Boss Mick McCarthy was pleased with the Blues’ display as they drew 0-0 with Aston Villa at Portman Road. The Town manager gave credit to the visitors for holding out during the Blues’ final minutes onslaught.

“I’m pleased with the performance and how we played against a team of very good players, an expensively assembled team,” he said.

“Yes, we could have won it at the end, we’ve had two off the line and hit the post, but if that was me on the other side I’d say what great defending it is, I was saying that on Tuesday night.

“You have to give them a bit of credit as well, they didn’t capitulate and pack up, they finished it right to the end. I think probably overall it was a fair result.”

Earlier, a number of Town players had made important blocks on the edge of the area, something McCarthy says typifies their commitment.

“They always do, I can trust my players to go on the pitch and give everything and leave it on the pitch, not be bringing anything back in," he added.

“That’s a really a nice thing for a manager or a coach to be able to say week in, week out.

“We might not play well but it won’t be for the want of trying or running around or working hard. That’s a quality in itself.”

Freddie Sears came close to ending his goal drought, which stretched to 34 matches, but McCarthy isn’t concerned by the former West Ham man’s current lack of goals.

“I’m not bothered, he’ll be in the team because he’s different class,” he said. “He’s going back and nicking it off the full-back’s toe in the box and then running and creating chances.

“He’ll get his goal and it’ll start again, it’ll all happen for him, he’s just having one of those moments in a career when it’s tough for him.

“It’s tough in terms of his goals but he’s playing great. He’ll still be named in the team next week.”

He added: “The one that hit the post is [unlucky]. We’ve all been through it as players. I remember going through a horrible period and it really was a horrible period and I tried everything to make it right.

“[Ex-Celtic and Manchester City manager] Billy McNeill stuck with me and never once thought of leaving me out and he could have done because I hadn’t been playing right but he knew I was the best centre-half in the team. He stuck with me and I got out of it and we continued to do well.

“You’ve got to have a bit of faith in them. I wasn’t playing particularly well either, Freddie is, there’s a difference there.

“I don’t think the fact that he’s not scoring constitutes not playing well. There’s a huge difference. As I’ve said before, David McGoldrick went 11 games without scoring and I never left him out either.”

McCarthy says the striker showed he still has confidence with his strikes towards the end which nearly won it for the Blues.

“I just said to him, ‘Where have you been all season with those freekicks, whipping them in all of a sudden?’.

“He was terrific, I can’t say any more about him really, can I? He’s a great lad and he’ll get his goal, it’ll start again for him.”

The Town boss was pleased with late subs Luke Varney and Leon Best: “Reg had been on and had a great cameo on Tuesday. They’re not starters yet, but you’ve seen what they can do when they get on the pitch, so they’ll both be playing in the U23s on Monday night.

“I want them really up to speed so they can start a game. Pits has been different class but I don’t think we can keep whipping him every week like that either, Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday.”

Regarding the timing of his substitutions, he added: “Somebody just asked me downstairs if I was aware of Aston Villa scoring goals in the last minute [and that was why I made the changes then].

“Absolutely not, there was no me being smart thinking ‘Villa concede in the last minute, I’ll try and exploit that’.

“Every team if you put Leon Best and Luke Varney on would have a problem if they go on and contribute the way they did.

“And they’d changed it, they’d gone 3-4-3 almost and I thought we could handle that with 4-4-2 and the game wasn’t wide open where they were passing through us, so I got two strikers on who I knew had 15 minutes in them.”

Regarding Teddy Bishop, who took a bang on the head and having come on as a sub was replaced in the final minutes, McCarthy said he wasn’t sure how he was after the game.

“I don’t know, I’ve no idea, I don’t think he knows yet,” he added. “He’s got a cut on his nose, I don’t know if he broke it, they’re saying he did. He’s too good looking anyway. It won’t do him any harm.

“It’s probably ruined his night out in Cambridge tonight, but so what! He’ll be fine, he got bang in the face, he’ll be all right, he’ll be OK.

“It was the right thing for him to come off, all the others were clear-eyed and still going OK. The last thing I needed was him just to capitulate in the last 10 minutes because of the bang on the nose.”

The Town boss also had praise for full debutant Tom Lawrence: “I’m really pleased with him, he’s a good acquisition. He can play in any one of those three or four slots.

“Wide left, wide right, in behind, he can play up front, him and Rhodesy [Jordan Rhodes] murdered at Blackburn last year. Very pleased with him, his delivery from corners and set pieces is good.

“He’s been booked and he’s a good competitor, he goes and tries to nick things. All you have to do when you’ve been booked, you just start to get tired and you miss the tackle by a bit and you’re suddenly walking off. I didn’t need that. He did nearly an hour. It was enough. I’d got fresh legs.”

Meanwhile, McCarthy’s assistant manager Terry Connor missed the game as his mother passed away last week. Blues U23s coach Gerard Nash replaced him on the bench.

