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

TR11BLU added 09:20 - Mar 2 We must start with Sears and Varney against Leeds. Freddie was our stand out player and Varney impressed in hi time on the pitch too. Put himself about and won everything in the air that was hoofed up to him. Murphy been out of sorts last 3 or 4 games. Drop one of the three centre backs and play with both full backs. Chambers worsed player on the pitch yesterday, hoof out of play or to a yellow shirt....clueless

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Pabloisgod84 added 09:40 - Mar 2 why did Evans not give us some money to spend and make a real go at promotion?? Derby sign bent and Ince. we sign Chaplow and Varney!! awful our midfield is one of the worst i have ever seen, no proper wingers, poor central midfielders, no goals from Midfield. we are only where we are through murphys goals and he wont keep that up im afraid as much he has been a revelation this season. we are doomed!! in perspectie with no money spent its a decent effort but the style of football is horrible. dont knwo where we go from here. feel horrible after yesterday

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Pabloisgod84 added 09:42 - Mar 2 Also Mick it wasnt lost in midfield for the first goal!! BERRA hit a hopeless hoof to noone when he had time because thats your inflicted style of play and they won the ball easy and scored.
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blueherts added 10:08 - Mar 2 Final word on this and move on ! That was not our strongest 11 or squad - we do ahve alot of injuries - but to be fair MM never dwells on it In games like these players like Stephen Hunt would have started Also our best players out it was always a goona be tough 3 points at Leeds - happy days Sears and Wood
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Razor added 10:27 - Mar 2 Does anybody know what precisely is wromg with Didds and Hyam and when we might expect to see them again? At Leeds why not try something different (sorry if that a bit revolutionary Mick) play 3 centre halves with Parr and Mings as wingbacks and Freddie tucked in behind Wood and Smurf----just a thought cos the way we play at moment aint nice.
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Warkys_Tash added 11:24 - Mar 2 Unbelievably negative comments on here. I am one of the few that thought we gave it a good go? Norwich didn't offer anything but around two attacks in the 2nd half, one they scored a flukey goal from. I thought MM did well changing the flat 4-4-2. We were also missing our two most creative players & Murph was quiet. If Freddie scores & Chambo closes down properly it's a different result. Let's get positive & go on a smashing 12 game unbeaten run, starting on Wed eve.

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essexboy added 11:43 - Mar 2 I have to agree with many posts on here.As much as I support MM for the work he has done under an impossible handicap the players he has just bought in apart from Woods are know better than what we already have at the club,I just don't understand some of his comments.There MUST be Big changes made for the final run in and in my opinion Chambers must be moved to the centre of defence and Smith dropped(his form has dipped of late) Scuse is not the answer in midfield so Bishop should play there with Bru and Parr.Up front Sears,Wood,and Murphy,that is depending on who is fit.There are still a lot of games left and we can still make it,What we don't want is Idiots knocking the club,players and manager at this stage of the season,remember we have done fantastic so far with the smallest squad in the division.COYB

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Lightningboy added 11:46 - Mar 2 There's not a lot wrong with our team that a really good midfielder wouldn't put right. The obvious things that need rectifying are: Parr at RB. Chambers in the middle alongside Berra (sorry Tommy). A midfield general ala Magilton needs signing this Summer. Mick needs to have a lot more faith in his wingers (why sign so many if you never play them?). Vs Leeds (the team in general) needs to be.. Bart Parr,Chambers,Berra,Mings, Bishop (if fit),Skuse,Hyam (if fit), Wood,Murphy,Sears.

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ITFC1985 added 11:47 - Mar 2 we were poor yesterday however it was the kind of game where if it had of ended 0-0 you wouldnt have been surprised. might seem strange however there first goal if it doesnt clip Berra's heel i think Chambers clears it, however the flip side nobody tracked Johnsons run and i think Chambers went to ground too early. The 2nd goal was just disgusting, i hate goals like that just rubbish and i hate that Grabban celebrated it like it was the greatest finish ever. other than the Jerome chance that Bartoz saved they didnt really create alot. Smith needs to be dropped and Chambers needs to be switched back to centre back, abit harsh to moan at the midfield when most of the time they are bypassed by our predictable long ball, if we start playing through our midfield and less predictably then there is still a chance we can finish strongly. The question is do we have a plan b? - lets focus on the next game the Norwich game is done and dusted and we cant change it, we win the next 2 games thats 6 points out of a possible 9 and suddenly yesterday doesnt really matter.

