Town boss Mick McCarthy felt there was little in the Blues’ 2-0 East Anglian derby defeat to Norwich at Carrow Road aside from the Canaries' two goals.

“I don’t think there was a lot in the game,” the Blues boss said. “I certainly don’t think Norwich dominated the game, but they scored the two goals.

“The two goals were the difference, that’s generally the case if you score them both. But that was it.

“We lost the ball in midfield for the first one but I have to say it was good play from them.

“It took a deflection off one of our lads but the shot was unstoppable when he hit it, so you can’t do anything other than say that. It was a terrific strike.

“The second one, it took a deflection and I think Bart was going to save that. They were maybe a bit fortunate with that.

“We didn’t get any of that. We had a few scrambles and chances before half-time but it wasn’t our day in front of goal.”

Town’s best chance was Freddie Sears’s first-half effort, which John Ruddy did well to save.

“I’d say so," said McCarthy. “I thought Freddie did particularly well with it, he steadied himself and the way he’s been playing you’d expect him to slide it in, but it’s a great save that he made. I won’t give out to Freddie for a miss, that’s for sure.

“It was a great save, wasn’t it? He came out and smothered it. You’ve got to give the goalkeeper credit for that.”

While the Town boss was disappointed to lose the derby he says the game is only worth three points like any other match and it’s now important for his players to get back to winning ways as soon as possible.

“It doesn’t give us any more points or them any more points," he added. "It gives them the kudos, of course, and people don’t like that and I fully understand that about supporters. I’ve played in my own local derbies when I started as a kid.

“I know the importance of them and the importance for us now is to knuckle-down and win more games and finish at least in the play-offs. What are we, three off the top two? It’s there to be played for.”

McCarthy doesn’t expect the result to affect his players, who have bounced back from adversity on plenty of previous occasions.

“I don’t think it ever has,” he added. “As I keep saying, the lads have been brilliant all season.

“And I wonder, when you look at the squad of players that Norwich have got, the team that they’ve got, I wonder how many teams put it down as an away win when they’re coming down here. I don’t think there was a lot in the game but they’ve scored the two goals.”

He dismissed the suggestion that results elsewhere were a positive to take from the weekend: “I can’t do anything about them. If all the others lose all the rest of their games and we do we’ll still be in the same position.

“I don’t look for that [results elsewhere], I think in a really tough fixture we’ve played all right and we’ve just been beaten by the two goals. I’m not looking for a silver lining really when we’ve just lost.”

Despite the setback McCarthy insists that the Blues are still targeting a top-two finish: “Of course. Aim for that and if we end up in the play-offs we’ll have had a great season.

"And if we end up in the top two it might surprise you even more than if we end up in the top six.”

Norwich manager Alex Neil was pleased to win his first derby in charge of the Canaries: “It wasn’t the best game but the most important thing was that we’ve won it.

"We’ve won six in a row now, which is great. Now we just have to keep on winning.”

He added: “We’re third at the moment and we’ve given ourselves a real chance. The opportunity is there, we just have to go out and grasp it. It wasn’t in our own hands when I took over, now it is.”

Photo: Action Images

virginblue added 19:01 - Mar 1 Deep_blue - please point out where I've been blindly optimistic? Yes our form isn't great, but we are still top 6. I agree that recent results are worrying - but I refuse to get hysterical about it.
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blueherts added 19:08 - Mar 1 The knee jerk reaction stems alot from who we lost to Lets be honest and still have some reasoned thoughts here WE ARE IN THE PLAY OFFS - Not fighting relegation We have been average since Jan 01 - Rotheram , Reading , Wigan - But still up there If you said to me after the last derby game we would be playing them in March in 5th and 6th place - I think I would have taken that BUT ... MM does need to sort out his insistence on playing 3 left sided players at the back Smith is shot - oppo know that and push him on his right foot - he has one ball - the hoof We are and were missing our two best footballers - Bishop and McGoldrick Dids has been a loss and Bish makes a difference Also as poor as Anderson has been - he still offers something more and was actually ok in midweek And what Parr has to do I am not sure - we are so much more balanced as a team We have all said on here - the diff between us and teams and around us is the midfield Up front and defensively we WERE OK I think we need to sort out our defence as we are leaking too many goals We are squad made up of frees and about £110k in transfers Norwich and most of the others are Multi Million Squads Their best players was a 32 year old midfielder who was out the door last year Hoolihan is making them tick again - it pains me to say So Mick , as well as you have done I do think Smith needs to make way Question - if we come 7th is that progress ?

