Caretaker-manager Ian McParland paid tribute to his players for bouncing back from Sunday’s 7-0 thrashing at Chelsea to defeat Arsenal 1-0 at Portman Road in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final. McParland expects to hear officially that he’s leaving the club on Thursday with new manager Paul Jewell set to formally take over.

McParland said his players did everything he asked of them: “They sweated blood, they were fantastic. It showed a lot of character for them to bounce back after Saturday’s game.

“I knew when I spoke to them yesterday morning that they’d be fine. They came in after we’d done little bits on the training ground and I knew by looking at them that there would be a performance going in tonight.”

The Scot used veteran midfielder Mark Kennedy in midfield holding role he hadn’t previously occupied for the Blues, but says it was a position the 34-year-old had played before elsewhere in his long career: “I asked Sparky if he could play in there and he said he used to play in there sometimes at Wolves for Glenn Hoddle. He’s a clever footballer and that three in the middle were fantastic.

“The whole XI were fantastic but that three in there, Healy, Norris and Kennedy, they kept Arsenal from penetrating. Carlos wide and Connor Wickham worked hard down the line.

“They did a great job, a fantastic job. I said at half-time, ‘Stay in the game and keep it 0-0’. We needed to stay in the game and keep it 0-0 for as long as we could as I thought we’d make a goal.

“I thought we were always dangerous at corners and long throws. I’m absolutely delighted for the players, really proud of them.”

McParland says he’s not too upset to be leaving Portman Road, having seen it all before in football: “I’ll just dust myself down and get on with it. I’ve been in the game a long time and I’ve suffered a lot of disappointments and there have been a lot of good things.”

The 49-year-old is yet to hear officially whether he will be kept on but expects to be told he is leaving when he meets with new manager Paul Jewell when he takes charge on Thursday morning. Jewell’s regular assistant Chris Hutchings and West Ham coach Wally Downes have been linked with roles on the former Bradford, Sheffield Wednesday, Wigan and Derby manager’s backroom staff.

Jewell stayed away from the dressing room before, during and after tonight’s match and will meet his squad for the first time in the morning.

McParland says he expects the new boss to be a success with Town: “I know Paul Jewell well, he’s a good lad, an honest lad and he’ll do well here.”

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger felt his side had a lot of possession but didn’t do enough with it: “I’m disappointed and the players are as well. We had a lot of the ball but didn’t make a lot of it and Ipswich defended with heart and intelligence, and gave us problems on the counter-attack.

“They showed that you can have 70% of the ball and lose games. You have to give a lot of credit to Ipswich, they defended well. We were not sharp, were not creative and looked vulnerable defensively.”

The Frenchman dismissed suggestions that his team was complacent: “No, I don’t think so, I feel we had an off night. You could see from the start that every single pass was a problem. We rely on a lot of sharp and crisp passing, and that was always a problem for us tonight.

“Ipswich won, you have to congratulate them. They fought for their win, you can say that,” he said.

Wenger refused to blame his defenders for the loss, believing his entire side were under-par: “As a team we didn’t have the performance we were looking for tonight and were below our usual level in every department. It would be unfair to put the blame only on the defenders tonight, as we weren’t at our best in any department.

“When you play in one half, the long ball has 50 yards in which to be dangerous. That’s normal. But I felt we had more and more problems as the game went on.

“We looked more in control in the first half but in the second we looked much more vulnerable defensively in the second and I put that down to fatigue.”

Despite the defeat, the Gunners’ boss still expects his side to reach the final: “I believe that we’ll turn it around in the second leg, but we got a good warning tonight that we’ll have to produce a different performance.”

Photo: Action Images

oldegold added 23:14 - Jan 12 Ipswich Town 1 Arsenal 0...YEAH !!!
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ElginCityBlue added 23:16 - Jan 12 Top notch boys, well done!
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huntingdonblue68 added 23:16 - Jan 12 i am so proud of the boys tonight i had to wipe away a tear or two .GET IN
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BlooooCD added 23:16 - Jan 12 Fantastic performance all round! Great to see our stadium full again! Bring back the good times! Well done the whole team! Bloooooo army! Bring on the arsenal!
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BigFatJewells added 23:16 - Jan 12 Thankyou for your professionalism hopefully they can find a place for you after tonight
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Mark added 23:20 - Jan 12 Credit to Charlie McParland and all the lads tonight for a fantastic performance and result. They looked full of self belief and togetherness which I hope they can take forward into the second leg and the league. Fulop made good saves, the defence were fantastic, the midfield did brilliantly, Wickham showed why he is such a highly-rated talent, and Priskin did the business up front (to think he was going to be sent out on loan a week ago!). It's great to come away from Portman Road happy after such a good display - COME ON YOU BLUES!!

