Caretaker-manager Ian McParland admitted that Town’s 7-0 FA Cup embarrassment at Chelsea was the worst result of his coaching and management career. The match, the Blues' worst ever defeat in the competition, looks likely to be McParland’s one game in charge with Town set to name Paul Jewell as their new manager on Monday.

McParland says it won’t be easy for the team to get over such a heavy loss: “I’ve been a manager and a coach for years, and I’ve never been beaten like that. It hurts my pride. They’ll bounce back, I’ll bounce back. It’s up to the players.

“Let’s not forget who they are playing against. I think there are Premier League clubs who came down here and lost by seven and eight last year. We’re maybe in good company. Let’s not forget the other teams which have come down here and got a good hiding. But it doesn’t make it any easier for me.”

The man known as throughout football as Charlie says he thought the tie could go one of two ways before kick-off: “I knew what was going to happen today. We’re a few players down, the boys are a bit shellshocked with the manager going on Thursday and even with our strongest team we’d have had a struggle on down here because we’ve huffed and puffed in the Championship.

“I thought we would either give a good account of ourselves or we could take a good thrashing, and unfortunately it was the latter.”

McParland says it’s impossible to say whether the game would have gone better had Roy Keane still been manager: “It’s hard to say whether it would have been any different had Roy still been here. I’d like to think it would have been. Who knows?

“For half an hour we were doing OK, we were in the game. Then we gave them three quick goals, three bad goals, especially the own goal, and we crumbled a little bit. Our players were chasing the Chelsea players about, top class players, and they got tired. The way we conceded goals wasn’t good.”

The 49-year-old coach had sympathy with Town’s 3,000-strong travelling support: “I feel sorry for the Ipswich fans today.

“They’re a good bunch of fans, it’s a good football club and I just hope the new man that comes in can deliver some success and put smiles on their faces.

“The fans were fantastic today, they came and enjoyed their day. I think they enjoyed it a little bit better than me.”

McParland, who expects to leave the club when the new manager is appointed, says he knows nothing of the club’s timetable, but feels the incoming boss has a difficult task on his hands: “I think he’s got a very tough job. He’ll be sitting up there watching and I hope he’s in by Wednesday [before the Arsenal Carling Cup semi-final].”

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti says his recently struggling team will benefit from the display and victory: “We needed to have this type of performance and the result was good.

“There were a lot of things we did well in this game - the performance of the team, a lot of strikers came back to score - Anelka and Lampard.

“But obviously we don’t have to get excited because we have to give the same performance next week against Blackburn. With this victory our confidence will improve.”

The Italian felt the game was a contest for the first half hour: “In the first 30 minutes I was a little bit worried, there was less confidence in our play. But when we scored the first goal, everything was OK.

“In the first 30 minutes Ipswich played a good game, after that they defended well, they had two good opportunities, one shot from distance, one from a cross.

“They played a good game for 30 minutes, after the first goal it was easier for us to play our football, to counter-attack and to score more goals.”

Photo: Action Images

tallguy6767 added 19:05 - Jan 9 7-0 god only knows what it would have been had drogba and cole had of played! the new boss has a hell of a task on his hands, anyone who thinks its going to be a quick fix job better wake up and smell the coffee! a major overhaul from top to bottom has to be done because this club of ours is in a hell of a state thanks to 1 irishman! thanks roy enjoy walking your f***ing dogs !!

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mikeybloo88 added 19:06 - Jan 9 Topps... no-one expected us to do anything, we all know how bad we're playing and how Keane has sucked the fight out of half the team, I just can't believe everyone on here seems amazed we were stuffed. We're playing badly, no manager, Chelsea are (by their standards) on a "bad run" - who would your money still be on? Yes 7-0 nwas crap, but we all knew it would be time to start again. We're virtually rock bottom now, let's support the players and the new manager and see if we can get out of it.