Town owner Marcus Evans watched the game from his box in the East of England Co-op Stand, the first time he’s been at Portman Road since the start of the Rio ticketing controversy.

Villa manager Roberto Di Matteo felt the game was among the better goalless draws: “I don’t think it was a boring 0-0. I think there was some excitement in the game. We were very resilient as a team today.

“We defended well against the threat of Ipswich. I think in the first half we were better on the ball, trying to create a little bit of danger and had some half-chances.

“In the second half it was a bit more difficult but I think when you play away and you get a point I think it’s always a good point, especially the way we had to fight for this point as well.”

Photo: TWTD

cromwellblue added 18:52 - Sep 17 Can't fault the effort or commitment today. Just still feel if we didn't kick the ball away so easily then we wouldn't need to invest so much effort getting it back
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jas0999 added 19:04 - Sep 17 I also thought it was a fair result. Mick knows that we were the ones clearing the ball off the line Tuesday and that it evens out. Last ten minutes aside this was to kid table looking teams, playing out a fair draw. Goal scoring record a major concern, but defensively we look very good with only Chambers looking a weak link.
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yungblue added 19:25 - Sep 17 People need a reality check, reading some of these comments is like we've lost 5-0 to bottom of the league, we've just drew 0-0 with a premier league club, a manager who's won the champions league, missed an 11m player in McCormack, replaced him with a 13m player in kodja, and we should of won, Ipswich Town Football Club is a fantastic team, not individuals. TEAM! They play well together for each, throwing their bodies in front of the ball etc. We don't spend massive cash, not even £2m in McMarthys tenor, but we've only lost twice this season, unbeaten at home, a very good start in my eyes. The sooner the fans starting really backing the 11 out there instead of moaning, the better.

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Tractorchef added 19:29 - Sep 17 David McGoldrick went 11 games............ TWTD!
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Pip50 added 20:08 - Sep 17 Young blue respect your opinion but Villa are on a poor run as were Reading Derby. Up to 85 minutes we had one effort on target. It's not all about the money look at Huddlesfield Barsley Plymouth last seaon Stevenage our cup nemesis. Problem is McCarthy not having a clue. For example Chambers is a good footballer but right back ! Mid table at best sad thing it could be so much better.

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rgp1 added 21:05 - Sep 17 I agree with jas0999 its the lack of goals that are of real concern. Let's face it villa I thought were poor and like Norwich were there for the taking. Time will tell but not replacing Murphy could bite us on the backside. Where's the hold up play, after the first hour poor old Pittman looked like he was goin keel over!
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brockleyblueboy added 21:12 - Sep 17 Yungblue I live your comment and couldn't agree more. I have actuallyncome awah feeling very positive. Barney and best once for are gonna really lift us up. Come on you blues and for all you negative fans, go away, we don't need you or your negative energy
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itfc94 added 21:19 - Sep 17 Not being funny, but how can anyone be pleased with the performance as a town fan. Absolute dross. We give the ball back so easily, it's very frustrating. There is no effort from our CM's to even want to pass the ball. Yes, commitment was there and defensively we look very hard to beat, but we make it very difficult for ourselves and allow the opposition so much of the ball. Cole Skuse would not stand out in League 2.

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NITFC added 21:32 - Sep 17 itfc94 are you for real?
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blueboy1981 added 21:41 - Sep 17 ..... of course you'll be pleased with that Mick - you only ever set up / out for a point. Home or Away. Therefore mission accomplished - Civil Reception in the morning @ 10.00 am.
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blueboy1981 added 21:41 - Sep 17 ..... of course you'll be pleased with that Mick - you only ever set up / out for a point. Home or Away. Therefore mission accomplished - Civil Reception in the morning @ 10.00 am.
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itfc94 added 21:56 - Sep 17 @NITFC - what part of that does not seem real? Do you enjoy paying money to watch us hoof it into space? We were rubbish until the 85th minute when we actually created something. Apart from that, did we ever look like scoring? No Don't see what you're saying 'are you for real' - my point is valid.
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oldegold added 21:59 - Sep 17 All of a sudden a lot of fans are pleased "with a point" but I'm not. Before the final surge at the end, we had ONE shot on goal,that's right ONE shot in 90 minutes.Well that's not football and the final surge at the end highlights that if our one dimensional hoofster was not so obseesed with nicking a point then we might make some headway if we actually set out to entertain the fans, play for a win, played the ball on the ground and tried to win from the off. Take the blinkers off guys..we're a long way from home and Chambers at right back is an insult to the club's integrity..he is not a right back but mccarthy can't do anything as it would bean omission that he has f****d it up all along plus mccarthy's subsitutions were woeful today..as usual . Bringing forwards on in the last few minutes when it should have been done earlier says much for our tactical genius.

