Boss Mick McCarthy admitted that Town were beaten by a better team after their 3-0 defeat at Leicester. Goals from Jamie Vardy, David Nugent and Chris Wood saw the league leaders to a comfortable victory.

“We were beaten by a better side, that’s for sure,” McCarthy said. “Unfortunately for me and for us we contributed to it and they don’t need any help.

“You probably know my view on the first one in terms of the final pass but we had a corner kick, we’d just had our best spell in the game. I think we’d had the best chance with Skusey at the edge of the box, I don’t think we’d had any other chances up until then.

“We went backwards rather than keeping it on top of them and we end up being negative, give it away and they scored."

Although it was Jay Tabb's backpass which played goalscorer Vardy in on goal, McCarthy wasn't too harsh on the midfielder.

“Tabby shouldn’t have been put in that position, that’s my view. We should have been putting the ball in for another cross and we should have been in their third.

“That was where we made the mistake, so I’m not pointing the finger at him, I think he’s great, I think he’s been fabulous for us, Tabby.

“I just thought we'd got into the game. Leicester are better than us, we’ve lost to a better team.

"They don’t need any assistance to win their games and I thought on the second goal again we had the ball in the final third and we lost it and it ended up in the back of our net. Disappointed.”

He said the home side showed little sign of tiredness having fought out a tough 2-2 draw at Forest on Wednesday: “If you can tell me that Vardy and Nugent were tired in the first half I’ll show my arse in Burton’s window!

“That’s all psychological babble that, that they might be tired, you just hope that that’s going to be the case.

“They’re top of the league, they’re winning it by a street, they’re all very, very good players, fit healthy young men and they can cope with it and you can cope with it when you’ve got players with the ability that they’ve got.”

McCarthy felt his team improved after the break: “I thought we played well in the second half. They were 2-0 up, there are two sides to that. They’re 2-0, do they keep going and try and get a third when they don’t need to?

“I thought we played better, I thought we had some opportunities to do better than we did but didn’t take them and we suddenly got punished by a better team.”

Quizzed about his interest in bringing Ryan Tunnicliffe back to Town on loan from Fulham, as TWTD reported yesterday, McCarthy was keeping his cards close to his chest.

“We’ll see. We’ve just lost to Leicester, it’s not the end of the world, they’ll piss [this division], they’re streets in front of the rest of us. We’ll regroup on Monday and see and get ready for Birmingham.”

Tunnicliffe was left out of the Cottagers' 18 as they drew 1-1 at West Bromwich Albion.

Leicester manager Nigel Pearson was delighted with the victory and the display: “A good result. A good all-round performance against a decent side. I’m very pleased with the outcome.”

Photo: Action Images

TimmyH added 14:57 - Feb 23 @Blue041273 - in response to your question, no I'm not a season ticket holder as I live in South Essex but I try to get to as many games as possible as with the travelling and a lot of other supporters can't afford a season ticket but in general get to see about 5 or 6 games a season. The matches I've seen this season, Blackburn, Leeds, Charlton and Bolton have all been fairly poor quality games with only glimpses of any free flowing football (briefly start of Leeds and at times against Blackburn). 'Plain rubbish' my assertion of how MM sets the team up and favours some players? - I really think not, perhaps GAV could organise a poll vote of what are the biggest bug bears of Micks management style this season, then we would see (as clearly there are some). I feel your 'brink of oblivion' is yet another post which is just that little bit OTT, with regards to being relegated last season, don't forget Mick came in early November not March and did very well last season (no denying that) but with the foundation of PJ's team got rid of some of the dead wood and got a few good loans in, Campbell, McG, Stearman and made us solid. Good management but have we moved on from last season, maintained the same durability defensively? Improved the midfield creatively? I'd say no, so I'm not sure you can call that progression.

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thebeat added 15:18 - Feb 23 Blue041273 you are talking total rubbish if you think Mick sets his team up correctly. So you agree playing a defensive central midfielder on the wing and a centre half at right back at home to Blackpool a team with no win in 14 games is ok when we have 2 right backs out on loan, another one on loan and sitting on his arse and 2 right wingers sat on their arses aswell? Last weeks team sheet and tactics were as they are most of the time under Mick cowardly, negative and boring, end of, there is no arguing with that, we all saw it, this isnt about where we are in the league, how much money we havent spent, its about the fact that Mick send his team out week after week after week to play for 0-0 and if we happen to nick a goal sit back and defend for our lives. Why have wingers and attacking players if you arent going to use them. And nobody can deny he plays his favourites ahead of better players all the time, we all see it, Nouble and Tabb are sub standard, especially Frank, how he ever got so many pro contracts is beyond me, well played to him tho, he worked the miracle there.

