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

bobble added 21:03 - Jan 9 keanes wonder team eh ? keanes best run of games was the first 3 with jims team after he put his own players on it went downhill and ends with this result.theres a lot of work to be done because they left the idiot in charge too long like many of us have been saying for nearly 2 years.keanes left a demoralised mess of a team for the next bloke and the amazing thing is some people on here still reckon he was the business.. as one of the posters on here used to call him jim jones indeed !

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BrandonsBlues added 21:15 - Jan 9 Unfortunately I did predict a 7-0 beating. And to be honest I would not have expected much of a different score line even if RK was still hear. I fear that this club will still get relegated this year unless the new manager has the ability of Joe Royal to juggle jelly and get a balanced team of round pegs in round holes playing attacking comiited football. We all talk about how todays game is different from years gone by. And the biggest difference is to many footballers do not play football because they love it. yes it is their livelihood, but the attitude of many is poor and as soon as the money is taken out of football the better. I love ITFC, but to teach my son values I would rather take him to a rugby game, because football has nothing to offer a youngster, it has lost itself in its own media hyperbole. To many footballers going through the motions and no comittment.

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lucytown added 21:18 - Jan 9 And the fans are more respectable!!!!!!
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SonOfSpock added 21:21 - Jan 9 it makes no odds if there were injuries today, or if Keane was still in charge for the match. The defeat would have been unavoidable, perhaps only 5-0, but never the less these were Keanes players / squad that he has assembled and decimated in the time he was here. The new manager must get a 3 years deal and a blessing from the pope.
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N4_Blue added 21:25 - Jan 9 I have to agree with Ramseyn, I was in the away end and I thought our support was pretty average. It wasn't as if we sung from start to finish - we knew we were going to lose so we should have not worried about the footy and had a good old sing song. My feeling is that there were too many home fans there today as the season ticket supporters snapped up the tickets - shame. Did anyone notice the Chelsea / Ipswich scarves they were selling outside the ground by the way? The cheek that they assume that we would snap them up as it was some sort of ahievement to be playing them! Saying that, I did see one of our supporters wearing one on the way home. On the piccadilly line, wearing our away shirt, really bad haircut, looked a bit "special" - you know who you are and you should be ashamed!

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zebra added 21:27 - Jan 9 bluelady says Jewell. Well, she has been right so far. I thought she was going for Hodgson, so she must have heard something to change her mind. Quite frankly, as long as we get an experienced manager in the Championship who plays 'on the ground' attractive football. win or lose, I really don't give a fig. Not Megson ever though!!
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kipper added 21:28 - Jan 9 ramseyn Perhaps that says a lot about the ground. We did not hear a single Chelsea chant all game. Maybe you should have swapped places with the two numpties in front of us who were 'politely' supporting Chelsea.
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Saxonblue added 21:41 - Jan 9 CURBISHLY PLEASE!!!!!!!
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StavangerBlue added 21:43 - Jan 9 Paul Jewell is not the answer but nobody stands out in my mind. Those that do would think twice about taking Ipswich. The club is in free fall at the moment and more has to be done. Division One here we come!
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N4_Blue added 21:54 - Jan 9 I beg to differ StavengerBlue. O'Driscoll stands out a country mile and I'm disappointed not many people have got behind him being appointed. His brand of football is bang on with the style our best teams have produced. He is young and is obviously going to be a major talent over the next few years and would have been perfect for us. I know Sheff Utd were scared off by Doncaster's compensation demands but I reckon he would have forced their hand to be a bit more reasonable so he could join us. Today was humiliating not for the scoreline but for the type of football we played - we need to get back to the Robson / Lyall / Burley style of football rather than the Duncan / Keane rubbish and O'Drisoll would have been the man to deliver it.

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BlooooCD added 21:55 - Jan 9 A true and indicative guide to where we are! Loads to do for the new manager! Glad I went, glad it's over! Coyb's!!!! Bloooooo army!
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bluelady added 21:57 - Jan 9 itfc1948 i see he is on a goal mission for them! getting lots of media at the moment!! Donore you cannot compare Keane and Jewell as managers, Keane got one team up. Jewell got Bradford promoted twice and kept them up, he also got wigan promoted and kept them up........ He has eight years experience in management compared to Keanes short career, and must have lots of contacts in the various divisions. He isnt my first choice, but unlike Keane he isnt a big name, he doesnt come with the massive media speculation and pressue as Keane and witha bit of luck he plays the best team and not who happens to be getting on with that paricular week. I for one will we right behind him.......

