this point, which makes it a challenge.
"But I also think the supporters are clever enough here and honest enough and balanced enough to see a lot of good things on the pitch today. There’s a lot of things to take pride in in terms of how we’re going about it, in terms of many of the performances at individual level, some of the young players on the pitch, the growth that we’re seeing and as a team that we’re doing so many good things.
"There are a lot of different ways that we can lose to Tottenham Hotspur as Ipswich, a lot of different systems, styles of play, everything that would still have the same outcome, but I think the supporters are taking pride in some of the things they’re seeing. Of course, they’re frustrated, like we’re frustrated.
"We can’t work any harder, so we’ve just got to keep working as hard as we can and work as smart as we can to get better, and the support that we have behind us is fantastic and it’s always appreciated and we’ve got to keep earning that support as well.”
In the build-up to Tottenham’s fourth goal Jacob Greaves clashed heads with former Blues loanee Dane Scarlett on halfway and was on the ground as the visitors broke forward. McKenna was asked whether he felt the game ought to have been stopped by referee Tim Robinson.
"I think it’s usually stopped for a head injury,” he reflected. "I think when a player gets a whack on the head right in front of the fourth official, it’s usually stopped. But it’s not on the list of my biggest concerns today, to be honest.”
Town’s defeat was compounded by Wolves, the team directly above them in 17th winning 1-0 away against a Cherries team, which was reduced to 10 men in the 31st minute when centre-half Illya Zabarnyi was red-carded.
That leaves the 18th-placed Blues five points behind the Molineux club but effectively six due to goal difference with 12 matches remaining.
McKenna was asked whether he still believed his team can dig themselves out of the relegation zone.
"No doubt and we will while it’s possible,” he said. "It is what it is. They’ve picked up a good result today against 10 men with an early red card with a VAR. These are really, really small margins in football and they haven’t gone our way this year.
"Of course, everyone probably thinks that but I don’t think anyone could say that we’ve had any sort of fortune or margins go our way too often.
"It is what it is, we know we’ve got a big challenge to stay in the division. We know we’re going to have to pick up points at a greater rate in our last 12 games. I believe that we can pick our points up at a greater rate, for sure.
"I feel that there’s improvement in the team, we’re still in a period, and I know it’s frustrating to say it again, but it’s just the reality of the situation and how it’s been, that we’ve still got a couple of players making home debuts today [keeper Alex Palmer and Jaden Philogene, who was making his first home start], and that’s been almost the case right through the season. We’ve not been able to settle on relationships and partnerships on the pitch too often.
"But we’ve got to hope for better margins and luck on some of those things in the run-in and keep doing the good work and push for improvement and turning margins our way.
"I believe that we can pick up a good amount of points in the last 12 games. Of course, when you’re in this position now, it’s not in our hands, so if other teams win all their games, we can’t control that.
"We can only do what we do and that starts with Wednesday night [at another of his old clubs Manchester United]. A big challenge, we’ve got to pick ourselves up after today, go there and that’s a game to really try and take on.”