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warktheline added 17:04 - Feb 23 Timmy,the foundations of Jewel's team!Name those players with the exception of Cresswell.
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TimmyH added 17:22 - Feb 23 Here we are as of last season: Henderson (loan), Chambers, Smith, Cresswell, Edwards, N'Daw, Hyam, Murphy (loan) - ALL under PJ or had been on loan under his management.
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blues1 added 17:26 - Feb 23 some people on here really are clueless when it comes to the matter of funding in the club. keep going on about free transfers. ive said this on here so many times now yet still people spout the same rubbish, but there is no such thing as a free transfer. that phrase only refers to the fact that no transfer fee is paid to the players club, there are agents fees, signing on fees for the players plus of course wages, which all add up to a tidy sum of money. the fact is if wed signed these players a season earlier they would all have commanded a transfer fee. does the fact they were out of contract change the standard of their ability? no, of course not. no1 complained about any of the players when they were signed but now its suddenly mes fault for not spending more. well, hes spent loads, and many should remember where this club would be if it wasn't for him. having said that, I believe fans biggest criticism at the mo is the fact that the football we're playing is god damn awful, and it has to be said that much of that is down to the managers team selections and tactics. being defensive away from home is 1 thing, changing our formation to suit the opposition in home games is ridiculous/ in blackpool for instance, we were playing a team whod lost 8 away games on the trot, but he changes our formation to counteract them. surely, mm should have picked a team and a formation to attack them, and let them worry about us. the fact is, that unless we start to at least play some decent, entertaining footbaa at home, the crowds are going to dwindle even further and there'll be even less money to spend because of it. while I don't necessarily agree that getting rid of mm would be the right thing, I do think that the only way we will get to see attractive football again is with a change of manager. while mm is here, im afraid we are going to be stuck with the boring, negative tripe weve been served up for most of the season

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NoelTheDub added 17:31 - Feb 23 Blue041273.... What tactics or formation are you referring to is it the 9 defensive players and 1 up front v CHARLTON or BARNSLEY.Come on ,surly we can do better than that with our little squad or lack of money.Any team that has played us big or small has had a right a go at us but thats not the case with us in most games,thats all us moaners want to see at PR.Yes this hard to beat team ploy MM developed worked no problem with that and Im not dreaming of the playoffs its time to stop boring the pants of me every week. We as a team and supporters should be after a long time waiting enjoy the mid table and for a change try set out to win a game from the start as clearly with your team set up you dont. Please Mick entertain us as we are going nowhere and cant see were the next 3pts are gonna come from because there is not a dangerous player on the pitch except Hunt or Seb if hes fit..

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Blue041273 added 18:09 - Feb 23 I too am getting sick and tired of all our supporters who keep belittling MMs achievements over the past year. How short peoples memories must be. From a position of facing the equivalent of football disaster MM has hauled the club to within sight of the play offs. Ok we probably won't make the play offs now but we won't be relegated either. It's MM's players who have got us to this point. Flair may be on the short side but with the squad we have pragmatism rules. Anyone who thinks we can play like Barcelona with this squad is deluded. But everyone should remember that MM's brief on appointment was not to build a flair team (a la Barcelona) but to save us from the abyss of the lower leagues. That job may not yet be totally completed. It will take time to take us to the next level. Patience is required. In the meantime remember that players like McGoldrick, Hunt and Ebanks-Blake are all flair players and are all MM's acquisitions.

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Warkys_Tash added 18:23 - Feb 23 That's an interesting comment, Mick. So you actually thought the players were negative & went backwards when they should have gone forwards - we just thought they were listening to your instructions. Let's start attacking from next Sat at home, by playing our best team!
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blueboy1981 added 18:44 - Feb 23 ....... fact is - If you want someone to save you from relegation MM is your man, as he was for us last season - If you want someone to take your Club forward, forget him. Simple really.
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warktheline added 18:48 - Feb 23 I can't see any foundation there Timmy.All I can see back then was a shambles.
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NoelTheDub added 18:56 - Feb 23 Us like Barcelona under Mick I dont think so a goalkeeper and 10 attackers I can only dream.Just give me 4 or 5 attack minded players from our small and under funded squad not asking a lot or are they not good enough to get in Micks team
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TimmyH added 19:15 - Feb 23 A shambles? but you asked me to the name the players which were part and parcel to PJ's team/foundation and the players mentioned above were (beginning of the 2012/13 season), other than N'Daw/Henderson which were both loans the rest are still being used by MM today and the successful rest of last season when Mick took over - so why are they a shambles? PJ's management but not really the players.

