Boss Mick McCarthy says it’s at times like these that teams need the backing of their fans. The Blues go into today’s home game against fellow promotion challengers Brentford having lost their last two matches.

“They can help or hinder,” said McCarthy when asked whether supporters can play a part in helping his side get back to form.

“Help is a much better one for me. When things are going well it’s ‘We’re all great’. When things are going bad it’s ‘They’re s---e’.

“It disappoints me that, that’s everywhere, by the way, that’s all around the world. That’s not just here.

“And it doesn’t help. I tend to find that when you’ve had a couple of defeats, that’s when you need the support, that’s when you need somebody to put their arm around you and say ‘Listen, come on, it ain’t that bad, we’re a good side’.

“And that comes from a collective, from the supporters. It’ll be a really tough game.

“They’ll have possession of the ball, they’ll keep it. It might be frustrating, we might have to be patient. But let’s hope we all win and we win together.”

With the Blues having dropped out of the top six for the first time since November, fans are inevitably concerned that a season which promised so much might ultimately come to nothing.

McCarthy says only a victory can ease those worries: “The only way we do that is by winning. Nothing I’m going to say to anybody is going to make them feel better. Nothing I’m going to say is going to make them feel less nervous.

“The only way we’ll do it is if we’re walking off at a quarter to five and we’ve won and they’ll all be cheering us off. If we haven’t it’ll be something different.”

Photo: Action Images

stevelincsexile added 06:55 - Mar 7 He is right this could be a defining match, lose and we could be the equivalent of 4 points adrift of a play off place. I have turned down overtime to go to this match we need everyone there COYB.
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Suffolk_n_Good added 07:02 - Mar 7 I'm not sure there's room for 17,500 of us fans in that little dug out Mick?!?! So up for this match, we have to bounce back with a strong performance & the right result, we can still do this, COYBs!!
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runaround added 07:32 - Mar 7 What ever XI Mick picks today we need to get behind them from the off. One win can make a big difference & the players really need our backing today. If we score first we tend to win so that's what we need to do. Bournemouth looked like they were dropping out a week ago but suddenly 2 wins & Eddie (Alan Tracy from Thunderbirds) Howe's mob are now top again. It can change so quickly so let's make it a great atmosphere today

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GiveusaWave added 08:09 - Mar 7 Of course we'll get behind them. We need to win this and win this well. I predict: Ipswich 3-0 Brentford. 2 from Tabb and 1 from Varney
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itfcsince1974 added 08:14 - Mar 7 We absolutely need to get behind the team today but we also need MM to make the changes that every fan can see are needed. Give us a reason to be more optimistic of our chances instead of feeling dread when we see the line up. COYB
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christiand added 08:30 - Mar 7 Agree with MM, but give us supporters something to get behind. The football we played during November and December a mixture of passing and direct football perhaps? Also, please' please, please make the changes that we all desperate want and need. Round pegs in round holes, instead of accommodating certain players!
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prebbs007 added 08:37 - Mar 7 Guentchev... Did you just land from planet Zog ???? 2 from Tabb and 1 from Varney. That's the funniest joke I've heard in 2015. If MM picks either of those two then he will find very few of the crowd behind the team !!! itfcsince1974 you are bang on. He needs to pick the right players in the right positions that everyone wants and is glaringly obvious. Then he will have a raucous support from us all that the team need today. We have to believe but to do so MM has to do the right thing. Bart - Parr Chambers Berra Mings - Anderson (would be Bru if he was fit) Skuse Bishop - Sears Murphy Wood. No Smith No Tabb No Chaplow No Varney !!!!!!

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warwickblue added 09:02 - Mar 7 Fair enough Mick - but you have to appreciate that as fans we also have a right to be entertained; to be given something to cheer about. Along with many others, I have spent thousands and thousands of pounds and hundreds of hours of my life watching Town over the years - and watching aimless hoof-ball and Tabb driving corners into the stomach of the first defender for the last few games has not been anything to cheer about. It's not just a question, I'm afraid Mick, of saying "Get behind me at all costs". I think you have made some poor tactical decisions in recent games which have given us little reason to feel either cheerful or optimistic.

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sotd78 added 09:06 - Mar 7 Someone please tell Mick that we've been supporting this club through thick and thin (mostly thin) for years and years and years. We'll still be doing it next year whatever happens. But the majority of moans are because we play players out of position and show no signs of plan b. That ain't down to the fans Mick, that's down to you.
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KiwiBlue2 added 09:07 - Mar 7 Prebbs agree with 10 of those but am wondering if Bart might be on the bench and Gerks back .......
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BillBlue added 09:47 - Mar 7 This match is down to you Mick. If the stadium is packed to the rafters with singing Ipswich fans we will still lose unless you withdraw your sheer bloody mindedness and put out the right players playing in their best positions, something nearly 100% of Town's knowledgeable football fans have been calling for since the beginning of January, but something you will not do due to your sheer obstinacy. This game Mick is probably your last chance to achieve something so why not relax and perhaps take the day off and let somebody else take the responsibility.

