Ipswich Town goalscorer Jens Cajuste has vowed the players are not about to give up on Premier League survival after the 4-2 home defeat to Nottingham Forest saw the gap to Wolves increase to nine points with nine matches to go.

The Napoli loanee bagged his first Premier League goal with a silky turn and classy finish from the edge of the box in the 82nd minute, but there was little joy from it as it came in reply to three first-half goals conceded in six hugely damaging minutes.

Nikola Milenkovic’s half-volley following a half-cleared corner on 35 was followed by Anthony Elanga helping himself to a brace as a sublime curling finish preceded firing beyond Alex Palmer after chasing down a bouncing long Milenkovic ball over the top.

And that was where the Swedish international, whose goal back was followed by a breakaway finish for Forest sub Jota on 87 ahead of a fine header from George Hirst on 93, admitted the game was lost for the Blues.

“Extremely tough,” he said of a 10th Premier League game without a win. “We let it all go within 10 minutes of the first half and it's hard for any team to come back from 3-0 down.”

Put to him that the Blues looked like they fell to pieces in that 10-minute spell at the end of the first half, he said: “Yes, I agree. I've said it before, I think in this league everything can change in the blink of an eye and we saw that today.

“It just shows how you have to stay sharp and ready during every minute of the game because that's how quick it can change.”

He also agreed that the Blues made it too easy for third-placed Forest at times.

“Absolutely,” he said, “No, these were not brilliant goals in my opinion. We have to look at ourselves, I think.”

A fourth defeat on the spin, coupled with Wolves winning 2-1 at basement side Southampton, saw Kieran McKenna’s men move from six to nine points from safety with nine games to play.

But Cajuste said he and his teammates are far from admitting defeat in the race to stay in the top flight for a second season.

“Yes, the table is what it is. It's tough but we're going to keep on going with our heads high,” he said.

“There's still a lot of points to play for and we've got Wolves coming up as well, so we just have to stay focused on one game at a time, Bournemouth first and then we take it from there.”

He added: “I think this is a tough group with great fans so I think we're able to bounce back, we're able to stay strong and then it's about applying it once the game is on. We've got to take accountability and responsibility and go on from here.”

With a 17-day break from action now until facing top-half AFC Bournemouth on the south coast on April 2nd (7.45pm), he was asked if he thought there was anything the team can work on to help them in their remaining games.
 
He replied: “Absolutely. You don't win the game on Saturday, you win it on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, you win it at practice, how you practice is how you play and we've got to start from there.”

On what was a classy first Premier League goal, coming in his 22nd appearance, he admitted the shine was taken off it by the result.

“It was nice to see it go in but like you said, most important is winning or losing and unfortunately we couldn't get the win today,” he said.

Asked if he had a message to Town’s downbeat fanbase, with a good number remaining to show their support in a positive fashion following the final whistle, he said: “I think these fans have been fantastic so far and always showed their support.

“We've got to show them that we're going to keep fighting with our heads high and keep fighting for it. You always believe in it and that's it.”

Photo: Russell Claydon

Bert added 22:46 - Mar 15 Great guy, great goal and would love to keep him.
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Gforce added 23:47 - Mar 15 Today for the first time it looked like the team and the fans have given up,understandably the North stand was the quietest it's been all season. And that was before any goals went in. Cajuste was our one shining light,really hope we can persuade him to stay next season.
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Lukeybluey added 05:41 - Mar 16 Cajuste for me is player of the season, would love to keep him. I agree with how quiet it was, there was a weird feeling leading up to kick off, I actually said to a couple of people that it feels that its going to be quiet, and it was some periods it was painfully quiet you could hear the players conversation on the pitch clear as day. Although there is a couple of people who sit not too far away who bring binoculars and are constantly looking in the direction of Ed Sheeran instead of the game... I reckon theres quite a few like that.

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Dissboyitfc added 07:02 - Mar 16 I dont for a second think the players have given up, they kept going and we scored 2 late goals. A disastrous 6 min spell really did alter everything, not good enough, but i believe the effort is there!
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victorysquad added 07:58 - Mar 16 At home we need to be far more aggressive to get the fans onside. It is all too timid for me, the players are starting to look like they are at fault. We are lacking leaders and people who have the brass beck to give it a good go. Not enough fight, they do not loo bothered enough, where is the passion?
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Bluewhiteboy added 08:51 - Mar 16 To many so called fans that got little interest and just jumped on the bandwagon. Would love to be as positive as some on here and think we have a cat in hells chance of keeping cajuste. Even if the board were willing to pay his wages which would prob be double most of the squads next season. I just can't see why he would when would have offers from plenty of prem teams and also across Europe. I think we've just given Brentford a chance to have a God look at him in this league and they will snap him up.

