Town boss Mick McCarthy felt the first goal was key as his side battled their way through the first half before putting in a more entertaining performance after the break to claim a 3-0 victory over Preston North End at Portman Road.

Asked whether it was a game of two halves, McCarthy said: “Yes, because there was some entertainment in the second half. But it was what was required.

“There are all sorts of ways to win a football match. I’ve been in the Championship long enough to know there’s a team coming to play against us that’s going to be pretty tough and resolute and that’s what we were going to have to be and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

“And the one bit of quality in the first half was the move before the goal. But if you want to start a game like that and think we’re going to be a nice football team, you suddenly get your arses kicked and they’d be on the front foot and they’d be doing it.

“So, having nicked it, it was a really good move. Waggy wins the freekick and he dispatches it nicely.

“In the second half we’ve started well and it always looks better when you’ve scored three goals. If it had ended up 0-0 they’d have booed the s–- out of me, so everybody’s happy.”

Waghorn’s freekick, his eighth goal of the season, followed Celina’s similar set piece at Burton last week, but McCarthy felt both keepers ought to have done better.

“I think I’d have saved them both,” he insisted. “I’m not kidding either! I don’t give a monkey’s about that.

“I’m complaining about us making mistakes on Tuesday night and it ends up in our net. For all Bersant’s was a decent strike last week, if Bart had let it in I’d have been fuming.

“And if Bart had moved four yards and let the other one in today, I’d have been even more fuming.

“But I don’t think we get too many breaks and much luck, we’ve earned that bit and it was our day today.”

The Blues boss was more impressed with Celina’s second-half goal, his sixth of the season and his third in three games.

Like Tom Lawrence last season, the Kosovo international appears to be holding his own goal of the season competition.

“I don’t think his freekick will be in that,” McCarthy added. “As important as it was and how valuable it was and how much it meant to me and to us, I don’t think that’s going to get the goal of the season, or Waggy’s.

“But the third one today was fabulous. He’s been terrific, he really has. But as for all the furore about him, he’s had to learn my ways, what I expect of him and, to be fair to him, he’s done it, he works very hard, he’s great.

“He’s extremely fit, a great athlete. But even at 3-0 we got a chance to break and he ended up giving it away twice and they ended up breaking on us and I’m pulling my hair out because he’s been brilliant. But if I stop doing that, nail the lid down.”

He added: “I can’t teach Bersant much about skills, tricks and dribbling. But City sent him here to learn about discipline and working hard — and without that he won’t be a player.”

The Town boss says the first goal is important in the Championship: “It makes us all feel better and gives you a bit of momentum. In any league it’s important.”

He says Waghorn’s strike didn’t make a huge difference to his team-talk: “No, it would have been much the same. All it was that I had a better ‘well done’ to say because it was a proper scrap.

“Adam Webster, that was the best game for me that. He was different class, he was playing against a really good, big handful [Jordan Hugill] and it was nice to see him on his arse and not Adam, although he was a few times. But he got up and he kept challenging.

“And it wasn’t for his silky running out with the ball, it was for that clean sheet. He was different class.”

McCarthy received criticism from some sections of the support for making six changes at Cardiff in midweek. Does he feel vindicated following today’s result and performance?

“I just avoided swearing there! What would have come after I don’t give a?” he joked. “Yeah, I saw Alex Neil say something about how he went down and he shouldn’t have gone. Well, is it my job to get results?

“And I tell you what was important as well, having had the Burton result, we could have got beaten at Cardiff whatever team we put out.

“And you know what have happened then? They’d all have come back here and got in a quarter to four in the morning and we’d have lost and they’d have been playing here in a ‘must-win’.

“I’ve got a squad of probably 19 players, it’s my job to pick and choose and we weren’t that bad at Cardiff. We just gave a lousy goal away after half-time, we were in the game in the first half.

“So, I’ve explained it better than I was going to when you first asked, and I hope that is sufficient.”

Regarding Cole Skuse, who went off injured in the first half, he said: “Skusey’s got his leg in a brace, it always looks worse. We’ll assess it tomorrow. [Physio] Matt Byard will assess it and find out.

“Kevin Bru’s been great, he certainly wasn’t going to play a full game today, not having played a full game on Tuesday night.

