Central defender Toto Nsiala says Town’s first win of the season will come soon if everyone keeps working hard and sticks together.

After nine Championship games - plus the Carabao Cup defeat at Exeter - the 23rd-placed Blues are still to taste victory under new manager Paul Hurst with 10-man Bolton frustrating them to secure a 0-0 draw on Saturday, all five of Town’s home games so far having ended level.

“It’s hard, there’s not really much to say,” Nsiala said after Saturday’s match. “It could have gone in from the skipper’s header but it didn’t.

“Things are just not going our way with luck and red cards and chances, but it’s going to turn around. That’s football sometimes.

“You go games without winning and then with the flip of a coin it starts happening for you and we’re hoping that if we keep working, we keep together with the staff, the gaffer and everyone it’ll come our way soon. We’ve just got to keep going and keep believing.”

The 26-year-old admits Town will take any sort of victory at the moment, no matter how scruffy or undeserved it might be.

“That’s exactly what’s needed at the moment - a win. It doesn’t matter how it comes, just a win to get the boys going. We’re definitely in need of one,” he said.

“It’s going to come, we’ve just got to stick together and keep going but the positives are that we’ve had a clean sheet today, which we haven’t had all season.”

Nsiala says he and his team-mates have to keep doing what they’ve been doing since the start of the season and eventually they will get that elusive first victory.

“We can’t then go back to trying to hoof the ball and not play football, we’ve got to still try and get out from the goalkicks and play football and take chances, that’s the only way we’re going to win games,” he added.

“It was hard today because they sat off. I don’t think they really pressed or came out, especially after going down to 10 men they just sat off and waited for us, which made it harder.

“Even when we went down to 10 men when Jon Walters went off they still sat off and just defended and it’s hard to find gaps and crosses when you’ve got a team of giants who are going to defend the whole box.”

Nsiala having returned to the team following his three-match ban for his controversial red card at Sheffield Wednesday, which he says was frustrating.

“It’s been hard sitting out for that many weeks and I’m just glad to be back out there and helping the lads out. It was hard watching them from the stands,” he admitted.

“It’s a good feeling that I’m back in there, bench or anything, just to be able to help the lads out.”

In addition to the red card itself, Nsiala suffered a double disappointment with his appeal dismissed by an FA Independent Regulatory Commission.

“I’ve had that before where I’ve been sent off and it’s been looked at and it wasn’t a sending off, but it’s going to happen, it’s the way the game’s going at this moment,” the DR Congo international added.

“You see those sorts of tackles in the Premier League and it’s not even a yellow card or there’s no sending off, but just on the day the ref’s seen it as a sending off and you’ve got to respect him.”

Despite the dismissal, which was widely viewed as extremely harsh at best, the former Shrewsbury man says he won’t be changing his approach to the game.

“No, if there’s anything in my way, if there’s a ball there to be won I’ll try my best to win it,” he insisted.

“That’s just how I play, I want to defend, like I said on my first day, and I want to carry on doing the same thing.”

He admits it’s frustrating that plenty of similar tackles haven't received the same reaction from referees.

“It does [make it worse],” he admitted. “The day after it happened I was watching I think a Man United game and a similar tackle happened with studs-up and there was no yellow card, there was no foul given.

“But you’ve got to respect the job, it’s a hard job, they’re going to get some decisions right and some wrong, you’ve just got to get on with it.”

Nsiala is now almost two months into his time as a Championship player, albeit a spell interrupted by the red card at Hillsborough and the suspension, and he says he has noticed he has needed to be fitter in a faster, quicker division.

“Every league that I’ve stepped up I’ve had to be fitter, that’s one of the biggest things, although I’ve lost a bit of fitness in the couple of weeks.

“Teams are a lot fitter and move quicker and the ball gets moved quicker, so it has been a big step.”

Meanwhile, the Blues’ U23s, who are top of their league table, are in action at Portman Road this evening when they take on Coventry City (KO 7pm).

Photo: TWTD

StavangerBlue added 13:06 - Sep 24 If you think this will magically come good and we will start winning you are deluded. We are in trouble.
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Westy added 13:06 - Sep 24 I like to think so, but after losing at Rotherham, Hurst said there was a great opportunity for our first win at Exeter, and we lost that. Then at Derby, Sheffield Wednesday and Hull and we lost those. Then a great chance to honour Kevin Beattie with a win against Brentford last Tuesday and we didn't. Then a great chance for our first win against 10 man Bolton and we didn't. It's easy for anyone to say We'll turn it around but we rarely even look like scoring and from what I've seen we aren't good enough to sustain it even if we do win soon.

