A clearly hurting Flynn Downes spoke to the media following last night’s 3-0 defeat at AFC Wimbledon and the midfielder admitted the result and the performance were far from good enough.

Asked to put a tough night into words, Downes said: “Obviously the result stinks, 3-0. It isn’t good enough from us, we know that. We knew their game plan, two big strikers in the box, put balls in, but we didn’t deal with it. That was the story of the game.”

The 22-year-old says he gets why fans are losing heart regarding the play-off push with the Blues now ninth, five points off the top six with only six games left to play.

“That’s understandable,” he said. “We should be winning games like this easily, and we’ve lost 3-0. It’s not good enough. I don’t know what to say really.

“We’re not out of it yet. Obviously it’s harder now but we’re not out of it. We’ve still got that in the back of our heads and we’ve got to put it right.”

Asked why things are going so badly, Downes admitted: “If I knew the problem I’d sort it. Honestly, I haven’t got a clue. I haven’t got a clue.”

Are the players feeling the pressure? “No, I wouldn’t say it’s that. Honestly, I don’t know what to say, it’s not good enough, that’s all I know. The boys are trying but it’s not good enough.”

The Brentwood-born schemer says the players are hurt by the criticism they have been faced as a second successive League One campaign drifts to a mid-table finish.

“Obviously it hurts a lot, you want to be getting praised and winning games and doing all that,” he said.

“But it’s not happening for us at the minute. We’re drawing, obviously losing tonight. It’s not good enough, we should be winning these, we should be winning these comfortably, but it’s not happening. There’s something wrong.”

Downes was very evidently hurting: “Yes, I ain’t sleeping tonight. It is what it is, that’s the industry. But we’ll go again on Saturday.”

He added: “Honestly I’m speechless. We’ve lost 3-0. We knew what they were going to do - two big geezers in the box, put it in there and we didn’t deal with it.

“That’s cost us the game. We’ve got to go back, watch it all back and sort ourselves out really.”

Downes says his team-mates are similarly hurting: “I suppose everyone deals with it in different ways. It’s hurts me a lot. It shouldn’t be happening. It should not be happening.”

Manager Paul Cook was also evidently feeling the same way: “He’s very passionate and we want to play like that. It’s not a fair reflection on him either.”

He added: “Losing 3-0 is not good, it’s going to damage the confidence. But we’ve got to go in tomorrow and try and put it right on Saturday.”

On a more positive note, Downes is pleased to be back on the field after just under a month out with a hamstring problem.

“I’m happy to be back out there but I want to help the team. Losing 3-0 isn’t doing that,” he reflected. “I’m glad I’m back playing, getting my fitness back.”

Looking back at his season as a whole, the former England U19 and U20 international says he has had a frustrating time.

“For me it’s been horrible,” he continued. “Injured, I’ve just been injured basically. I did my knee and that’s basically it. Got back to fitness, then got injured again. Touch wood it doesn’t happen again.”

A plus for the Blues at the weekend was fellow academy alumnus Tristan Nydam making his first senior appearance in two years following his lengthy spell out injured.

Downes was pleased to see Nydam make his return: “Big time. He’s been putting in the work over the last year. It was good to see him back and he did well when he came on, he did really well. He’s a good one to have back.”

He believes the midfielder could have a big season next year: “Definitely. You saw it in the Championship under Mick he was playing week in, week out. He’s got unbelievable quality. Once his fitness comes he’ll be a standout player for definite.”

Photo: TWTD

Wooly74 added 21:07 - Apr 14 OMG some of the comments on here are comical! Downes captain, behave yourself, he can't even keep his own temperament in order let alone 10 other players. Massively over rated and still hasn't done anything worth talking about. Look at his goals to game ratio and before people remind me that he is a defensive midfielder, remember he is playing in the third level of English football not the top flight. Toe poke Toto is a liability, nice bloke don't get me wrong, but a disaster waiting to happen most games. I at least agree with the comments to ship Huws, Sears, Ward, Chambers, Skuse out and go for some experienced higher level players to make the club great again. Top of my shopping list (and I do believe that they would come) would be Noble of West Ham, Joe Ward, Scott Dann or even Gary Cahill of Crystal Palace along with a proven striker of height such as Hal Robson Kanu of WBA. All these players are out of contract and would probably relish a one season contract to help get Ipswich back in the Championship, especially if it led to a potential coaching role. We need proven quality to help bring on the young lads, Dozzell has stood still now for too long, he has no quality around him, what is Dyer doing with him on the training ground? Too many questions and not enough answers coming out of what is the worst squad in my 40 years of going regularly!!!