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warktheline added 10:16 - Mar 7 Let's put Billblue in the hot seat! In all seriousness, yes McCarthy, you have been picking the wrong team, and out of position ,for quite sometime. By now surely you have reviewed the down turn in form, and adjust accordingly! The back 4 is not rocket science, and as for midfield, nobody wants to see Tabb and Ando starting together. If it's two upfront, Sears has to start with Murphy. Really hoping we get off to a positive start when team is announced before kick off, if not the boys could be in for a tricky afternoon.

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prebsa added 10:29 - Mar 7 I just wish MM would look at the comments because it is clear that all the fans are calling for the same thing. For you to pick the right team. Tabb was a player that MM said could leave last summer now all of a sudden he is his favourite player. The back for is not balanced and needs to be changed. Smith needs to drop out. The fans have always been behind the team through thick and thin so it's not a case of not being behind the team. It's the fact that the fans are angered that MM keeps picking the wrong side. Sears should never of been left out agains Leeds! People like Stewart must of done something worse than murder to not even get a shot in the starting 18. Someone with a bit of pace who can attack at fullbacks something that tabb can't do. Now I have nothing against Bart and I do like him but he has made a few costly errors recently and I think it is time to give Gerken another go. I know he is not the best and commanding his box but if you can't get in the team when another player is making errors then what's the point in being here. As for parr not getting a game I don't know what's going on there. Some people may disagree and you are allowed to but personally I think he has been brilliant when coming on and asked to play at LM. But I really do think it is time to drop smith and balance the back 4 with parr at RB. Finally we need to stop playing hoof ball. If we are going to keep doing that then we may as well play without a midfield. People like bru and bishop love the ball at their feet so why do we constantly kick it at murphys head. I would love to see MM listen to the fans today and play the team we all want! COYB!!

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Garv added 10:38 - Mar 7 Are we a good side?
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carsey added 10:40 - Mar 7 prebsa I couldn't agree more with every thing you wrote
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WeWereZombies added 10:42 - Mar 7 You've got to play ball And put in your earplugs Put on your eye shades You know where to put the cork
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billlm added 10:58 - Mar 7 Christiland well done ive been saying this all season, I believe we have the personal just not the tactics
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Jimmy86 added 11:01 - Mar 7 Agree with everything you've said Prebsa, apart from bringing Gerken back in. Last season Mick stood by Gerken when he was making a few costly mistakes and so he should really do the same with Bart. Bart is the better keeper, purely because he commands his area so much better. Gerken doesn't leave his line, like loach never did. It gives the back 4 the jitters. I would like to see Stewart get some game time, but there's obviously something going on behind closed doors. Seems strange as Mick signed him in the summer, so knew what he was getting. Need Tabb off set pieces as they are terrible. It's as if he is on the golf course, the way he just chips the ball into the box ready for a defender to just gobble up. Need to win today as it's a massive game. COYB

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Michael11 added 11:22 - Mar 7 We've had a fantastic season but If I said 'it ain't that bad, we're a good side' like McCarthy wants to hear then I'd be lying. I think we're an ok team that shouldn't be threatening the play off places. The midfield is an absolute debacle. I'm 100% sure it's one of the worst in the league. The quality of players in the teams above us is staggering compared to ours. Obviously we've had no money to spend but I don't believe we haven't had chances to sign more creative players in Mick's reign. It's stubborn, horrible tactics but you can't really complain if its effective I guess.

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BillBlue added 11:28 - Mar 7 warktheline - Put me in the hot seat! What on earth are you talking about now? You twist and turn and weave and squirm with your comments so, in spite of your childish over exuberance, no one will ever know what you truly feel or think. Only two weeks ago you said you were willing to run through a brick wall for Mick McCarthy (idiot), 100% faith in Mick, in Mick we trust etc. etc. etc. and now you are saying "In all seriousness, yes McCarthy, you have been picking the wrong team, and out of position ,for quite sometime." - something the rest of us have been saying for a long time while surviving your criticism and insults! Yes he has and that includes all the time you were saying he couldn't be wrong but were just not bright enough to see it. When I mentioned you were becoming disenchanted you said no, just becoming disappointed, well for you, disappointment is the forerunner of disenchantment! You are also the person who by insulting a person who held a different view to you nearly drove them off this board mainly because you did not understand what they were saying but other posters kept them on yet, even there, yesterday I noticed you were singing a different song trying to curry favour! You need to either start growing up or stop thinking you know best or, at very least, think before hitting that keyboard. Now a question, who do you think you are to 'put me in a hot seat'?

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prebsa added 12:57 - Mar 7 Thanks carsey Thanks jimmy86 and yes Bart does command his area better and I think it gives him that edge over Gerken just mick always says people have to what for other to make mistakes so I thought this might be his chance but I don't really mind who is in between the sticks
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warktheline added 14:57 - Mar 7 Billblue, its good to get it off your chest.....don't understand the rant, but pleased you've unburdened yourself, I think the American's call it the Emotion Baggage! Please don't worry about Blueboy, he's good, and as tough as they come. Not as sensitive as some!
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