Boss Mick McCarthy urged fans to get behind midfielder Luke Hyam after the academy product was booed by sections of the home support during the 1-1 draw with Watford.

The 22-year-old, who had a lump on his head after an aerial clash, missed a late chance to win the game but had previously received stick from his own supporters after an earlier pass had gone astray, leading McCarthy to remonstrate with fans behind the dug-out.

“Leave him alone, he’s running around with a bloody lump on his head like that, he’s a local lad, we’re trying to get category one, we want 50 per cent of our players from our academy and he was getting the bird and I don’t like it.

“And he was getting the bird, let me tell you, so I got the hump, I don’t like it. Support our players. When you’re having a tough time, that’s when you need somebody to go and pat you on the back and say ‘Come on’ and cheer him on.

“I would love him to have scored the winner, for our three points but also for him because he’s such a great lad. He tries his things off every week. He would have scored but for that big egg on his head. At half-time I thought he might have been concussed but he was all right.”

The Town boss has a lot of time for former Northgate High School pupil Hyam’s attitude and approach: “Brilliant, he hasn’t said anything, he’s all right, it’s me that’s got the hump, it’s me that gets angry about it because if you’re in my tent you’re inside pissing out, not outside pissing in and I want my players and our fans in this tent making it hard for the opposition.

“Be hostile towards them not towards us. I want them to be partisan and hostile but to the others in the other coloured shirts, not our players, don’t give them the bird.”

However, after the game, Hyam tweeted his frustrations: “I love haters so keep on hating.”

Overall, McCarthy thought his team would have been worthy of all three points: “I thought we just about deserved to win the game on the second half.

“The cross from which they scored was a deflection but they’ve got Troy Deeney, who is Johnny-on-the-Spot, he’s on the move in the box and he gets there first.

“[Almunia] makes a good save off Dids at the end and I think the header came off the egg on Luke’s head, he’s got a lump on his forehead like that.

“We probably [deserved to win it] but in the end I’d take the point. Last year they came here and played 3-5-2 and murdered us so I think it shows how far we’ve come.

“He’s set them up the same today, I think their players know that, they’re comfortable with it and they’re a good side. They’ve got good players, they were in the play-offs last year.”

The Blues manager explained why he didn’t use any of his subs: “My experience of those sorts of thing is that you can make the substitution and it can win you the game and it can lose you the game and we were doing fine.

“It was a deflected cross that drops for Deeney, but it’s a good goal by him. With the same players on we perhaps should have won it at the end. But I wasn’t prepared to change it and lose it. I’ll take the point, another point and we’ll march on.

“We asked the two midfield players to get forward and make runs in the second half, which they weren’t doing in the first, they were all coming looking for the ball. It improved us, it stretched them and we got further forward better.”

The Town boss said he didn’t see the penalty incident: “My view was non-existent, I haven’t seen it now and I’m not doing a ‘I haven’t seen it, the wind was blowing, I’d got sunglasses on, the sun was in my eyes' and all that, I haven’t seen it.

“Whether it is and it isn’t we’ve had some good decisions and some bad decisions. The referee thought it was, didn’t he? And you can rely on Dids, can’t you?”

McCarthy didn’t blame Christophe Berra for Troy Deeney’s equaliser: “He got a big contract last year, him and Vydra were outstanding last year. It was a striker who was on the move and it falls to him.

“On another day Christophe might block it, but he didn’t so and overall maybe they deserved a point, we weren’t that dominant, although I thought we were in the second half. He squeezes past him and it goes in at the near post, it happens unfortunately. Big Christophe was different class.”

The Blues boss explained what appeared to be a touchline clash with Watford head coach Giuseppe Sannino: “Far from it, that’s a real misconception, you’ve got that really wrong. I was telling the fourth official to shut up and leave him alone.

“The poor fella’s just come in, he’s been in English football for three days, he’s stepped out of the box, well f--- me! He kept on about how the linesman can’t run up and down.

“But it wasn’t like ‘Sit down’ or ‘Get out of there’, it was ‘Stand in your box or I’m going to send you to the stand’. I heard that and went ‘You what? Do me a favour, let’s make him welcome!’.

“But I think some of their bench misconstrued what I was saying, so somebody said something to me and I said ‘I’m trying to help him, I’m on his side, shut the f--- up!’.

So I did have a bit of a ding-ding but it was with somebody else. I was trying to be nice to him and they were giving out to me. My usual suave sophisticated style!”

In Sannino’s press conference, Hornets’ head of medical Marco Cesarini, who was acting as his translator, admitted responsibility for misunderstanding McCarthy’s position.