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Drifter3012 added 21:25 - Apr 14 I would keep Downes, but captain? That I am not convinced of. And to come out and say the players are hurt by the criticism they have received sounds a bit petulant. If any of us fail at our jobs through incompetence we can expect some form of criticism . If they at least put the effort in and then lost, the criticism would not be so extensive. I would not be surprised if Cook brings in a few veterans possibly with a couple of seasons still in them from the PL or Championship and one of those I hope will have a proven track record as a captain.

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dukey44 added 21:56 - Apr 14 Sorry but should it not be the captain explaining the result... Not seen him put his fingers in his ears lately.... Fist pump captain is about all he gives the team.. Leadership don't make me laugh......
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Skip73 added 22:47 - Apr 14 The team needs 3 or 4 proper blokes to sort out the snowflakes that currently play for the club.
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reva added 01:33 - Apr 15 Is there a problem with the team we seem to be overlooking? At the beginning of the season we were winning games - ok it's been a downward spiral since then - but has everyone in our large pool of players suddenly become spineless? We haven't been able to score goals - or even find the target - are all our strikers suddenly useless? I am one who has welcomed PC but since his arrival we've suddenly become even worse than we were. So is there something deeper going on? we get players and others all saying the right things - but are they hiding something we are not privy to? It's as though no one in the team can be bothered turning up on match day! I don't believe that every player has decided they are for the chop so why bother. I think the problem is bigger than lets get rid of the lot and get new in - be interested in others thoughts.

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JewellintheTown added 04:54 - Apr 15 To be fair, his main point of winning games easily is right. If at this level we can't bang goals in for fun, what chance do we have of survival or promotion in the Championship or higher? Hopefully summer clear out & dust settling will leave him here surrounded with new decent players to build that solid mentality with so we do get promoted & hold our own the following season. Looking forward to a decent summer clearing out now.

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brassy added 07:16 - Apr 15 that town away kit must be the worst ever get rid asap coyb.
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BettyBlue added 07:27 - Apr 15 if we win every game and everyone else loses theirs, there's still a mathematical......
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Kirbmeister added 08:10 - Apr 15 Good on him for those brave words but where's the evidence that we should be beating these teams? I'd say we're pretty much on par with teams like Wimbledon. Our top scorer has 6 goals. Wimbledon worked out a way of scoring, something we are incapable of doing. Roll on summer. I want to see nearly all these players gone. Not sure where all the better players are going to come from but I trust PC to sort it out in the next 2 or 3 years.

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Barty added 08:28 - Apr 15 Downes is one of the few players worth keeping but he is not captain material
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Barty added 09:06 - Apr 15 This is without doubt the worst squad this great club has ever had
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Barty added 09:15 - Apr 15 League Goals from our so called strikers this season - Norwood 6 , Sears 1 , Drinan 1 , Hawkins 1 , Jackson 1 , Parrot 1 [ Pretty impressive hey !!!!!!!! ]
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Europablue added 09:51 - Apr 15 havinit69 To be fair to him he was probably talking about buckling under the weight of expectation. Having said that there does seem to be a problem of them not feeling under pressure to perform, it helps them relax into mediocracy and below.
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Europablue added 10:01 - Apr 15 norfolkbluey Unfortunately, there aren't as many players with character these days in general. I would dearly love for football to become more about the love of the team and the game in general as well as making your town proud. The reason why Norwich keep on getting promoted is because they keep on getting relegated. :) Perhaps this time they will have a shot at staying up. It seems like we have put the right footballing structure in place. Whilst success is by no means guaranteed, we at least have a good chance of heading in the right direction now.

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