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BlueArmy01 added 21:59 - Jan 9 With ya N4 Blue O'Driscoll would be great choice plays some of the best football in Championship with little investment. Not sure about Jewell gret for bradford and wigan but the derby tenure worries me.........................
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BlooooCD added 22:00 - Jan 9 Anybody fancy arranging meeting up prior to boarding coaches to the emirates? Just endured the most boring and quiet coach journey ever!!!! Bloooooo army! Just meet up prior and board with singing voices!
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bluelady added 22:02 - Jan 9 for those sceptics read this article i just found....... Former Wigan Athletic manager Paul Jewell is possibly the clubs best ever manager, he certainly achieved more than any other Latics manager making him the most successful. Jewell guided the club from the third tier of English football to the very top and put in an appearance in the Carling Cup final along the way, but it wasn`t just about what he did, it was also about the way he did it. The chirpy scouser full of one-liners who has a sense of humour that would do a stand-up comic proud didn`t have everything his own way at the Latics though, it all started quite difficult with player wrangling and he almost had a mutiny on his hands. "Jewell though pulled the club through, made some very astute signings, Nathan Ellington, Jimmy Bullard, Matt Jackson etc and took us all to the Promised Land

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Lightningboy added 22:07 - Jan 9 Bit of a non-event what with the current position at the club..i'm not too surprised or too dissappointed to be honest. The new era begins this week..hopefully with a boss we're all (well most of us) are happy with & hopefully someone who knows how to set out a football team,unlike Keane did. We'll let you have that one chelsea.
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BlueFinn added 22:08 - Jan 9 Seems that people only remember the bad times of jewell.There were more good times with him. Anyways I think we're in for surprise tomorrow. The business our owner is in I can imagine him being quite capable of misleading the bookies with hia contacts...Just a thought.
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Crazee added 22:08 - Jan 9 What the hell makes people believe that we could persuade O'Driscoll to leave a progressive club like Doncaster to come and sort out this shambles - know that if we are not pushing for promotion within two or three weeks some of the noisier "supporters" on here will be calling for him to be sacked? Get real people
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bluelady added 22:13 - Jan 9 Crazee, i do feel sorry for Jewell or whoever as you are quite right people will still expect play offs this year when in truth survival will actually be a fantastic result with a view to rebuild next year. Honestly though with Jim he was sacked for just missing the play offs, in retrespect he was a great manager in comparison!!!!
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katemoss added 22:20 - Jan 9 Why are we being fed such rubbish by ITFC. ME and Simple Simon take us for idiots. With the car crash that has been Roy Keane they must have made contingency plans for a new manager. Sacking RK before the cup games means they must have had someone lined up. What is all this drivel about interviewing over the weekend? We all know that Jewell is the new man so have the balls to front up and give it to us straight. In our position we simpply can't attract the usual suspects. Admit that keeping RK for this year has put the club back 2 years in development and say that Paul Jewell is the best we could get.

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dirtydingusmagee added 22:20 - Jan 9 A host of names being put up on here but we dont know who has actually applied or been approached, cant see it being anyone other than Jewel though ,too much been said past few days,Clegg tried to make it look open still yesterday but what else would he say prior to official announcement .
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Garv added 22:21 - Jan 9 WE DIDN'T KNOW HOW GOOD WE HAD IT WHEN JIM WAS HERE!
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big_gaz67 added 22:49 - Jan 9 How can this be worse than the drubbing at Sparrow Road?
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NSL added 22:57 - Jan 9 Jewell's win ratio was 43% in 6 years at Wigan. I'll have some of that! Perhaps he can pair up Ellington and Roberts again. They were the only reason why we werent promoted that year (when Kuqi and Bent got about 50 goals between them).
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Keaneish added 23:00 - Jan 9 I'm for that as well N4Blue but with Keane needed to be paid off and Doncaster due compensation on any agreement whilst he's contracted so there isn't much chance of an employed manager coming to PR i doubt. You'd like to think Keane would waive the payment with his 24 million in the bank and his utterly embarrassing and shi*e showing for so long...but i guess not everyone has the integrity of Strachan!! It has to be Jewell and this 'weekend interviewing' in my opinion is bulls**t. Jewell was already agreed before Keane went, the same way Magilton was.

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