Town boss Mick McCarthy says the only way he can end the current negativity among fans is to improve performances and results. The Blues go into Saturday’s game at Blackburn in 16th place in the Championship without a win or a goal in four matches.

McCarthy’s side were booed at the end of the 1-0 home defeat to Huddersfield prior to the international break, during which time the Town boss and his players took a few days off.

“I’m not that aware of it because I haven’t been in Ipswich for the last week,” McCarthy said. “I don’t go looking for it, but of course I’m aware of the fact, even after the last game.

“If anybody thinks I enjoy that kind of feeling and negativity, that’s quite the opposite. We’re all doing our level best to improve on performances, improve creating chances, improve scoring goals.

“We’re having a tough time, but you can judge everybody by how they react when you’re having a tough time.

“If the negativity means that they want to get shot of me and want to change it and want to do something else, I can’t affect that.”

How does he react to calls for change at the top, does he feel they're unfair? “I’m not bothered. All I can do is get back to when they’re not calling for my head by getting results.

“The only way I can affect that is by going to Blackburn and getting something, beating Burton on Tuesday night and suddenly we’ll have a different reaction to it all.

“And when I say I’m not bothered, I prefer it when they’re cheering when we’re going off rather than jeering and I prefer it when they’re applauding us rather than booing.

“They’ve not seen a particularly good performance, so I get it. But I can’t do anything about it except work with the players, try and get better, get players back on the pitch and try and improve performances and results. That’s the way it bothers me, that’s the way it’ll affect me and that’s where I’ll try and improve.”

After the Huddersfield game McCarthy said the current spell is his toughest at Town, despite having inherited a team which was bottom of the Championship and seven points from safety when he took over as manager in November 2012.

“That kind of wasn’t my fault, was it?” he explained. “Nobody blamed me for that. They’re blaming me for that now. Any negativity that surrounds it is down to me, down to me and the players and the team.

“When I came here, you get a bit of a free one for a while, don’t you? Thankfully we won 1-0 in the first game [at Birmingham], then, of course, we got slapped [5-0 at Crystal Palace], then I think we won [2-1 at home to Burnley], then we got slapped [6-0 at Leicester], but even then nobody’s giving me any grief because it’s the regime before’s fault.

“And that works everywhere, that doesn’t matter where you go, and you fully understand that and you’ve got to take that bit of a free one and make sure you turn it around.

“But at the moment it’s down to me, it’s down to the players. That’s a different feeling, so of course it’s harder.”

Speaking to the media prior to McCarthy yesterday Jonathan Douglas said he and the rest of the squad are determined to turn things around for their manager, who the midfielder says takes the flak when things aren't going well.

Asked whether he tries to deflect the attention away from the players in such situations, the Town boss said: “If I get to November 1st you’ve known me for four years. Have I ever come in here and blamed anybody? I’ve never blamed players in my life, ever, ever, ever,” he added.

“I’m the leader, I’m the boss, I make the decisions, I pick the team and whatever else goes with it, whether it might be suspensions, bookings, injuries, all of that, I never come in here and use that and I’m not about to start now.

“It’s a tough time for all of us, but what’s great about it is that you have Dougie saying that and they all believe that, they all want to do it, there are none of them thinking, ‘I’m sick of this place, I don’t want to play’, quite the opposite, they all want to win and get that good feeling back.”

Photo: TWTD

Suffolk_n_Good added 07:04 - Oct 14 “If the negativity means that they want to get shot of me and want to change it and want to do something else, I can't affect that.” Actually you can!!! It's called "resigning"
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runaround added 07:18 - Oct 14 Getting something at Blackburn? It has to be 3 points, nothing else will do! Sounds like he's settling for a point again! Away draws are no good if you're not winning your home games
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BrettenhamBlue added 07:22 - Oct 14 6 point game coming up. We need to stop Blackburn getting the 3.
2

H1960 added 07:38 - Oct 14 More verbal diarrhoea from the great guru Mick, the negativity is down to him and his awful team selections and tactics. I can imagine his team talk tomorrow...Hey up lads, unlucky to lose against the mighty uddersfield Town, outstanding performance, P Dougie, Scusey, Bruey different class (I think Bluey would have done better) more of the same and we will be okay....God help our club and it's future with this boring manager in charge...MaCarthy out now before its too late.

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Karlosfandangal added 07:42 - Oct 14 The right noise is coming out of Portman road, I would just love to see the likes of Emmanual and Dozzell start along with Grant, would rather lose with MM trying something new instead of the same formation and players. Sears on the wing is not working as he and the side are not scoring, stick the lad up front and give it a go, Dozzell and Grant may give us the creativitiy we need. Williams Bishop and McGoldrick will make a difference if we can get them to play more than a handful of games before they get injured.

4

Surco72 added 07:53 - Oct 14 MM still doesn't get it setting up with the same players and system to not get beat and maybe scraping a lucky 1-0 win like we did against Derby will not stop the negativity . It is the attitude , the selection , the style , the tactics not the winning or a few extra points we wont get promoted and wont go down so lets play and entertain . I am a big Harlequins fan and after their relegation they looked for new direction and invested in their academy and are now reaping the benefits of that with a chain of players coming through even to international level . But the youngsters have to play , have to make mistakes to learn , have to improve under MM this will never happen as his game plan is set in stone don't get beat , stop the opposition make the game stale and try and nick a long ball into box

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martin587 added 07:58 - Oct 14 Your the fault here MM.It's taken you three years to get to this point and your still saying the same stupid things.Listen to the supporters FOR ONCE and you just might see where the problems lie.Failing that pack your bags and go.
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Brownie added 08:02 - Oct 14 Agree with surco72.. My son plays for Braintree Town U18; they are playing Woodbridge Town Sunday. Bet my mortgage there game is more entertaining & they won't be set up for a draw. Tactics & formations are obviously important but if you keep picking the same team & it fails over a period of time it needs to be changed. I'm not confident at all we'll get anything from Blackburn. I hope I'm wrong & good luck/safe journey to all of you who are going.

