Boss Paul Jewell was delighted with the three points as his side defeated Sheffield United 3-0 at Portman Road, their third league victory on the spin. The Blues boss compared striker Connor Wickham’s brilliant third with a Thierry Henry goal from years gone by.

Jewell said: “At the end of the day, let’s not kid ourselves, it’s an important three points. The first half, with the windy conditions and the lively pitch, it was never a classic.

“We said at half-time that if it was going to be ugly again in the second half, if we have to win horrible, we have to win horrible.

“As a footballer the worst conditions are those gale force winds and I don’t think you can appreciate how bad it was at pitch level.”

Even so, the Town manager felt his side performed much better after the break: “In the second half the game opened up a little bit, certainly after we got the second one and we looked a different team.

“That belief only comes with winning matches, scoring goals, keeping clean sheets and all the stuff you need to do to be successful.

“To win three league games on the bounce at any level is very difficult, so a big credit to them, but now we forget about that, try and learn from it and move on towards Barnsley next week.”

Jewell hailed Wickham’s goal, the youngster’s best for the club so far: “It was a great goal, if anyone else had come on the pitch he would have gone past them as well! It was a great goal and it should do bundles for his confidence — and his price!

“He’s got that in his locker. In a 17-year-old player you’re going to get inconsistencies, he’s going to be up and down. He can do that and we’d like him to do stuff on a more regular basis but we have to be patient with him because he’s just a young player.

“It was just a brilliant goal, it was like Thierry Henry’s against Tottenham all those years ago in a north London derby where he picked it up went past everyone.”

Blades boss Micky Adams was honest in defeat: “Can it get any worse? I hope not. You have to be fearful that it could. We’re disappointed. It’s hard to think of any positives at this moment in time.

“Taking away all the goals, the two sendings off were ridiculous from our point of view. I’m not complaining, there’s no need for Lee Williamson to get involved, I can’t condone what either of them did really.

“Kozluk was upset with the tackle on him and I could see why he was upset, but it had gone. He’s experienced and he should know better.

“Having said that, the game was already over anyway. We’re having a problem when we get to the final third, we either don’t deliver the right ball or because confidence is so fragile at the moment, we’re looking to set people up rather than pull the trigger ourselves.

“We have to defend properly and obviously the first two goals were killers because we haven’t defended two set pieces, which is disappointing. Things that can be avoidable, we got wrong today.”

Photo: Action Images

julesbda added 14:29 - Feb 6 To all those fans who said " i must get behind RK or i'm not a real supporter !! " ..this win is for you !!! Where are the RK fans now ?????
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dirtydingusmagee added 15:02 - Feb 6 14th ,3 wins in row, who said getting rid of Keane wasnt the answer?.From what was a very disjointed outfit to a team which is settled,confidence growing week by week on and off field. Jimmy Bullard will have a big impact at P R ,as i think even the doubters and knockers must be realising that now, WELL DONE LADS and good for PJ , COYB
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village_blue added 15:26 - Feb 6 Delighted with the win and three points, all we need to do now is to keep Leadbitter away from ALL dead ball situations now. Out of the 4 penalty's he's taken this season the goalkeeper has got hands on 3 of them.
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village_blue added 15:26 - Feb 6 Delighted with the win and three points, all we need to do now is to keep Leadbitter away from ALL dead ball situations now. Out of the 4 penalty's he's taken this season the goalkeeper has got hands on 3 of them.
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Worcester added 16:10 - Feb 6 Soooooooooo happy. Starting to dream now....I know I shouldn't! Thats 3 out of the 12 wins I dreamed we need (inc 7 draws) when PJ joined (to get to 71 points) I know I am sad...No need to point it out But come on, 18 games left... 4 of the next 5 are teams around us. win those (doing the best we can at QPR) and we are in really good shape. Remember Blackpool last year. They were lower mid table, so were palace that season. remember 1996? Leicester came from nowhere. Start dreaming everyone. even the most dour pecimists among us must be starting to believe...? And don't give me that buncum about "I'd be happy with Midtable after the season we've had" yes yes yes I know. But don't we all feel much safer now? Come on you BLUES!!! signed The Table watching dreamer

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RedDust added 16:28 - Feb 6 Same old Ipswich..always winning! I'VE READ A FEW COMMENTS REGARDING CIVELLI COMMING ON YESTERDAY, CAN ANYONE CLARIFY HOW WELL HE DONE AND HOW MUCH TIME HE HAD? thanks in advance.
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warwickblue added 16:45 - Feb 6 RedDust Civelli only came on for the last few minutes of the match, but he received an enormous welcome onto the pitch by what was, by then, a very bouyant crowd. He actually took a couple of minutes to get a touch and, when he did, he picked the ball up somewhere near the half-way line and brought it forward with some pace and confidence towards the eighteen yard box - this to further loud and encouraging cheers. As far as I can recall, this was his only significant contribution - perhaps his only touch, actually. However, in his half-time warm-up he was doing a lot of jogging, rather than tippy-tappy with a ball, and it looked promising that he was going to make an appearance second half. It would, perhaps have been nicer to see him a bit earlier but, hey, I'm certainly not criticising Jewell's tactical decisions! As it was, it was just great to see him back on the pitch. He has had an awful time by all accounts, and has had to come to terms with the psychological effects of being crocked for so long. I hope that the current wave of optimism and the new team-spirit will be the perfect supportive environment for his successful return. He looked really positive yesterday, and to see him back on the pitch was a real boost at the end of an afternoon of positives.