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masetheace added 13:18 - Sep 24 The problem is obvious - you can't bring in a group with no championship experience without mixing then with proven players . end result the group are not good enough . to finish out of bottom 6 with this lot would be a success . Only saving grace is that up to this point we are not shipping loads of goals as we certainly don't look like scoring many
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Gcon added 13:21 - Sep 24 With no goal scorers in the team it's hard to see it turning around. And you don't get much luckier than having a player on the opposing team sent off in the first half.
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The_Great_Cornholio added 13:22 - Sep 24 It's gonna take a lot to get any wins from you There's nothing that a hundred Hurst's or Doig could ever do I bless the youth down with Bryan Klug Gonna take some time to play the kids we've always had (helps if you sing it)
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ronnyblue added 13:25 - Sep 24 Reading the comments from Hurst and his low cost signings they all appear to be at a different match to the one I am watching. The comments are so self promoting but are so full of self pity they are embarrassing! When will Hurst have the decency to admit the job is too big for him and save us from further embarrassment and resign to allow someone to rescue us !
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scants_itfc added 13:29 - Sep 24 I can;t see where a win is going to come from, and with the inexperience we have we might scrape a win but then be on a high and get ruined by another average championship team the next game. I would personally give Hurst 1 more month and if he hasnt turned it round we need to go and get an experienced manager. I was positive about Hurst but it is always a risk and one which hasn't paid off. Yes we wanted more exciting football, but isnt a big enough gap from last season to say the change has been warranted. A couple of boring wins might just do the trick again. The flip side is lets be encouraged by a season in league 1 next year where with a couple of experienced heads we should be good enough to come back up. I suppose if I was stretching for a positive amongst the many negatives, I would have taken being a place above Preston at the start of the season, a team many predicted as solid play-off candidates

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christiand added 13:35 - Sep 24 Not going our way because we don't do enough in games to force the issue and don't look capable of doing it either!! 26 attempts on target in 9 league games speaks volumes and really no surprise where we find ourselves in the league table.
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Karlosfandangal added 13:37 - Sep 24 Itfc58 I don't blame Evans for dismantling the side I blame Hurst as he identified the players Evans just brought them. Evans has put a lot of money in to the club over the years. Evans has to take the blame for hiring Hurst.
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runningout added 13:37 - Sep 24 Nsiala is a brilliant defender in the making, which is one bonus I suppose
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Skip73 added 15:00 - Sep 24 What a load of b***ocks! The team isn't good enough.
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ronnyblue added 15:57 - Sep 24 When is Evans going to be brave ed6nough to put us out of our misery and sacked the deadly duo
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beornioblue added 16:50 - Sep 24 not when we have all the attacking intent of a trifle
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cat added 17:28 - Sep 24 It ain't been a great start to the season, no doubting that, but it could have been far worse. I'm still of a semi positive mindset that with a win things will change in our favour. Mid table was the expectation at the start of the season and I still think that's achievable. I've enjoyed attending games, Saturday was frustrating, 1st half against Brentford was poor, but other than that the match days have been enjoyable.

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planetblue_2011 added 17:35 - Sep 24 Think hurst needs to play some of our young talent, Dozzell & Downes being 2 & give Kenlock a run in the team. Feel sorry for Myles he can't seem to get in the side, think he's decent & he gets forward with the ball. We have our own young blooded talent at the club, give them a run Hurst you might be surprised the first win could come sooner than you think.
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Skip73 added 17:36 - Sep 24 We could be looking at a record low points total this season with this chump in charge.
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Henrietta_R_Hippo added 17:48 - Sep 24 Yep @Town_Blue17 it's "Sports Science" at the absolute highest level that Dozzel plays again & gain for the U23 and not the 1st team! lol Would advice you & others of the same persuasion not to waste your time trying to "think with" Mr. Hurst though! Personally I gave up on him Saturday evening, although its only 9 league games in + yet another humiliating League Cup exit to much lower opposition). The otherwise quote "likable" man is clearly out of his depth as a manager at this level, while also begin needlessly stubborn (his fixation with the "Lone Attacker " is just one example of this), overly "favorizing" certain players, in some cases regardless of performance or consistency of performances, just outright naive in a whole bunch of strategic aspects and even susceptible to at least appear as being utterly clueless in others! Give him and his abundance of bland newcomers "time to gel" some say. But 1) Not only have he had his time, incl 2 weeks of international break, where upon him & his ragtag team of lower league acquisitions, emergency loanees + the 3 "undroppable proper blokes" as a unit subsequently responded by playing their poorest game yet (vs. Hull) but 2) he also keeps making weekly changes to the personnel, and in most observers' opinion that involves starting or not substituting a sizable chunk of the ""Wrong personnel"! So combined with him even having begun to recurringly betraying his own on-arrival fabulous sounding ball-to-feet ideology (for MM-esque HoofBall 101) how can he ever get them "to gel" as a unit anytime REMOTELY SOON I ask??? Also we have had an indisputable very *gentle* schedule so far -- and btw up until November 24 we will meet another 4-5 teams not currently functioning in one way or another -- and yet not a single win, most recently against a 10 man crappy Bolton for nearly 60 min!, so spare me for this "But look, we are still unbeaten at home" ultra thin defense-lawyer talk, please. Besides Bolton we should also have beaten both Norwich & Blackburn. Period.