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oddball added 19:09 - Jan 9 mikeyblue- its just very hard seeing ips so average, i mean is there one player who ecites u in the team.
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Hatman added 19:11 - Jan 9 Today was always gonna be this kind of result given the circumstances..., I told a mate who's a Chelsea fan this morning that it would be 6 - 0, I only underestimated what a poor state Keane has left us in by 1 goal...! It's a huge job on now for the new man, given the number of loans and players coming to the end of their contracts, there's barely a squad there to speak of, no stability, very little to build on. This season is about survival, the summer will be the time to start building a challenge for next season and beyond. My fear when Keane was appointed was that we'd all look back and say 'what a waste of time and money, we've gone no-where since Magic...', and so it's proved. I wanted Curbs in then. I've seen some rubbish written on here about him having a 'boring personality...' - (so what!) - about him leaving Charlton 'in it' (...true, in the PREM season after season!! Left them in mid-table security, it's been down down down without him) - about him being 'sacked' at West Ham (...NOT true, they sold Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney behind his back when he said 'no', so he left on principle, filed for 'constructive dismissal', a case which took years to sort out, he didn't take another job as it would have effected compensation he was awarded from West Ham when he won his case, all this after he saved them from relegation the season before and had them mid table looking upwards). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get Curbs in ME and Cleggy! If you pull off Martin O'Neill, Roy Hodgson, or Paul Lambert I'll maybe shut up but all 3 are extremely unlikely. Go get Curbs, accept nothing less...!!

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steed added 19:12 - Jan 9 Bring Back Keane never lost this heavy when he was in charge
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mikeybloo88 added 19:13 - Jan 9 Oddball... I still don't know whether our players just aren't good enough or if Keane's tactics and management style has stopped them playing well. We'll soon know if was RK or if it's the players
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fourth added 19:14 - Jan 9 Well I remember as a boy watching from the terraces at the Dell when Southampton beat us by 7 goals. Was it a question of Terry Paine? It wasn't the end of the world! So, let's take the broad view and plan for SURVIVAL this season!
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sirburley added 19:20 - Jan 9 is it just me but ive got a feeling we are all going to be pleasantly surprised tomorrow with our new manager,i just cant see it being Jewell.Im expecting a shock appointment and having that jaw dropping experience again like when keane was appointed,but hopefully it will turn out a lot better this time around.It might be wishful thinking on my part,it might be just me being desparate for some good news at last.

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im_marcacus added 19:21 - Jan 9 The fans were excellent today, sang all game and utterly showed up the 40 000 'champions' in the home stands. Despite the score, and the monstrous mess we're in, it's makes you proud to be a Town fan. COYB
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moomoosereni added 19:22 - Jan 9 fourth you are exactly right, and fortunately most Town fans seem to be seing it now as well. This season is not a question of pushing on etc, its about about surviving, and salvaging what we can from this season and hope that we can fully re-structure in the summer. Whoever comes in will at least have better contacts than keane did! That awful excuse of players not wanting to move to this area did it for me. Keane appreciate the efforts but the squad you have built and left us with has a lot of hard work to do and some players should be very very worried about their position in the squad!

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itfc1981 added 19:23 - Jan 9 Colin Healy, is always awful. A youth team player would make less mistakes.
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petermorris added 19:30 - Jan 9 sirburley - like you my jaw dropped when RK was appointed. It dropped in disbelief and now its getting ready to do the same again. This will be a massive test for No Football Experience Whatsoever Clegg and Mystery Marcus.
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Seasider added 19:30 - Jan 9 Oh dear oh dear oh dear.For the first time in my nigh on 50 years supporting this once great club what has Evans and his dummy Clegg reduced us to. Youth ,reserve and first team all a shambles with useless coaches,and where is our once great scouting system including Europe,presumably dumped by this useless pair,who no nothing about football,and have chosen their new man as they have probably seen him as a pundit on Sky. I was heartened when I heard that Evans was acquainted with Roy Hodgson,a highly respected man who is steeped in the game,has many contacts and has managed at the top level both home and abroad;but once again as with the appointment of Roy Keane they seem to have rushed into a decision,why didnt they sack RK before Christmas and advertise the post like most clubs do? Scouser PJ has had two successes and two failures,the last one abysmal and because the club has reached such a low point I feel he will be hard pushed to turn it around this season,especially as he has been out of game. I really think this club needs rebuilding from top to bottom,with one or two local figures involved.Mr Sheepshanks for instance(another one kicked into touch by Evans) on the board of both the FA and football league.What is Bryan Klug doing now can he be persuaded to return? The playing staff is now down to about half a dozen players of Championship standard so the new man (like Sven)must wheel and deal quite quickly so we have a realistic chance of avoiding the drop into League 1,and I wonder whether Paul Jewell will be up to this task?