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RedDust added 16:55 - Feb 6 thanks alot for that comprehensive report warwick, appreicated greatly
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Adam added 17:07 - Feb 6 Brilliant result and at the moment so glad Jewell got appointed. Fulop had nothing major to do, Edwards caught out on his side a few times but always got back at them, Mac and Delaney have to be signed up before the end of the season and Kennedy had another good game with his experience. Martin had a blinder, he troubled Sheffield with his pace, the 3 central figures in midfield had a quality game. Bullard looks like a quality signing and Norris is another that needs to be signed up. Wickham is a fantastic footballer at such a young age and his goal was superb and Priskin had a frustrating day up there on his own but still done very well. Glad to see Luca Civelli back on the pitch and everything looks up now!

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dirtydingusmagee added 17:08 - Feb 6 Warwickblue, are you sure your av is rear end of Suffolk Punch, it still looks like an Apache putting on his moccasins to me ! COYB
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reuser90 added 17:31 - Feb 6 Fantastic win yesterday for the blues!!! 1st half dire 2nd superb!! so great to see us knocking the ball about with confidence!! thought Martin worked his socks off, Bullard was a class apart, and Conners goal well, the best i've seen @ PR in the last 20 years!! Great to see PJ and CH so involved on the touch line! good times ahead! COYB!!!
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barryblue added 18:33 - Feb 6 i must admit that paul jewel was not my number 1 choice, although i thought he'd be a massive improvement after keane. but never did i expect such a dramatic positive improvement so quickly, just goes to show how important man management is. well done to all. soon have portman road rocking again, much more of this and the crowds will flock back. the play offs are not imposible, unlikely yes, but not imposible

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brittaniaman added 18:34 - Feb 6 Jewell certainly does not need his seat on the bench, as he stands up all the time, in fact one of the players who was subbed plonked himself down on it Keano would not have put up with that ??? Anyway that game put a smile on everybodys face including Marcus Evans !!!
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bluelady added 18:43 - Feb 6 Jewell also applauds fans something keane never did. Jo royal all over again
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Worcester added 19:02 - Feb 6 Joe Royle plus a decent defence = promotion
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AJblue added 19:31 - Feb 6 I have supported Town through thick and thin for more years than I care to remember...... I have seen managers come and go, and some I wished would go sooner rather than later, but whilst they were the manager of the club that I supported, I always backed them in the hope that they could make Town a footballing power. I backed RK, (seems that is almost a bad thing to say as my name is Gary Glitter, want a sweetie?), and hoped he would make Town great again, after watching yesterday (2nd half especially), I now see that PJ is the man that Town need, I forgot what it was to say "I support Ipswich Town", and smile whilst you are saying it. Thank you ITFC, thank you PJ, I am pleased to have a manager to back 100% who is not just the manager of my team, so I have to show loyalty, but a manager who it is a joy to back. Onward and upward, heres to many more joyous days of attractive, winning football and heres to all supporters, remembering that whatever your opinion on Town and its staff....we all support the SAME team, and together we can make Town great once again. COYB!!!!

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StochesStotasBlewe added 19:51 - Feb 6 injuredanimal. Well said sir. Mr Jewell has restored some credibility to our great club, as have the team. I now feel that we are all part of the "family" again & we have a manager we can identify with. Thankyou & long may it continue.
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pepperot123 added 19:58 - Feb 6 Echo what everyone has said about yesterday, on civeli surely Jimmy Bullard can help luca through his continued recovery after being through a similar injury, both mentaly and physicaly. great to see him back.
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dubzyluvschips added 20:19 - Feb 6 Sign Norris, sign Bullard, sign Mac, sign Delaney. job done ;-)
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dirtydingusmagee added 20:30 - Feb 6 P J seems to have reached the parts RK never did.And has reconnected the club and fans, seems like he is making the players ''feel'' like they are part of a team,this is and will create a stronger outfit.I dont expect to see us in playoffs this season, tho it cant be written off if we continue in current run of form.It would be great to finish above Canaries that would do for me this season.COYB. [Injouredanimal, gone ape by stealth ? ]

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AJblue added 20:48 - Feb 6 Dingus........ Whats not to like? Its a monkey Its blue Its knitted Have you seen just how many monkey pictures there are on the web? I couldn't find a chimp with a gun, but i found a gibbon holding a very large "weapon", but didn't think that it was fit for family viewing!!
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blueherts added 20:54 - Feb 6 Spot on DirtyD , he has totally connected with the fans and the players - he is a god honest guy , good football brain but knows how to get the most out of everyone and everything . Could not be happier - The dark clouds have so gone and it is great to see likes of Martin stepping up ... COYB ........make it 4 and more on the bounce
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dirtydingusmagee added 21:26 - Feb 6 yep forget the Gibbon Injured, blueherts you are right about Martin ,he for me was a complete flop when he arrived, but he is transformed, be good if we can now get 3 points out of Bananasley, COYB with PJ the ''Silver Back'' we are going places.
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warwickblue added 23:08 - Feb 6 Dingus, I laffed like hell about the Apache view - but I still reckon my rear-end beats that of Worcester_Worrier by a significant margin. COYB !
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bobble added 01:11 - Feb 7 100th again how cool is that ?
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