“I thought Callum Connolly was different class, to be quite honest. He’s had to go and play in midfield, not had to, I knew he could do it.

“Kevin’s been excellent, I can’t really express my thoughts any more than I did on Tuesday night about how professional he’s been. Very good.”

McCarthy admits that Skuse and Connolly wasn’t a midfield pairing he expected to be playing.

“I think it shows the commitment of the players to actually go and play in there,” he continued. “‘Cal, fancy that?’, ‘No problem, I’ll go and play’. You all know that wouldn’t have been the midfield pairing, but it worked anyway.”

Preston manager Alex Neil felt Town’s opening goal came during his team’s best period of the match.

“Disappointing, the first half it was a scrappy game really,” he said. “They got a freekick from which they led after probably our best part of the game. I thought we had a five or 10-minute spell where they put four or five crosses into the box and looked threatening.

“I don’t think they’d had a shot at our goal up until that stage. Whether it was a freekick or not I’m not sure, but I think [keeper Chris Maxwell] gambles to go over to the side of the wall and the lad Waghorn puts it in the far corner.

“I think from that point it was really disappointing going in at half-time 1-0 down because I didn’t think there was anything in the match, I thought it was really scrappy until that point.

“And then in the second half, we came out and one cross comes into the box, it was a bad header at the back post and it ends up 2-0.

“At that point you’re chasing the game. We can kid ourselves that after that that we played well, but we didn’t. We kept the ball because they allowed us to but didn’t really have too much in the way of chances afterwards.

“The fact is I’ll take full responsibility, I picked the team. My biggest disappointment is for the Preston fans who travelled down so far to watch that because it certainly wasn’t good enough.”

Photo: TWTD

delias_cheesy_flaps added 07:43 - Nov 5 35% possession says a lot about the managers footballing ambitions! Luckily of the 5 shots we got on target during the course of 94 minutes we scored 3, a good statistic for a change! A great result, but still very little in the way of footballing entertainment, which is why the fans are not coming back to PR and I doubt they will be until MM leaves or goes IMHO.

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MickMillsTash added 09:25 - Nov 5 Good result - a centre back playing full back a full back playing centre mid Rule Number 1 Not conceding and we did this If we had more of the ball it would highlight our lack of quality on the ball at right back If we can get Ademyi and Huws back over the international break we will be a very difficult team to play against - its a tough run of games coming up but I'm optimistic

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Rensham added 09:32 - Nov 5 Connolly's position is going to be midfield according to Joe Royle. A young fit talented England Int isn't a good replacement for an ageing tired and limited Skuse??
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blueboy1981 added 09:52 - Nov 5 ........ any chance he gets he just has to have a pop at FLAIR players - this Manager seriously has a problem. Bang as many Goals in as you can Celina whilst you're here, and of course given a chance to ... !! - and when you go back to Man City give the man a two fingered salute. Get this Dinosaur out of our Club - and progressively return to being the Footballing Club that everyone in the game knew us for. We have the mechanism within to do that right now - but we have a Manager who doesn't understand that you don't have to run through brick walls, and run around like a headless chicken, to be a good player. Cue Celina.

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baxter7 added 11:06 - Nov 5 Dont wish injury to any player but hope skuse will be out for the season so we can get a player who can pass a ball forward instead of sidewards or backwards
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Bluetone added 12:04 - Nov 5 Quote blueboy " any chance he gets he just has to have a pop at FLAIR players - this Manager seriously has a problem." Reason is quite simple its the memory of the flair players he could only stop by foul means. Its his own lack of flair that is the root of the problem.
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cat added 12:17 - Nov 5 If we were to change 3 ‘MEMBERS' (lol) of the current set up, consisting of McCarthy, Skuse and Chambers then I believe we have the makings of a team capable of achieving something. Unfortunately they come as a package so there's little to no hope of this happening any time soon. Remove these 3, bring in a proper footballing manager who fits with our traditions & entertains, then I will definitely purchase a season ticket soon as. It's not all about the results with ITFC, if it was then we would be supporting another team or forever being clinically depressed!