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Wickets added 19:32 - Jan 9 Healy terrible! Well Maybe but the point needs to be made, he is the only passing midfield player left at the club by RK. At least we started the way back to the passing football traditionally attributed Ipswich Town, for that i thank Mac, our players have forgot how to move off the ball when we are in posession we have terriers who win the ball but no one who knows what to do when we have it. Hope the new manager addresses that quickley then we we score goals again. On wards and upwards.

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Jesney_Havoc added 19:33 - Jan 9 This is sounding like total meltdown ownership, management, players and fans. Goodnight Ipswich Town, it's been emotional.
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depressed added 19:38 - Jan 9 Hopefully our new manager will be in place tomorrow giving us fans something to be positive about. At the moment we all feel as if we have had a good kicking Even in the darkest of times we have to see that glimmer of light. As the terrace song goes.." Keep right on to the end of the road, keep right on to the end " ITFC Forever !
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petermorris added 19:39 - Jan 9 One nights like this @bobble seems almost sane!!
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fifeblue added 19:42 - Jan 9 As Churchill once said, "if you're going through hell, keep going" ! One day, maybe soon, it WILL be better than this.
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Dorsetblue added 19:46 - Jan 9 Chelsea were always going to win. just look at there squad compared to ours. The timing of Keane going could be a factor, i think most people thought he was in till the summer. Keep us up and then we move on, so that may have had an effect. but pure and simple it would appear the problem is that some of the players have been taking the money and don't really care and you can of course blame Keane as i'm sure he will be blamed for starting world war 2 shortly as everything else is his fault.... or you could start to direct your anger at the people who are supposed to be running there socks off for the club and also the management of the club. So if you are employed do you think a phonecall or text will be a nice way to part company with your employer. I doubt it, but it has been done twice for the good of the club. So lets get the facts clear, new manager in, sort out the playing staff who is staying and who is going. lastly sort out the management structure of the club, under sheepshanks at least he faced up to the cameras, Clegg is normally nowhere to be seen and a blind man could have spotted Keane needed help, but again it would appear that they just hung him out... A poor reflection of our club these days. Fans aren't important to them... so what is? because if they don't get the right man in we are going to League one and do you see us coming straight back up? I doubt it.. Arsenal may see the result and play a poor team on Wednesday but i doubt it so expect the same unless the players sort it out..

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alfromcol added 19:46 - Jan 9 Most of the team are not as bad as some on here are posting. The team need a bit of motivation and a bit of consistency in team selection. We need to give players a run in the team. No more loan players please at least no more than 2. We still have the core of a good team, but they need support from all directions, Manager and supporters. Some on here seem to be panicking

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mark1969 added 19:46 - Jan 9 No meltdown , just a re-group the players and coaches should be ashamed of themselves we are never going to be the richest club , but we have great facilities and tradition . The wit of the supporters is legendary , we can and must rise again . Lets have a siege mentality , where is Terry Butcher when you need him ? We need blood and guts now , our spineless bunch better wake up or face the dole !!! Lets have a director of football someone like Terry Venables helping a Ray Wilkins or Terry Butcher , i think the situation is so grave that we need 2 men in to get the club going , c,mon Cleggy lets get in gear time is running out !!

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Rambert added 19:47 - Jan 9 i feel sorry for the bloke, about 3 days to prepare himself and he isnt even a manger, poor man. Just think how many it would have been if keano was still in charge !
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WickedBlue added 19:49 - Jan 9 Have to admit when I saw the teams selectin and the back four I was worried...our best centre back pairing is McA and Delaney second best is McA and Smith so why the hell did we play McA an O'Dea? I thought when he was worried about permission for O'Dea he was thinking the left back slot. This whole thnig is getting very bizarre....
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Mungo added 19:50 - Jan 9 I did joke earlier about this potentially being double figures but I was hoping for better! I get the feeling that the players went into this expecting to get hammered, so that is what happened. Two goals inside a minute sucked whatever fight was left out of them. From then on it was just a case of how many... It is worth remembering however that Town had a lod of players out after all the injuries, suspensions and unavailable loan players, while Chelsea would have been viewing this as an opportunity to rebuild their confidence. A bad loss but in retrospect, one that was inevitable. Hopefully the new guy can rally the troops for the Arsenal game (and more importantly the Milwall game!)

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mark1969 added 19:54 - Jan 9 Never feel sorry for our team or managers they get paid better than most of us on this forum they ought to donate this weeks money to the new childrens hospice in Ipswich that would boost the fund by about £75000 overnight .
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