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RegencyBlue added 08:27 - Oct 14 There is something you can do Mick - start playing players in their proper positions! That's an easy one to start with!!
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Count_Arthur added 08:42 - Oct 14 I'm a little bit bored of hearing "inherited a team which was bottom of the Championship and seven points from safety when he took over as manager in November 2012". Yes, we stayed up, but arguably any change of manager would have sparked a struggling team into life, after all, he did inherit the same team! If MM stays (or goes) it will say a lot as to how much Evans is really interested in our beloved Football club!

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Surco72 added 08:52 - Oct 14 Also Count Arthur it was MM s best points per game ratio with the team he inherited rather than one he has put together
8

beornioblue added 09:23 - Oct 14 fine you dont blame the players well done !! but ffs you're the manager you need to make the decisions to drop the bad performers, who knows it might make them up their game ...you know like every other single football manager does
4

vanmunt added 09:32 - Oct 14 Blah blah bottom 7 points adrift blah blah Dougie blah blah turn it round blah blah fans are idiots.. Phil save yourself an hour a week by using 'copy and paste' on these words of wisdom from our illustrious leader.
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planetblue_2011 added 09:44 - Oct 14 6 points indeed we can win both games just need to score first!! The right formation 4.4.2 we've always got a chance. Don't like the 4.3.3 - 4.5.1 formation it doesn't work!! Bart Emmanuel Knudsen Webster Berra Ward Skuse Dozzell Grant Lawrence Best Subs - Gerken, Chambers, Kenlock, Williams, Douglas, Sears, Varney Would of started Williams if was fully fit, be good to come off the bench with half hour to go!! Time for Dozzell to start, might be throwing him into the deep end but got to play at some point, so why not now. COYB

2

dugoutdave added 09:45 - Oct 14 I'm not that aware of it because I haven't been in Ipswich for the last week,” “I don't go looking for it, but of course I'm aware of the fact, even after the last game. So are you aware or not? Fluck me; seems he cant make his own mind up.
3

MattinLondon added 09:57 - Oct 14 I think he deserves a lot more respect from some on here but he doesn't really help himself. Playing the same team week after week and hoping for something different is all a bit silly.
0

strikalite added 10:03 - Oct 14 I fear we may go full circle to where he began when he took over before we see any changes now, this time though it'll be too late, we're always too late with everything...the youth, bringing players in, Ipswich Too late Town we've become, I appreciate what he did when he came in, but at what point now do the boos suddenly change to cheers? With our style of play at PR it isn't going to happen unfortunately, when we play well we scrape a winner in a scrappy game....when other teams play well they're banging in four or five...it's been like that for a long while now. We have the weakest strike force in the division right now, a lot of pressure on Best in a division that's getting tougher all the time....the buck stops with MM for being so threadbare in attack, I understand funds are limited, but to be honest he's spent money on players that haven't worked, some are still here...

8

BackTheBlues added 10:47 - Oct 14 I genuinely believe McCarthy may be running out of ideas... It worked well for 3 years, progress upon progress but for some reason he won't play the youngsters in fear of getting a beating!
3

TR11BLU added 10:57 - Oct 14 Town boss Mick McCarthy says the only way he can end the current negativity among fans is to improve performances and results Wrong again. The preferred way would be for you to pi$$ off
9

Razor added 11:09 - Oct 14 The only negativity at this club comes from you Mick. You got handsomely rewarded for keeping us up (£1m) so dont go on. How about playing Dozzell with Williams for starters, may just give us a chance of an effort on goal (remember them?).
8

Bluetone added 11:30 - Oct 14 quote the Dino "We're all doing our level best to improve on performances, improve creating chances, improve scoring goals." If that is your level best then for sure it's time for you to go.
9

woohoo added 11:40 - Oct 14 Worrying times these. I've always been prepared to give MM the benefit of the doubt as I believe he has been ham-stringed by the lack of ambition shown by the owner. However, one definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results....
7

jas0999 added 12:21 - Oct 14 Lots of talking, but tomorrow's line up will tell us whether MM wants to improve performances and entertain. Against a woeful Blackburn, we should be looking to go there and attack from minute one. We should be looking to not just score one goal and defend, but look to score two or three. If we are starting with Bru, Douglas and Skuse then clearly MM has let his ego rule. This is a must win.

7

horsehollerer added 12:24 - Oct 14 COYB!
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Pilgrimblue added 13:12 - Oct 14 Surco and Co are spot on BUT MM is so stuck in his ways that what ever he says now wont make any difference. He'll send out same team and hope that Bru or Douglas will become attacking midfielders. Trouble with MM is that if he tried youngsters and lost he'd turn round and say he was forced into team changes by fan pressure. None of his preferred midfield trio have the legs to play in the roles expected by most good managers. Dozzy must play as should Ward and Grant plus Williams and Bish when fit. Playing 442 would help too but guess it'll be 631 as MM plans for 0-0 and hopes for 0-1!!

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