Blues boss Mick McCarthy wasn’t unhappy with Town’s display despite their 1-0 defeat by Sheffield United at Portman Road as they exited the FA Cup at the third round stage for the eighth successive season.

“My assessment is I thought we played well up until the goal,” he said. “I’m not unhappy with the performance.

“I’ve just been asked if I was unhappy with the performance. No, I’m not unhappy with the performance, I’m unhappy with the result.

“And it probably sums this moment in this time up when we have an appeal for a penalty turned down [when Daniel Lafferty appeared to handle Luke Chambers’s early header].

“It could have been given but I’ve no idea what a penalty is now having seen them all this week. But it did hit his hand and it could have been given.

“And then [Nathan Thomas] hits one right in the top corner, that was the difference in the game, certainly in the first half.”

Asked whether he was disappointed that his team didn’t create more in the second half, he said: “It was just our final pass, our final cross wasn’t good. They’re a good side, they defended well, they sat back in and made it difficult to break them down.”

Towards the end the crowd made their frustrations known for the first time in a couple of months.

“It’s only been waiting, it’s only been in the background, it’s never gone away,” McCarthy reflected.

Did he understand the reaction with Town not registering a shot on target? “I can’t really control people’s emotions or reactions, can I? I can only do my best to try and get the team to win games.

“And if we do I guess we get cheered and if we don’t, at this moment, I guess we get jeered and people are wanting change. I can’t help that.

“I think they’re a bit sick of the same old and they want a change, don’t they? I guess that’s understandable. But for the moment that’s not happening.”

The prevailing mood going into the game was less than positive with supporters concerned at players potentially moving on.

Asked whether he understands given that and another early cup exit why spirits among the support might be low at present, he added: “I go back to my earlier comment, with the players I have at my disposal I try and make sure that they play as well as they do and what they always do is give everything, to be fair to them, and try and get a result. And we need to get one asap.”

Defender Tommy Smith is close to joining the Colorado Rapids, Kieffer Moore Barnsley, while David McGoldrick has been linked with Cardiff and Birmingham, and Crystal Palace have shown interest in Bartosz Bialkowski, although we understand have now moved on to another target - understood to be Getafe's Vicente Guaita - following discussions with the Blues this week.

Regarding New Zealand international Smith’s absence from today's squad, he said: “He’s poorly today.”

Quizzed on the interest from the Colorado Rapids, which TWTD reported earlier this afternoon, he added: “Apparently so. I haven’t seen any pictures tweeted in the first class lounge in Heathrow yet, so I’m hoping he’s still poorly. Well, not hoping he’s still poorly, but you know what I mean.

Asked whether he knows anything about the proposed switch, he added: “I’ve not spoken to Colorado Rapids.”

McCarthy says he is not actively looking to sell players - “I’m not looking to get shot of players, no” - and neither is owner Marcus Evans: “No, we’ve got to have a team that competes. We were on the back of the top six four weeks ago. I’d like to be tagging along the back of that again. I don’t want to be getting shot of players.”

The Town boss says it's not the case that the club is giving up on the season with the Blues 12th, still only seven points off the top six.

“We need to get a win. Let’s not start looking at the play-offs, let’s start turning it around and making sure we get a victory," he added.

"We’ve got Leeds coming here next week, it’s not going to be easy, and we need to win really.”

Blades boss Chris Wilder thought his team ought to have made the margin of victory more comfortable after the break.

“I think we had some good chances just after half-time to take the game away from the opposition, so we were a bit frustrated that we didn’t," he said.

“Both teams made a few changes and fortunately our changes were maybe just a touch better on the day than the opposition changes.”

Regarding Thomas’s brilliant winner, he added: “A good goal, a good strike.”

Photo: TWTD

therein61 added 07:57 - Jan 7 Just sums him up he doesn't give a toss he's happy with an abject performance and will continue to defend the indefensible while taking his fat salary
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bobble added 07:59 - Jan 7 at least its easy to pick the results again..
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dirtydingusmagee added 09:19 - Jan 7 Sick Parrot havnt you been following Swn and Gcon .
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dirtydingusmagee added 09:23 - Jan 7 Brittania next time take Swn with you and stick him in one of those empty seats so he can actually see the game, [he will need a couple of cushions to raise him up a bit .]
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brittaniaman added 09:45 - Jan 7 dirtydingusmagee : That sound like a good idea ? because there will be more empty seats than ever the way things are going !! Next Saturday there will probably be more Leeds supporters than Town supporters. By the way is Dino still here ???
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Warkys_Tash added 10:17 - Jan 7 Really? Deluded. No entertainment on offer whatsoever. Woeful.
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WoodfordTim added 10:54 - Jan 7 After the collapse at Fulham, we needed a win to give players & fans a much needed lift. The Leeds game is a week away, so why have our two best strikers start on the bench?
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oldblue added 10:58 - Jan 7 you know the saddest thing about yesterday...there were lots of parents with their young children possibly attending their first games due to the low ticket price...on a very cold day with no excitement...not even a goal or a shot on the opposition goal to cheer and create a reason to come again...these are the future...the type of fans that the club is supposed to want ..not us old boys ...and I fear they will not feel the kind of excitement I felt when I first stepped into Portman Road and was captivated by the atmosphere and the occasion . they may not return again preferring other activities .And also sad...the club are happy to let this continue without any action to change things whether that be MM/TC ME or and increased playing budget .