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Rodrigo91 added 22:23 - Sep 17 Same old excuses tho we got a draw against a team which has got money to spend and got premier league players. McCarthy probably doesn't buy anyone because he won't be able to use the excuse of our whole squad cost £1 mil. We were at home villa have won only once in 6 games we need to win at home and play positively. Sears is lucky to be playing yes he may have done okay today but no goals in 34 games is awful and its not like he's setting any up for anyone else either. Get mcgoldrick and Williams in the team with ward and we will have some purpose in attack but still don't know where the goals will come from as we don't seem to have a natural goal scorer in the squad

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DurhamTownFan added 23:17 - Sep 17 I'm sad that so many people seem to have bought into MMs negativity. Fair enough, if we stick it out every now and again a point is valuable but to finish top six you need to try and win games before the 85th minute. If you're happy with grinding out the draws with attritional football then I do feel sorry for you. Talk to some of our older fans about when we used to take control of games and dominate teams. TWTD!

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DurhamTownFan added 23:21 - Sep 17 Say all you want about the mess we were in when he took over and the small budget we have, ok good. But if we stay like this well finish between 6-10th every year, do f all in the cups and play ugly football. Is that what you want to tell your grand kids about? My dad will be telling his grand kids about when we won the league, the cup and the UEFA cup and had two England managers. Yes, times have changed, but that doesn't mean we should want more from our club. (Rant over)

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tractorboybig added 07:39 - Sep 18 other than the last five minutes and ever since the Barnsley game, with this team and set up ,where are goals coming from? Goals make points , and the lack of them in this system should be ringing serious alarm bells.
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blue75 added 07:45 - Sep 18 Any fan happy with a point should maybe watch some games from the 70's,80's and late 90's. Villa on yesterday's performance are mid table to relegation team this season. They're were there for the taking a bit of composure on the ball instead of hoofing it all the time and we could've had a easy home win.
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grumpyoldman added 08:35 - Sep 18 What I gather from the previous posts is some are happy getting a point off a relegated team, and are pleased that we had a couple of chances to win in injury time. The others are not happy with us pumping the ball forward to nobody in particular. The ones who are pleased and do not complain are the only "true supporters" according to some. Of course Chambers keeps his place after another dire performance on Tuesday, nothing changes then!

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Warkys_Tash added 08:39 - Sep 18 It was an exciting game for 7 minutes from the final whistle. Town were magnificent in that period but unfortunately absolutely woeful before then - Chambers leading by example! His worst in a Town shirt. A Villa team without an away win in a year and badly low on confidence had at least 60% possession and all Town were doing was blocking and booting up into space where Murph used to be. Sorry Mick, Pitman upfront (with no pace) on his own is never going to work. Let's hope Best gets fit & stays fit..he looks a handful. Varney put himself about as usual, I like his work ethic & attitude. However, Town can't play like that all season & expect to challenge for the top 6. 2 points dropped.

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Spanishblueblood added 09:16 - Sep 18 Apart from injury time, that was just plain poor! Both sides looked bereft of any ideas and for me, Grealish looked the only one to carry any threat. Plenty of huff and puff but zero quality! Personally I don't think we have the players to play with only one up top, with our current squad 442 suits us much better. I just can't believe that some people think we were good, hard working maybe but good...... Nah not having it! The sooner MM goes, the better imo.

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H1960 added 10:11 - Sep 18 Pip 50 good post, I have just looked at the paper and the match report summed it up as a dismal stalemate the only entertainment gbeing the last bit of the game, wake up all the blinkered Mccarthy lovers, if you are happy to watch our once great club serve up this dross good for you I for one am not. Dont give me this lack of money excuse look a Huddersfield for example, playing good entertaining football on a low budget and look where they are, I love our club but hate the way it is being run from top to bottom and have never been more depressed about its state and I have been regularly attending games since the early 70s.

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bedsitfc added 11:38 - Sep 18 Villa are not a bad team, very good players and manager Ok they aren't setting the league alight but only lost twice, not exactly the whipping boys.
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TimmyH added 12:25 - Sep 18 In my eyes its always good to play a relegated side early in the campaign, by and large they generally struggle to cope with the physicality of the league plus there's also a period of little confidence in the new season. We beat Burnley soundly last season early on and look what they achieved 2nd half of the season and I'll bet anyone on here a fiver Villa don't emulate what they did, in my opinion Villa are a bunch of misfits what ever the club has shelled out for some of the players. Come the end of the season they might just make the play-offs at best.

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TimmyH added 12:25 - Sep 18 In my eyes its always good to play a relegated side early in the campaign, by and large they generally struggle to cope with the physicality of the league plus there's also a period of little confidence in the new season. We beat Burnley soundly last season early on and look what they achieved 2nd half of the season and I'll bet anyone on here a fiver Villa don't emulate what they did, in my opinion Villa are a bunch of misfits what ever the club has shelled out for some of the players. Come the end of the season they might just make the play-offs at best.

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