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ernie added 12:03 - Mar 2 Alex Neil has completely nailed it with his comment here and elsewhere to be honest. Its all about 'sending the fans home happy' and 'showing the right amount of passion' for the game and respecting that the performance is always second to the result in a local derby. That was what Burley always used to say, that there is never much in these games and form goes out of the window. McCarthy got it completely wrong by picking the wrong team and showing them too much respect. Then by bleating on about how the Old Firm is the biggest derby by far (he did this in August) and how there wasn't much in it apart from the two goals. You may be able to get away with that comment with other games you pr+t but not in a derby where the result always matters more!!

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Michael11 added 12:12 - Mar 2 @Pabloisgod84 Funny enough, Chaplow was our stand out player first half who got involved and tried to make things tick. Varney only ever had the ball hoofed up to him and he won nearly every header. Awful tactics by McCarthy to drop Sears deeper. He was getting joy out of Bassong and putting him under constant pressure. Second half he couldn't believe his luck!
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docsavage52 added 12:49 - Mar 2 Not a good morning, sitting in an office full of Yell & Gree. Pity some of the players didnt have to be submitted to the same
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dannyrr added 12:52 - Mar 2 I agree things aren't as bad as they could be and MM and TC have done well to get us where we are. However we have suffered poor results by the failure to pick th eright team and tactics for the situation. Teams that have been suffering a dip in form have managed to be allowed to get a result by our tactics in trying to get a draw. Teams we should have setup to attack we have sat back to defend. I agree it is time to make our back four solid again - Mings Berra Chambers Parr. If we dont have to panic when Tommy gets the ball and end up going back to the keeper even from the halfway line then we would push forward. We need to play football and push down the wings - the recent games we have been lucky to win corners as our hoof has been too far forward to allow anyone to get on the end of it. I don't share the same enthuisiasm of Tabby's performance that MM has. His good performances are too spor4adic to ensure he gets a start every week. Inject some new blood and tactics to see us go on another unbeaten run. Ambrose, Stewart Woods Connolly need to stop warming the bench and let us see what they can do and maybe we will try to play attractive football. I would rather we never got on TV as we tend to do badly every time. Lets change tactics and personnel and lets give the opposition a surprise that they haven't already worked out the plan for. A win for the next two games will do for a start to stay in the top six. COYB

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lduly10 added 13:53 - Mar 2 Lacking desire at the moment. For me there's few players that continuously look for the ball? Chambers, Mings, Bru, Sears? Why do we not have any natural wide players that will get past the full back all the time and get crosses into the box? We need a ball playing holding midfielder rather than Skuse who is so negative and doesn't know how to either pass to a blue shirt or forwards?

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scunnyblue added 14:07 - Mar 2 Disappointed but not downhearted. Norwich are in top form right now we sadly have been a little hit and miss since the start of the year. Personally i don't want us to get promoted this season think it would be a year too soon. Agree we do lack quality in the midfield area but for a team that consists of freebees and loans i would say we are over achieving this season and i think it is important to realize this and not let our success this season go to our heads.

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NSL added 14:12 - Mar 2 I take it the 'Team of Tommy Smiths' song has died now then?! Seems a bit harsh on a player who is still only 24, scored 20 first team goals for town, which is more than the whole midfield put together, and has probably played the best football of his career under McCarthy. Ultimately we were up against the best squad of players in the league, who currently happen to be THE in-form side. To have had any chance at all we needed them to play badly and make one or two mistakes which didn't happen - they were solid from the GK right through to the strikers. If we played them 2 months ago, a stone heavier Ruddy would have probably spilled Sears 25 yard drive into the oncoming Murphy and Johnson left footer would have probably ended up in the stand.