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cjwinthesun added 12:53 - Nov 5 So who do you suggest is a ‘proper footballing manager' that will make you rush to buy a season ticket? An example would be?
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cat added 13:25 - Nov 5 cjwinthesun - judging by your rather forthright & almost pished off sounding post it will be interesting to hear your opinions as they appear to differ from mine? Each to their own in my book, but probably not in your case! The big factor will be who's available at the time when MM finally departs, but as you've called me out so to speak I will give you a name - Ryan Giggs, probably affordable, footballing philosophy, looking for a job, available now & with good connections in the game. I also believe we would be the ideal club for him to learn managerial skills and he would be great in developing our exciting crop of youths. So over to you…

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norfolkbluey added 14:54 - Nov 5 I think Hogster1970 has hit the right note. I don't like naming players who are better out of the team but having Bru back in the side makes all the difference. We now have an excellent attacking set of forwards and a mid field with more creativity. I am no fan of Dino but credit where due he got it right with this match. Well done all those involved. Martin 1970 good to see you still have an opinion worth listening to. Fram hey!

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The_Romford_Blue added 16:00 - Nov 5 Ryan Giggs? You mean the horrible bastard of a bloke who also has absolutely zero managerial experience? That Ryan giggs? Lol
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Skip73 added 17:22 - Nov 5 I get the impression that Celina my be a bit arrogant at times so McCarthy criticises him to keep his feet on the ground. Not a fan of the style we play but credit where crecits due, 3-0 and 7th place is great. COYB!!
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JimInGreensboro added 17:43 - Nov 5 Resting players... the subs worked and I guess it kept the legs fresh, but it must be tough for a miner or a farmer or a soldier to understand how a guy can't play 90 minutes of football every 5 days, away or not.
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pragmatic added 19:16 - Nov 5 Dissapointing day for mick outers 3 goals 3 points! Yes you are entitled to your opinions but seems you don't give a toss for supporting the players on the pitch!
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Sospiri added 00:08 - Nov 6 I'm so sick of Mick's post-match comments. He's paid a fortune to manage our club, but takes every opportunity possible to criticise the fans. Doesn't he realise that this is not going to endear him to the fans, the people that ultimately pay his wages? On his money, I would expect him to rise above the criticism he receives, but he doesnt, because he can't. He can't rise above it, and for that reason - and the fact that he always sets out not to lose - I've had enough of him, and just wish he would go now.

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Bluroo added 09:41 - Nov 6 I wish he'd shut up about "hard work" as though its some sort of USP of his team. Nearly all teams work just as hard, its professional sport. But what about dynamism, creativity, speed, style and tactics? Its a mix of characteristics that define teams and Micks teams are defined by a negative, defensive, bland approach. Its not about the results anymore. When ITFC got off to a good start this season Mick and his supporters were boasting about how well it was going - but I saw some of those matches, take Brentford at home for example, it was plain as day that the result belied the performance - we had 10 men behind the ball lumping it upfield, for 45 minutes. In our SECOND home match of the season. That is not entertainment. Mick loves to justify his existence on a lack of funds and the performance of the team in that context - we're just a point from the playoffs. Yes Mick, but we're a million miles from playing the kind of football most of us want to watch, a million miles from being ready for promotion and a million miles from there being a sense of positivity and progression around the club. For those reasons, results are irrelevant at this point.

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bluetit added 10:54 - Nov 6 First of all, one minute you all want Mick gone, now you love the guy again? (Calm your horses) We beat Preston, PRESTON. We should be beating Preston, we haven't spent much but we do have some good players in our side. Sort the defence out and get a few more clean sheets in upcoming matches and I'll be happy. We can score goals there is no question in that area of our game, tighten up that defence and top 6 isn't unrealistic.

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Razor added 11:17 - Nov 6 Methinks Mick must have thought Cardiff was a cup game so just gave the game away----not much fun for those of us who travelled down there. On Saturday he picked exactly the right team and I
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Bluroo added 15:07 - Nov 6 Quote: Can we all just accept that we hate the style of football.. mick is a moaning ol sod.. he plays players out of position.. we love our club dearly... but without investment from a mr Evans we cannot expect anything better than the position where we are? I'd accept a worse position not to have micks attitude and brand of football anywhere near the club. Frankly I'd accept relegation as the price to pay for a new era of ownership, management and watchable football.

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