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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 08:57 - Mar 16 Thank you, Jens, for meeting the fantastic 70 or so Swedish fans after the game who had come over for their annual visit. It's pretty much over in the PL for now, but strangely I felt very optimistic despite the result. With fans like these and an attitude that we'll keep doing our best there's sure to be more good days around the corner. Heja de blåa!
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howsey51 added 09:45 - Mar 16 Definitely a highlight of our new acquisitions, and certainly our best loan player- next year (presumably in the championship) we will need to replace morsy and luongo or/and provide cover- a big ask. Would dearly love to have Jens at the heart of next years team but it seems unlikely that we could afford him and whether he would want to drop down. Thank you Jens for this year however and good luck if you move on

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poet added 10:06 - Mar 16 Cajuste, a player in my opinion, who has never let us dow. A genuine talent that we MUST sign on a permanent basis. Changing the subject, people who are asking for McKenna to go, think about the number of footballing dinosaurs waiting in the wings to take advantage of their next big pay-off. Whilst doing that, they will dish you up boring negative survival football. Kieran McKenna is a young, intelligent manager who is still learning. Yes he’s made some mistakes, but he’s honest, knowledgeable, very Conscientious and most importantly for me, he breaks the mould of the boring, dyed in the wool know it all, but know nothing journeymen, who have no place in todays modern game. If he stays, (I sincerely hope he does) McKenna will build a squad that plays attractive, interesting football that befits the Premier League. I believe he’ll take us back, but next time, we’ll be much more prepared…. We’ll know exactly what to expect. Those that boo, don’t bother renewing your season tickets, leave them available for the real fans.

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Bluewhiteboy added 10:58 - Mar 16 The irony of calling those booing not real fans. Why would they be so bothered if they weren't real fans. About 3rd fans in the ground this oseason are all new or fairweather fans. I don't see point of booing after the game especially in case of yesterday when it's more down to not being good enough but also can not get my head around clapping then when they played poor, 2 or 3 played ok but not great.

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warfarinman69 added 15:31 - Mar 16 I would just remind those booing of the MM and RK days. Awful football and a half empty stadium. We are lightweight, we are inexperienced and in some cases selections have been quesionable (I genuinely thought on the way to the game that Burgess would start due to their threat in the air and poor Davis has lost his confidence), but let's support the team, support the manager and be grateful that good times are again just around the corner. And apart from kidnapping how do we get Cajuste to stay?

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Leejames99 added 19:26 - Mar 16 Re Cajuste, we have an obligation to buy if in Prem and option to buy for 12 million we have already paid 1.5 million so if Town want him they can buy him. I would imagine he will stay if he likes it here. He is also a potential Captain as I'm not sure O'Shea is best leader.
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renoble added 21:33 - Mar 16 If you don't want to sing. Don't sit in the north. Plenty of others do.
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Dissboyitfc added 08:58 - Mar 17 Bluewhiteboy genuine question, how does booing help, do players think I will try harder? They were trying, at the end of the day we are just coming up a little short on the quality front! And that’s not down do lack of effort!
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Carberry added 08:09 - Mar 18 The booing (which I didn't hear much of) is not necessarily directed toward the players, it's venting frustration and is just as likely to be a way of telling the manager and the board how they feel. As Bluewhiteboy said it did feel awkward standing and applauding, that is normally reserved for a League 2 team that have put up a fight against a Prem team in the FA Cup. And where is the fight? Our team is in the image of our manager, dispassionate and objective. Sometimes the crowd needs a tackle or a challenge to get going, there was very little of that on Saturday.

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BobbyBell added 09:34 - Mar 18 If four years ago we had been offered two promotions followed by a relegation back into the championship with a strong squad and parachute payments I for one would have said yes please. Some on here just expect far too much. This club was a run down mess and look at us now. I believe that the building and growth at this club will continue and I'm right behind them.
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