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Deep_Blue added 19:13 - Mar 1 I'm not hysterical - I'm realistic. Everything I've seen of late leads me to believe we are on the slide, and unless we have some epiphanic turnaround very soon, then I firmly believe that we will miss out on the playoffs. Anyone who thinks we still have a chance of automatic promotion is delusional. I do not want this to be the case, I am not some doomsday coveting pessimist who craves failure, I just look at what is in front of me and cannot see anything to be positive about.

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TheSelkirk added 19:14 - Mar 1 Putting everything else to one side, and I guess that means being unrealistic too, I do wish that Ipswich were an attractive team to watch once again. Irrespective of results / position, transfers, commitment, MM etc etc, I would like to have pride in the way my team play and not just my club. It is difficult to argue with the neutrals that say we just lump it forward in hope. It's getting more than a little embarrassing now.

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NSL added 19:16 - Mar 1 At the end of the day mick is charged with getting the best out of a group of poor and average players. Slagging them off to the press is not going to help him do that. I'm sure what he says and what he is really thinking are two different things........
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bluebrit added 19:17 - Mar 1 I seen some daft comments before but some of the remarks on here are both extremely abusive and completely wrong. Do people really believe that today's game was between two teams who are financially equal. One look at Norwich's accounts shows that they have much more money than us to mount a serious promotion challenge than us. That is why they can afford to have creative players of real quality. How much do we think some of their players are earning? We have seriously overachieved this year - I am not convinced that ultimately we will have enough to get promoted but generally this seasons results mean that at least we are entering March with something to play for.

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Lower_North added 19:22 - Mar 1 Lost 2 zip! There was load of difference and we know it Lost 2-nil end of..
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Seasider added 19:23 - Mar 1 Micks remarks were as I predicted following match report;but then it isn't difficult to predict as they are same most games. His lack of criticism is I suppose laudible;but even Alex Neil said his side didn't play as well as they could. Mick would never say a word agin his team in public,perhaps because it would mean that he is a tad to blame which Yorkshiremen don't do. Between them ME and MM would seem to have blown their chances of automatic promotion in January by not investing in better players,apart from Freddie who again was best player for Town. What is more worrying is the subsequent panic loans in'emergency window' of Chaplow and Varney,more reminiscent of the Jewell era although Wood could turn out to be ok,only time will tell;which is running out. A lot of us hope before each game that Mick will return to 4-3-3,play less hoofball;and stop playing favorites like Tabb and Skuse to the exclusion of others like Parr;but each time the team sheet is announced its usually the same old,same old,and our enthusiasm wanes before a goal is kicked.

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ChrisFelix added 19:24 - Mar 1 Today we played one of top 2 teams in the division. And this showed. Our dependencies where oblivious,a good defence,two good strikers and a no support from midfield. Macgoldrick is sadly missed
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virginblue added 19:24 - Mar 1 I get the realism bit - I really do. I just hate seeing the vitriol because we lost to Norwich. I work in Norwich so this is more painful from me than most. I'm definitely not blindly optimistic - Smith should have been left out after the Derby game, and Jay Tabb shouldn't be near the team in my opinion - but I've felt like that most of the season and we've not done that badly with them in the side. Today was nowhere near as bad as the home defeat when it really was men against boys. We need Didsy fit again - I'm worried that his injury is far worse than is being let on. I'd love to see Murphy, Sears, Dids & Teddy all in the team. It may look unbalanced but if he played Skuse (who is unfairly slated by many) and Hyam or Bru holding, I think we'd cope, and at least fail through positivity. Berra racking up 5 yellows could be the worst thing to happen to us this season. That's why he initially brought Smith back in, then when Berra was available he went back to Chambers at right back, which I think makes us worse both offensively and defensively. He made the change to the defence once - I just hope he'll do it a second time. And that's not me slating Tommy before anyone gets excited, I just thing we have more balance with chambers movin over and Parr at right back.