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EssexTractor added 19:32 - Feb 23 Football is all about opinion. Well reasoned debate is healthy. The modern game has altered beyond the imagination of the Cobbolds, Sir Alf and even Sir Bobby. The Premiership is as much about the owners as it is the managers and players. Even the Championship has its own share of meglomaniac owners! I watched my first match in 1958 and am a season ticket holder of many years standing. I believe I , like all true regular paying supporters, am entitled to voice an opinion.My view having watched my favourite club over almost 56 years is this. The joy of watching is fading. The looking forward to Saturday, to the next match is eroding. The excitement factor, the thrill factor is sadly only very occasional. There are few if any clubs of our size with the history that ITFC has. There is congratulation and thanks to ME for making the past investment that he has but I firmly believe that ITFC could be on the verge of falling into the abyss. I am very neutral about MM. No one can argue that his methodology prevented relegation last season, but similarly it is only a cock eyed optimist who can seriously claim that he is building a potent watchable entertaining side for the future. How can anyone claim that Messrs Nouble, Tabb, Green, Richardson will advance any such ambitions. Indeed and this is a sad realism...how many of current players might be the target of any team in a higher league position? One maybe two? I cannot envisage MM taking us much beyond being an average side under the present constraints. I will never stop supporting the Town, I cannot promise that I won't moan and groan. But what I want for my investment is entertainment, value for money, not the insipid, stale fayre of late. It's an owners game now... So the time has come Mr Evans, yes Mr Evans you to be visible. To be honest about your ambition for this great club and explain how under your continuing control ITFC will survive the quagmire that is on the near horizon...and entice the already dwindling support to come back.

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karls_dad added 19:45 - Feb 23 I have absolutely no idea whta problems MM has with Talyles, he jas everyhting Nouble has not! I have said the same all season, we are now set for a mid table finish, no arguement about that without doubt! As for those dreaming of a playoff finish? all i can say is get real! WE ARE SIMPLY NOT GOOD ENOUGH! we do not have the quality, nor the desire, if God forbid we ever managed such an unthinkable achievement, then we would quickly be shown the door, i,m afraid its season over for us now..... No doubt i will get slagged for saying it but the truth always hurts!

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Blue041273 added 20:22 - Feb 23 Essex Tractor Agree with all you say bar one point. MM is gradually (as far as resources will allow) building a squad capable of playing attractive football. Ok we haven't seen much of it yet but it is definitely a work in progress. The hoofball prevalent in the RK & PJ eras has been largely been eradicated. As yet it is not totally easy on the eye but I for one can see the difference from the bad old days. I may be in the minority here but I as a supporter of more than 50 years, will not falter in my support for the club. As such , while I might have opinions on how the Manager is running the club, my fundamental support is total and I, without his experience, knowledge, and day-to-day involvement with the squad and all their personalities and idiosyncrasies, cannot rationally question his competence. While there is room for opinion some of the criticism on here is beyond the pale and we should all recognise that we are where we are and that improvements will only come from hard work, real will to move forward, and investment. Some will argue that we lack all of these; others like me happen to believe that the glass is definitely half full and cannot wait for the next PR experience.

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wayway added 20:57 - Feb 23 When will you all realise that this club is going nowhere while Marcus Evans is the owner.He knows nothing whatsoever about football and his advisers, who urged him to buy the club originally because they thought Premiership riches would come easy, have now told him not to invest any more money. Forget about what Keane and Jewell spent if Evans was a FAN of the club funds would be found. I say it is now time to begin a campaign to get Evans out and although it pains me to say this, we need someone like Delia Smith up the road who also is very wealthy and is a FAN of the club she owns. EVANS OUT and quickly.