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JewellsRimet added 23:21 - Jan 12 Great night! It was like a great big weight had been lifted, fantastic atmosphere, just shows the potential of the club. There's something to build upon starting at Millwall. Not sure if RK could have motivated the team, but give him credit he got us there. A new dawn tomorrow thanks Roy, best of luck Paul
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sirburley added 23:23 - Jan 12 prob in my top ten best games ive ever been to.Well chuffed,cant wait to go to work tomorrow and wind up the glory hunter arsenal fans that i work with.Priskin,Peters and Delaney were outstanding,why did keane not play Peters more often is a total mystery to me.If this is mcparlands last game with us i wish him well,he got it spot on tonight
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Lightningboy added 23:23 - Jan 12 Tonight I not only fell back in love with my team but with football itself. Stunning.
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alfromcol added 23:27 - Jan 12 Great performance tonight, perhaps the clouds over PR lifted a bit tonight. Produce this in league games and we have nothing to fear. Great atmosphere just like the old days. Great display from Jamie Peters, should be in the team every week. Everyone on the pitch was great tonight.
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docsavage52 added 23:29 - Jan 12 Thank you ITFC for allowing me to go to work tomorrow in the heart of Narfolk holding my head high after sunday
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StavangerBlue added 23:29 - Jan 12 I kicked every ball, I felt every bump, I felt every knock, I lived being Ipswich Town! If that is the spirit, the rage, the passion bring on 2011! COME ON THE TOWN!
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aj3wilson added 23:30 - Jan 12 so proud!!
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Lennyboy added 23:34 - Jan 12 Watched this site every day for so long and have just joined it, this is my first time on this forum and what a night to enter. Been a Town supporter as long as I can remember and this was just like 78. Support great, atmosphere great and the team playing great. Signs of things to come. I thank you.
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Youth added 23:36 - Jan 12 well proud of each player out there today.... our season starts here you all done Ipswich proud tonight boys and major respect for mcparland!
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smart4 added 23:39 - Jan 12 What an advert for the club Live on Sky! Just goes to prove that the players were always capable of a performance - just needed motivating properly. Makes me wonder how many times 'Charlie' was ignored. Great job Mr McParland - thank you. My main criticism recently has been that they weren't pressing the ball - just backing off, backing off until...the other team scored. But tonight! They pressed and pressed and played for each other - covering each other's backs and playing as a team. Awesome performance - take that PJ and mould it into a Premiership outfit, please!

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moomoosereni added 23:46 - Jan 12 This game WAS ITFC through and through. No ones deserves any specific mention tonight because the whole eleven were AWESOME. This was a huge F#>k you to everything Roy Keane stood for at Ipswich, never forget this town fans, this was truly brilliant!
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Skip73 added 23:50 - Jan 12 Great result, very proud tonight, we can play after all. Interesting to see only 11 posts on here though.
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Garv added 23:50 - Jan 12 YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS
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Papa added 23:53 - Jan 12 Ian McParland may not be part of ITFC from tomorrow but he got his tactics spot on tonight and got the players up for it. I hope he stays, clearly he has tactical nous, passion and can pick players up. Qualities any team in the world would want. If he does go, he goes with my full respect.
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huntingdonblue68 added 23:53 - Jan 12 skip73 give people a chance most like me need a few drinks after that just to calm down prob still in the boozer
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Marcus added 23:57 - Jan 12 Win on the telly, we can win on telly, win on telly!
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brogansnose added 00:00 - Jan 13 Got to echo Lightening Boy......back in love with my club, back in love with football. Its been so long since i have felt like this. Well done Charlie and all the the team. Absolutely tremendous.
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BrettenhamBlue added 00:03 - Jan 13 Really proud of the team and a fully deserved result. Makes the second leg interesting! Well done guys. For the first time this season I am truly proud to be an Ipswich Fan! Can we win the cup? Yes,- we might!
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zebra added 00:04 - Jan 13 Back to the good old days!! Positive, attacking football. Every man on that field tonight had their heart in that game. No fear of reprisal - freedom to show their talents and skills - no 'thou shalt not wander 2 foot off your position". And what about Wickham playing wide? Well most of the time - he was everywhere. It took me back to the glory days, the 'fortress Portman Road" days. I've said before that the players were scared of RK - how much proof did we need of that. RK gone, the fear factor removed - the self belief restored. I have to admit that I cried when Priskin scored - all the frustration and disappointment and despair of the last few months just evaporated. Call me a softy but I do believe 'our' Ipswich Town, 'our' club is back. If you don't stay Mr McParland, then what a swan song - I wish you all the very best for your future.

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