The Town boss is a fan of his Watford counterpart: “I like him, I like his passion for it, he was up on the side, he set up his team, they were well organised. I think he’s got a good group of players that he’s come into, I don’t think Gianfranco’s left under any sort of a cloud.

“They’ve not been beaten away from home. He’s got a good group. I liked him and he had a smile on his face.”

Overall, McCarthy felt there were positives to be taken from the match: “How we competed, I thought Tunnicliffe was excellent, I thought Frank was.

“I think Frank’s been excellent from three games ago and the crowd have taken to him. He’s full of running and full of energy, I think he’s done really well.

“I’ll take the point, that’s a positive, what are we, five unbeaten? Three wins, two draws, 11 out of 15 points

“It doesn’t matter where you get them you just keep picking up the points, I thought it was a good performance second half, so I think there were lots of positives.”

Sannino, who said he’d been dreaming of working in England, wouldn’t comment on the penalty: “I’m the type of coach who accepts the decision of the referee, so I have nothing to say about that. Even if we we’d lost 1-0 I would say the same.”

Photo: Action Images

TimmyH added 19:48 - Dec 21 Then's one thing to boo a player when he's at the end of his career and in it for the cash but it's another when your a young player whose only team has been the Town, and this won't do his confidence any good what so ever. Totally agree with what Mick has said!
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bluemingood added 19:59 - Dec 21 Scolded we are. :(
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Millsey added 20:00 - Dec 21 There really are some idiots at PR. Glad I was away or I would have been ejected as I would have lost it. I really hate it when so called supporters boo their own players and seem to always have one boo boy to drive out of the club. Tw@ts
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BillBlue added 20:06 - Dec 21 My only comment is that I heard the BBC commentator say 'Neither team deserved to win because they are both playing rubbish'! So, if you lot are satisfied with that then I most certainly am not.
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wayway added 20:14 - Dec 21 Local lad or not he is just not good enough but he is a McCarthy man, all run and no brains. We need craft and guile in the midfield. As I have said before, we do not want someone who will run through a brick wall, we need someone with the brains to look for the door
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bluefeast added 20:16 - Dec 21 BillBlue , if you heard commentator you were not at the game supporting the tea. Maybe if there 25000 in the ground the team would do better. Everyone has a role to play and our role should be supporting the team at matches. Away support is 10 out of 10. Home support is really annoying ,moaning jeering idiots all around me today , i was angry at them not the team. Pathetic

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soclopath added 20:30 - Dec 21 I well remember fans boo'ing our midfield player Colin Viljeon wow how we Missed him when he was either injured or left the club.Some say he's too much like Skuse, what happens if Skuse is injured or leaves the club.Get off the lads back believe MM's judgement.
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Michael11 added 20:37 - Dec 21 What annoys me is these mindless idiots will be the ones who prevent players like Jack Marriott being given a chance in the side. If they do something wrong they'll be in fear if being booed and won't have any confidence. Get behind the lads, especially ones we've produced, we're in a great position so support them or don't go!!
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Pique added 20:45 - Dec 21 Let's be very clear about this: if you were one of the individuals jeering Hyam today, you are not an Ipswich supporter. You are a non-supporter and you have no right to call yourself an ITFC fan. I'm sure some of those booing will be reading this board tonight (assuming they can read) - you know who you are, you're an embarrassment and you need to take a serious look in the mirror. And if Hyam is reading (and we know some young players do) - ignore the cretins, they don't represent anyone but themselves. Keep believing in yourself and keep on going. All the best.

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Lightningboy added 20:47 - Dec 21 Well said Mick...okay,Hyam may not be the greatest player we've ever produced but he's one of ours,he's young and he has the potential to be a town great - get behind him!..boo the opposition.
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KiwiTractor added 20:47 - Dec 21 Agree bluefeast. Supporters definitely entitled to their opinion but to boo their own player, I find incredible! I too love Mick, but if he thinks the egg on Lukes head effected him, maybe he should have used one of the subs?
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RYITFC added 20:57 - Dec 21 Well said Mick couldn't agree more, we do seem to have a large number of so called fans that bring a negative vibe to Portman Road. I'm sick of it, they moan when we play it long, but if we try to build up patiently and the ball has to go backwards again they moan! I will add that the support at away games is a lot more upbeat and positive.As a supporter of the team, the clues in the title you need to support team through thick and thin. If u can't do that don't bother coming!