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warktheline added 20:57 - Feb 23 Timmy,these players weren't performing until Mick turned up.Many of these players have also improved significantly......Smith for example.Again I state the club on the playing side was a total shambles.Players such as Jet,Martin and Chopra (you interestingly decided to leave out) had dragged this club into the gutter.Smith,Hyam were fringe players,in and out of the team.Edwards was a liability at full back.That leaves Cresswell (loss of form) and Chambers as our solid foundation,is that what you'll telling me?

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warktheline added 21:06 - Feb 23 Unreal,STOP THE PRESS......Big Mick can only starve off relegation for any club interested in employing him.Mick must of been lying when the handed in his cv at Portman rd.
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blueboy1981 added 21:44 - Feb 23 warktheline ........... has he indicated YET that he is capable of taking this Club of ours forward, or better still, are the indications there for us ALL to see that he is .??? Some have justifiable doubt. 'Proof of the pudding - is in the eating' - time will indeed tell on this.
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TimmyH added 21:46 - Feb 23 If you actually read some of my post at the top of the page I mentioned he got rid of some of the dead wood (that being Chopra, JET, Bullard) etc. not sure Martin can be seen as that now in hindsight, at least he put a shift in and tried to take players on, and they're not currently playing under MM now that's why they're not mentioned. Some posters on here keeping bringing up how bad things were under PJ when MM took over which to a degree is true but in my mind largely down to the ineptitude of Jewell and being incredibly poor tactically with again square pegs in round holes - so you can't be stating that the quality of players weren't their when MM took over, agree Re Smith, but Hyam had played some of his best football second half of 2011/12. Defensively Mick has done a good job (particularly last season), but he's a long way off getting a cohesive attacking midfield going. To me McGoldrick has been MM saving grace this season attacking wise and should be interesting to see how we finish the season scoring wise.

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TimmyH added 21:50 - Feb 23 * Re Edwards - yes he was a liability at full back but what you haven't mentioned under Keane and PJ he was probably our most consistent player at creating anything through passing or crossing (you don't get the captains arm band for nothing) but you might just do if your one of Micks favourites.
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Blue041273 added 22:05 - Feb 23 Blueboy If you cannot see the progress since MM took over, you clearly do not understand the predicament that Jewell and Hutchings left behind. In any such situations you have to take two steps back before you can take one forward. History will show that MM rescued the club from the ignomy of relegation to the 3rd tier and created the basis from which promotion to the top level was a real possibility rather than a pipe dream. He may not be the man to lead us to the promised land but he sure as hell is putting the foundations in place to give someone else a fighting chance.

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hulltractor added 22:23 - Feb 23 Our season is over. I see no hope of a play off place now DM is out injured. We have no other goal scorer. Even with a fit DM we would still be an outside bet for the play offs. As the season is effectively over wouldn't it make sense to re-call Marriot and give him a start for the rest of the season?. We will then see if he has got what it takes in this division. We must give the young talent a platform to shine. Investment is not forthcoming so the only way ahead for Ipswich is the youngsters. I fear that if Marriot is good enough then someone is going to take a punt on him and he will become another Jordan Rhodes. Surely we cannot let that happen again?

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Sindre94 added 02:38 - Feb 24 Derby away, the only reason we scored 3 of our 4 goals was because of corner kicks. Blackpool away, we won the game on a corner kick. Charlton away, we won the game on a corner kick. Barnsley away, we scored the 2 goals on a corner and then on a free kick. Besides the odd cross and the lucky hoof, we dont create anything except our dead balls. Its really frustrating. What a predictable and boring team we are to watch

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Blue041273 added 09:13 - Feb 24 Sindre Don't really understand your argument. T'was not that long ago that this board was volatile in expressions of disgust that we could not use dead ball situations to any effect (Leadbitter mostly but he seems to do ok at Middlesbro'). Champagne football does not come overnight. How many teams in our league play the free flowing, open, beautiful game? Certainly none at, or lower than our level. Frustrating maybe! But it was ever thus. Most games in our league are ground out in an attritional 'must not lose' environment. Most teams set out to match (or if you look at it negatively, negate the strengths) their opponents. I have friends who support other teams in the Championship and we all share the same frustrations concerning the quality of football on offer. However, the bottom line is that most will sacrifice the general desire for 'beautiful' football for even a sniff of success. That is the reality. Years ago, Watford were pilloried by the 'purists' for playing a 'long ball game'. Their fans loved it because it was successful and brought them real achievement. We may want better but we should accept that the reality is what we have. Enjoy!

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