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carsey added 19:24 - Mar 1 I had to record the match today so can't say too much at present but by the sound of it it went exactly how I feared it would. We have players who can play so why not let them? MM is too old school and footballing teams will always win in the end.
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blueherts added 19:25 - Mar 1 ARE BOURNEMOUTH NOW A HOPELESS TEAM - NO WIN IN 5 ? No ... are we ? no This is not a league with outstanding teams and unlike last year - Leicester - who stood out it could go all the way .. for automatics You have to believe We have been hit by injuries but if and when we get Dids Bushop back with WOOD added I believe we can still be in the mix
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Seasider added 19:29 - Mar 1 My previous post for goal read ball
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blueherts added 19:34 - Mar 1 Post match interviews are generally a neccesary annoyance for managers who have to come out in front of the big paying 'Murdoch sponsored' network and spout stuff for afew minutes Do you really think Mick believes half of what he says - I dont Of course Norwich manager will say' we werent great' - COS THEY WON !! easy to say it when you lose What matters is how we react on the pitch vs Leeds - then we can take a look

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alliedaz added 19:37 - Mar 1 only difference was the goals well spotted mm but aint that a good start to win matches and dont worry get another striker and see what happens and leeds aint going to be easy
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OsborneOneNil added 19:40 - Mar 1 Not sure we were as bad as people here suggest.
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blueboy1981 added 19:40 - Mar 1 ........ the people this defeat will affect the most is US the fans / supporters / followers - Do you really think MM and the Players will be that concerned ?? - unfortunately NOT - is the stark truth.
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OldClactonBlue added 19:48 - Mar 1 Oh dear. If you really believe that Mr McCarthy then it is little wonder that we look so poor!
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blueboy1981 added 19:50 - Mar 1 ......... I've known the time when the Manager and Players would have sweated blood for ITFC and a win in this match - just ask a few well known ex players still around / following the Club. Did we see this kind of commitment / desire today ........... ???
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bluefeast added 19:54 - Mar 1 Seasider ,your post is excellent and i could not agree more.
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bluefeast added 19:59 - Mar 1 Times running out ,we play the top 8 bar derby and norwich ,we are in decline. Lack of jan investment shows ,although with recent signings like varnry and chaplow i worry what micks idea of a good player is. If you play sq pegs in round holes you lose your on pitch momentum very quickly ,players of this standard have one position and one only. The only player to be better than that is Parr ,and he doesnt get picked ,says everything you need to know about our manager and his lack of foresight.

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warktheline added 20:04 - Mar 1 @pablo123, your a disgrace, such post are way of the mark!
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bluefeast added 20:20 - Mar 1 Talk about financial fair play , we have signed 3 players on loan , we are probably paying 20k per week for those 3 in wages , loan fees etc. We would be better paying 20k for a tom ince type standard ,ie one who offers the team something that does not exist . So in my opinion ,its bad management signing varney and chaplow when we could of had one player who was quick ,fit and scored goals from midfield ,smith the jury is out as he can score goals but as yet hes not fit

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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 20:21 - Mar 1 Deep Blue - im not sure what planet you live on but it aint Earth. As with several others on here you seem to think we have a god given right to be at the top of the league. We don't ! We are all gutted with the result today but just listen to yourself. At the start of the season if someone had said we would be slipping away from the automatic promotion spots into the play off battle we would all have jumped at it. MM doesn't play the Royle all out attacking football and at times it would be nice to do that but if you cant honestly see the improvement in our club as a whole over the last two years then I despair. We do have a team made up of free transfers (Norwich had million pound players on their bench) and they have their limits but they do , contrary to what some say on here tonight always give 100% and play for each other. Norwich have now found the form they should have had all season with the squad they have and I personally now expect them to be top two. You say you are realistic . youre not , we are a rural town club that over achieved for a long time because we had the best English club manager of the last 50 years. We are and should be proud of that but we cannot expect it . A win on Tuesday and we are right back in the frame. Its very easy to be negative and talk with hindsight cos no one can prove you wrong. On to the next one. COYB

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Miles added 20:43 - Mar 1 Some of the comments here are fair. Were all very frustrated and it was a poor performance today but as painful as it is losing to those lot we need to get behind mick and the boys for the busy run in. Were only 3 points from 2nd so lets stick together and support the team. Moaning will do us no good. Need to stick together and pick up points if were to have a chance of promotion.

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