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Henrietta_R_Hippo added 18:06 - Sep 24 BTW to all those thinking Hurst will get the ax any time soon, perhaps this special JOB CENTER page will interest you! https://www.thesackrace.com/job-centre ...It's a mighty long list from A to Z, but lo & behold, I can already reveal that MM is not currently "linked with" a return to PR! ...Phew :-D :-D Hurst was not my personal choice, by far, but once appointed NATURALLY I wanted him to succeed... But after him and Evans totally dissected the team incl.loaned 90% of our best youth products in the last week of the transfer window, I already then started to lose faith... and with the exception of the aberration that was half no. 2 vs. Brentford, game after game said faith evaporates even further and for good & very visible reasons I might add! However I don't seriously believe Scrooge Evans will give him any shorter leash than we as fans are historically painfully accustomed to here at Ipswich with this awesome & super football knowledgeable owner. So while not personally encouraging anyone, maybe it won't be too long before someone starts singing out loud a new sort of ITFC motto at the games : "In Hurst We Burst" ???

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Dissboyitfc added 20:59 - Sep 24 Bedsitfc says:- "One deflected goal or one moment of brilliance will change our fortunes" We had a lucky equaliser against Blackburn, we got a deflected goal against Norwich! Brilliance was provided by Jacksons goal against Brentford! I am really not feeling this, needs more than one piece of luck or one piece of brilliance!
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armchaircritic59 added 21:26 - Sep 24 I have to say that PH was not amongst my first 4/5 choices for the job, but despite that, i still very much hope he can turn things around. For the record i was very much hoping it was going to be either Gary White (brilliant record with various international minnows and leaves a really good structure in his wake, just appoined manager/coach of Hong Kong!) or Maurice Steijn, currently at VVV Venlo in the Dutch Premier League, who are as of now, 6th of 18, with only PSV having conceeded fewer goals (1 less). If it comes to the point when ME pushes the panic button, please let it be one of these two he turns to!

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finidigeorge88 added 01:42 - Sep 25 Agree with Barham Blue, we have no championship quality. Ipswich Fans are the most deluded group of supporters i have ever come across in my life. If you want to get out of this league then you need to spend money and if you don't you will YoYo between league 1 and the championship. We have no threat, No creativity and tbf we have spent a fair amount of cash on some absolute garbage. We let go 48 goals of the 60 we scored last year so what can we all expect?? I actually don't know who we are going to be beat? We have played Rotherham, Blackburn, Bolton, Hull who were all down there last season. It is going to be a very long season and we are definitely going down.

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GiveusaWave added 08:19 - Sep 25 We need serious investment in January in order to avoid relegation. A proper creative midfielder and a new striker are a must. I do think we will do ok defensively this season and we are restricting the ability of other teams to create chances....but our strikers are league 1/2 at best....and our midfield pass the ball around a lot with no end product. I've seen nothing from Nolan so far to suggest that he is able to step up to this level. One poster called him "the Championship Paul Scholes" when he was signed. Hmmm..... I do side with finidigeorge88 that we will go down if we don't have this investment.....might grind out a few 0-0's between now and the end of the season but nothing more. If we do make these signings...we could see ourselves quickly shoot up the table. I hope the club considers the long-term financial impact of relegation and makes those signings.

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dirtydingusmagee added 09:57 - Sep 25 cant see us surviving, could even be relegated before end of season if there isnt an improvement soon .We have failed against teams that we should have beaten, too many tough games ahead fort this team to amass many points. Think when Hurst was hyped up to be the saviour it went to his head, came in with players he knew ,but they are not up to the standard required, Hurst ,looks like an embarrassed school kid in interviews, i think the penny has dropped .

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BrettenhamBlue added 11:05 - Sep 25 Think we will end up sticking with Hurst until it is no longer feasible to do so. The next person will then take over the reins, managing a team full of players who aren't able to play at this level. Doomed job for whoever that next manager is. Next season, our Championship players (Bart, Chambers, Skuse and co) will leave, leaving us with this lot to fight it out in league 1. Time will tell if this team has what it takes to be promoted at the first time of asking. The fact that we are a sinking ship hurts, especially with Norwich in the ascendency. I am starting to believe our new manager hasn't got a clue.

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dirtydingusmagee added 16:29 - Sep 25 he talked the talk and convinced Evans he could do it without additional money,but he cant walk the walk. Teams are in different leagues for a reason , we are a league one team now, .
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