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Alwaysablue added 20:59 - Dec 21 You're seriously deluded if you think Hyam is good enough, shocking performance, we pay good money and supporters can voice their opinion, and he was truly awful.
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shakerbreaker added 21:05 - Dec 21 Fxxxxn twxts. Leave the kid alone! Mick spot on.
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jonwillpott added 21:08 - Dec 21 I had some idiot behind me in the Co-op stand moaning the whole game and shouting at Ryan Tunnicliffe....for goodness sake in the second half he was probably our best player today!!! I just don't understand the mentality of some of supporters or what they expect from a team that has been put together for virtually nothing and is doing so much better than last year!! Why don't they just go and support some glory team instead with some superstar who cost millions of pounds and leave us real supporters to back our boys!!!

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muccletonjoe added 21:18 - Dec 21 The morons booing a lad who never gives in and tries his heart out are not nor ever will be TOWN supporters. You look after your own , that is the bottom line for any supporter. Encouragement and picking out the good things rather than forever pointing out the bad will make this lad even better. He has more admirers at this club than detractors , most of the cretins know as much about football as next doors cat.

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buryblue77 added 21:34 - Dec 21 Bloody iPads! Down arrowhead someone's post and didn't even mean to touch the arrows at all, I think Gav should install a confirmation thingy so those of us with fat fingers don't do silly things! Agreed with Mick, I know Chopra didn't help himself but it was a kind of similar thing that led him to turn against us, now Hyam has turned to Twitter and that will only bait those who boo. I just hope things don't get out of hand with Hyam in a similar way. Leave him alone, get behind the team, what more do you lot want? This is a remarkable turn around after the last few years but those players still need supporting, not booing.

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Gazelle added 21:41 - Dec 21 I've said it before, some of our fans would win a gold medal for moaning and it's not new. I remember the late John Elsworthy going through it in the 50s and it's continued since then at different players Ever wondered why our home record has been nothing special over the years, well there's your answer.
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minesapint added 21:53 - Dec 21 Are those who want to see Hyam out the same people who were calling for his inclusion when PJ only used him as a fringe player?
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blues1 added 22:27 - Dec 21 dare say ill get marked down for my post but I don't get it that people shouldn't moan about players. no, they shouldn't boo but I for 1 will moan at a player if he does something wrong and will praise him when he does something good. and while I believe hyam has the potential to be a good player, at this moment in time, he simply isn't playing well enough to be in the team. what typified him today was in the 2nd half, we wer playing a good move near the edge of the Watford box, and the ball goes to hyam, who passes the ball square straight out of play. while as I say, I don't agree with him getting jeered for that, the fact is that was one of so many passes hed put out of place, and fans were clearly frustrated by that. maybe if skuse wasn't also playing then hyam would be better but fact is they cant both play in same midfield, in that formation, and skuse is the better player, so hyam should be dropped , for now neway. he simply offers nothing but working hard to the team. really hope he does in the future and sure he probably will, but I believe, for now h should be left out and someone more creative be brought in beside skuse.

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Hiltzkooler added 22:40 - Dec 21 I live up north and so go to most away games..I went today as mates are from London...I was appalled at the booing of Hyam..the away support would never do that...p!ss poor from those that booed ...you are not fans...hang your heads on shame
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StowTractorBoy added 22:48 - Dec 21 I know we all get frustrated when things are not going as we wish, and lets be honest most of us have a moan mainly because we care so much, but booing one of our own in Hyam will destroy the lads confidence and does more harm than good. We saw when he was left out recently how much we missed him and Mick quickly restored him into the side. Expectations have now grown and perhaps we are now expecting too much. Watford are a decent side and at half time we could easily have gone in a couple of goals down. We were better in the second half with a more attacking approach and when we thought we may win it we were all left very frustrated. Its another point and we did not lose, it frustrates me though that we just cannot beat Watford at Portman Road.

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CM_Hunk added 22:51 - Dec 21 Maybe you wouldn't get haters Luke if you actually played well, I'm a fan of hometown players and didn't boo but I'd rather see someone that has more natural talent in the midfield over than someone that has hometown ties
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Hiltzkooler added 23:07 - Dec 21 Sick of the justification of booing...it's sh!!e ... Yes you have an opinion but you are supporting your team...Hyam was poor today but you will never never justify booing the lad...pack it in or p!ss off and don't waste your money
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iTFC4LiFE99 added 23:55 - Dec 21 I for one hoped he did have to go off, he was absolutely dreadful! He just needs to think more positively and work on his technical side, look forwards rather than backwards all the time Luke! Fans booing him is disgraceful though, mick being the good manager he is sticks up for him. However Hyam does need to be dropped and the decision to play 4-3-3 against a 3-5-2 is beyond me, and why subs like graham weren't brought on i do not know

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