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Rensham added 11:25 - Jan 7 “With the players I have at my disposal I try and make sure that they play as well as they do and what they always do is give everything, to be fair to them, and try and get a result.” That isn't a valid explanation. Have there ever been any managers that don't do that?? Are we really paying £1m+ for this genius??
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Bluejake added 12:27 - Jan 7 My first Town game was the one in 1962 against Floriana. Since then there have been some highs but in recent years just about all lows. I've tried to keep the faith but now I'm just fed up of trying. I just couldn't give a stuff how my team get on any more, feel nothing but apathy for the way the present regime run and manage the club and also feel very bitter towards them all for letting this happen to my team.

8

1966 added 12:44 - Jan 7 Getting Boring Now Mick , Don't Mug us Fans Off with Comments like That , Football is About Being Entertained Not Boring us To Death . Just Go ....
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Seasider added 13:57 - Jan 7 If Mick McCarthy and Marcus Evans are not unhappy with that display,then they jolly well should be. We know McCarthy is;but what about his boss,who was rumoured to be there.I don't know how often the invisible man attends or instead relies on reports from his dummy Milne;but if he bothers to look at the results and League table,he will see that once again his club are heading for 17 years in this division,or worse. This is the man who sacked Jim Magilton saying he did not consider him to have the ability to get Ipswich promoted to the top flight.Neither did Keane,Jewell and now McCarthy. For it is a false economy to hang onto him until the end of the season with attendances and performances steadily diminishing.If he were to get rid of now there would be a reverse certainly in attendances ,and hopefully a bounce from a new Manager;so I feel he wouldn't be out of pocket. However who knows what he thinks as he never even attends AGM's. My enthusiasm for the Town are at a 55 year low,and I know that many feel the same as me.

12

DoseOfReality added 14:04 - Jan 7 McCarthy you are a clown Sort it Evans or clear off Club is a joke
5

shakytown added 15:11 - Jan 7 Last time i'm getting up in the early hours here in New Zealand for the games. No reason to even hope for win now with a moronic git for a manager and players who just either don't care or are not good enough.
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Rensham added 19:24 - Jan 7 “I saved the club from relegation and I've had three top 10 finishes and the one time I have a bad season then people have turned their backs on me, which is a bit of a surprise and it's disappointing. “But hey ho, I'm not walking away from here, I have a year's contract to run and unless something else is done then no, I'm not walking away from it. I'll be here and I'll be planning for next season and then taking up the option of another two years"

2

pants426 added 21:42 - Jan 7 Sleepy Suffolk needs to stir and protest with it's feet, ie get a gate lower than this weekend and protest! As peeps have already alluded to, no other club or support would put up with this total disregard to the fans along with some shocking Footballing Management, Evans will realise then when he losing more money!!! Been a fan for 40+ years and never seen things so bad!

4

bluetit added 13:10 - Jan 8 First town game i'd been to in a while, left in the 35th minute. I hadn't realised how bad it really is & that is not just the management and quality of football but the fans too. Silent, its no wonder nobody sings anymore if thats what they have to watch week in and week out. Why waste your money, I only urge more fans to take a stand and not spend pennies while the club is this way. (Cracking Chicken and Balti pie though)

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oldegold added 13:19 - Jan 8 McCarthy's post-match comments of being happy with that performance just about summed our club's demise at present and how on earth can anyone be happy with no shots on target against a reserve line-up of a club in our own division? If he had any respect he would fall on his sword and go as he made no attempt to win the game. It was also a smack in the face of supporters who have been baying for a cup run..especially with the 40th anniversary, as if it made any difference to him...

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Bluroo added 13:53 - Jan 8 Another Cup game thrown... The whole ethos of this club is to hibernate and not loose money. That's why Dino is so cocky, he knows his position is solid and tactics are justifiable as long as he stays out of trouble. But sport is supposed to be about competition, not merely existing for financial sake. Sometimes I think relegation would be the best thing that could happen to this club. It might force a new dawn.

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juniorblue added 19:53 - Jan 8 I am so disappointed with MM's comments. He is showing no respect to fans who pay hard earned money to watch the team. I fear for our club at the moment. Season after season of underachieving is going to take some turning around. Marcus Evans needs to act now, if he really does care. But does he???.....
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massivemole added 20:10 - Jan 8 Stevie Wonder, said we played a blinder ;-)
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