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GoldieBlue added 15:33 - Mar 2 Great analysis there Mick. Unfortunately if one team scores 2 goals more than the other they usually win
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blueboy1981 added 18:27 - Mar 2 ....... people keep asking for MONEY for MM to spend ........... should we just make best use of what we have first and foremost. I am not at all sure that if we were able to buy, and have, the best creative midfielders in the country - they would get a game. How Murphy has scored as many this season as he has with almost non existent service is absolutely incredible - but he cannot, and will not keep doing it without. They wouldn't fit MM's style - and Evans surely must see this by now. Can understand Evans being cautious - IF that is what he is. As a matter of interest - how many had really heard of Alex Neil before he arrived at Norwich ? - proof indeed that somewhat unheard of people are capable, and out there. In this case - unfortunate for us - and looks as if he is well capable of taking them all the way, whilst we drop away. BUT HOPEFULLY NOT.

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Pilgrimblue added 19:00 - Mar 2 I just don't get MM. The whole point is to score goals!! Norwich midfield was streets ahead of ours and while we can see it MM can't. He won't try Stewart or Connolly but loans Chaplow who's rubbish. Town can't string more than two passes so is any surprise that we're under so much pressure.
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jimblue93 added 19:38 - Mar 2 Micks watching a different game to me then. We had no pace, no creativity, no width and no composure. Saying that Micks had nothing to spend compared to previous managers so maybe hes not to blame.
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big_gaz67 added 19:42 - Mar 2 MM look at the video of the first goal and pause it when the ball gets to the winger. Then look at the players eyeline's. Mings goes to the ball, that's his job, Berra as left sided centre half follows to back Mings up - that to is his job. Smith as a natural left footed but playing right sided centre half for some unknown reason follows - all three looking at the ball, zero communication. Unpause and then pause again as the ball is crossed. Chamber's is also looking at the ball in no mans land. At no time as a full back does he look to see if he should be marking anyone - if he wants to watch the game he could have stayed at home and watched on Sky Sports. This is just plain bad positioning and defending which must come from the coaching of an international centre half! MM has taken this team, constantly selecting a weakened defence and using hoof ball tactics, as far as he can. If we ponce, and it would be a ponce, promotion through the play offs we would be a laughing stock in the premiership.

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karls_dad added 19:46 - Mar 2 Have to say it but Mick with match comments like that you are deluded! we were piss poor... end of! There are just not enough adjectives to descibe our performance!
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Bob7881 added 19:57 - Mar 2 When MM took over i wasnt sure it was the right move. By Dec i posted a comment saying i was wrong hes doing a good job. I really dont know what he does because it aint tactics. We had a lucky run with route one and Murphy got on the end of them. Put what ever spin you want win lose or draw the football from us is poor and outdated. We could still go on another run get automatic promotion everyones happy and then what? I Dread my beloved club made complete fools in the prem with a manager who hasent a clue about how the game should be played. Ive said it before and i know ive got to move as club we had stability for many many years until bloody Sheepshanks got involved i dispise the man who turn my club into a corporate advert for Evans. I dont want hear Evans saved us the debt is nearly treble what it was.

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Theipswich added 21:09 - Mar 2 " Mick McCarthy insisted there was little between the teams on the day. “I don't think there was a lot in the game. Norwich didn't dominate us, but they scored the two goals and won the match,” the Ipswich manager said." I quote verbatim. I just saw the match highlights again and can't believe that I would witness us being outclassed by norwich again. 4 defeats on the trot now and under a tactically limited manager this will not change. From comments I have heard in the press and on the radio, it appears that Neil fully expected Town to play their usual cautious and hoofball style and was aware that under McCarthy we don't have a plan B or an attacking strategy. He fully clocked us on that. Gone are the days when we would take the game to the opposition and now we have a limited tactician who can't play any other way.I find that hard to stomach. As a tactician MM would make the manager of Hyde Utd look like Mourinho. The other day I watched a few Town games on video under George Burley...attack, attack,attack. I think since the cup match against the Saints which McCarthy surrendered as always,we have mounted no more than 10 attacks in total. Boring, predictable, one-dimensional,hoofers. At all the clubs McCarthy has been, he is recognised as the man to get you out of trouble, consolidate but incapable with his philistine football to take a club further. Time for a big change now otherwise the season will slip away and time to f*****g attack teams..please

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blueherts added 11:49 - Mar 3 Blue boy - I reckon you and me could get a £30 million plus squad winnng games Scum have best squad in division - should be running away with league but this season seems a poor standard in the league Whoever goes up will struggle big time - look at Leicester - they romped it last year
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