Boss Mick McCarthy was delighted with the manner in which Town finally sealed their place in the Championship for 2013/14 by beating Birmingham 3-1 at Portman Road. Carlos Edwards, Luke Chambers and Daryl Murphy netted the goals which took the Blues to 60 points and 11th in the table.

McCarthy says he was happy to have Town’s divisional status confirmed at last: “I’m delighted, really pleased, and the way we managed to seal it the way we did as well.

“We’re not relying on anybody else, it was a really good performance, it couldn’t have been better really. It was a good victory.”

The Blues boss says Town played as well as they have this season: “I think it’s as good as we’ve played and there was still a little bit of pressure on us.

“I didn’t want to get into the situation where if we got beaten and others won, we’d go to Burnley needing something. I’d have hated that.

“I just thought we played with a bit of freedom. And we should have had a penalty. It was a stonewall penalty when Zigic handled it.

“We didn’t get it, then the keeper makes a great save [from Daryl Murphy] at a corner and it looks like it’s going to be one of those days and then Carlos came up with a complete bomb. I don’t know where that came from. Well, I do, he had one at Derby. Terrific.”

The only negative was allowing Chris Burke to net late on for the visitors: “I’m not happy that we didn’t get a clean sheet because we should have done and that’s the kind of stuff that gets you into trouble; letting teams off the hook. That disappoints me, but overall [I’m delighted].

“If someone had said to me in October when I was asked we’d need 60 points to stay up and we’d got seven, I’d have said ‘Do me a favour, forget it, I’m not going anywhere near it’. The league’s just remarkable.”

McCarthy says he’s sorry to see former club Wolves on the verge of crashing into League One: “I had such a good time there. I loved my time there and that was cut short, I thought, we all know the reasons why.

“But, it’s like this place, there are a lot of people who have worked here for years and there are families that work in the club and they’re such lovely, lovely people.

“I went to see every one of them when I left, I knew them all and I feel desperately sorry for a lot of good people because there’ll be major changes if they do get relegated, and they shouldn’t be anywhere near it, not a chance, not with the players they’ve got.”

Would they be in the same sort of trouble had he been manager at Molineux? “Not a chance. Nowhere near it. Absolutely not. They would have been at least in the play-offs.”

Birmingham boss Lee Clark thought his side didn’t help themselves: “I was really frustrated because we contributed to our own downfall by conceding such crazy goals.

“Carlos Edwards’s strike was an unstoppable strike but we gave the ball away so cheaply. Then for the second it was a free header.

“Our decision-making in the first half was very poor. I thought those kind of mistakes had been banished to the past.”

Photo: Action Images

brittaniaman added 18:58 - Apr 27 Safety on our own merits at last !!!! Good enjoyable game for our home finale, great atmosphere all the team played well and it was worth staying behind to show our appreciation to all the staff !!! Well done Mick and Terry you done a great job which we all thought was going to be impossible last November THANK YOU ALL on behalf of all the supporters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Stato added 19:02 - Apr 27 MM last seen waving his knickers in the air
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martleshamitfc added 19:02 - Apr 27 Congratulations Mick, TC and all of your team for saving us. Looking forward to next season already.
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TractorBeezer added 19:04 - Apr 27 Well done MM and TC. You must be very proud of what you have managed to achieve here. It's so good to be winding up on a positive note and to see that we are capable of playing some attractive football. With more of this next season along with a bit of strengthening I think that we have a lot to look forward to. Well done to the players too!
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Lightningboy added 19:04 - Apr 27 Yep,the really pleasing thing is we've earnt our championship status..done it all ourselves by rolling our sleeves up and digging in..we haven't been able to rely on any others to do us any favours - particularly the teams at the top end who tbh have been embarrassingly bad since jan/feb..not many of them deserve a play-off place let alone promotion. The teams scrapping at the bottom end have been a credit to the game..i'm just relieved we've hung on..what Mick & co have achieved from 7pts is miraculous..Brilliant stuff Mick!

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RaymondovicBlue added 19:05 - Apr 27 You're not the only one delighted Mick ! Thank goodness me Evans brought you here when he did and didn't wait till Jan! Water under the bridge now of course but it's a very real Shane you didn't come sooner ...but somewhere in me I'm glad to sport a club that gives the manager every chance and more to get things right before making a change. Just glad we now have a manager who well use that patience and loyalty to take us somewhere upward!

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emergencylime added 19:09 - Apr 27 Now all we need is for certain Premier League results to come good and we can have the derby games back next season :)
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wokingblue added 19:15 - Apr 27 Mickswich!
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StuartBrett8 added 19:39 - Apr 27 I love Big Mick, I still have to pinch myself sometimes that he's actually town manager. The wolves fan's must be feeling really let down and the board must be feeling really stupid.
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WhoisJimmyJuan added 19:44 - Apr 27 The Wolves thing really rankles with him doesn't it? And Raymondovic, Wolves are perhaps paying the price for not giving managers a chance, which as you rightly point out remains the Ipswich way. Blackburn nearly paid the same price. I actually feel nervous that we make sure Micmac stays now as he has become vital for our revival. Especially given the good news about the Academy. I hope the Irish FA don't start sniffing around.

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Shotleytractor added 19:50 - Apr 27 Great performance, Well done Big Mick, Terry & the team. Mick for manager of the season?
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StowTractorBoy added 19:51 - Apr 27 Thank you to Mick McCarthy and Terry Connor and to all the players who have now made my summer a happy one. If the likes of Murphy and N'Daw can put in todays performances week in and week out I would definitely be pleased to seem them stay. Can't fault anyone today just a pity our substitutes were a bit disappointing and we conceded the goal but would have taken this scoreline all day. Well done to the Town fans today who helped make the day a great one.

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StuartBrett8 added 19:52 - Apr 27 Has to be Big Mick for manager of the season StowTractorBoy, 100%
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siebdykstra added 20:23 - Apr 27 Mick and Terry are heroes! Looking forward to more of the same next season. I'll settle for finishing higher than we have this season, which will hopefully mean getting close to or in the playoffs. Will be tough considering the parachute payments Reading, QPR and whoever else will be getting, and we'll have 2 and 6 to spend.
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Woodychewie added 20:33 - Apr 27 Super Mickswitch! Need any of us say anymore.
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jas0999 added 20:45 - Apr 27 Absolutely brilliant. I realize there are still one or two posters on here who think PJ was unlucky to get the sack. Personally, I never saw it ... PJ would have taken us down. We are very lucky to have MM and TC. I feel really content with the club I support ... and genuinely feel we have a chance of moving forward. Under Jewell I thought we would go down - arrived at games almost expecting a defeat. With MM I don't ever feel we are going to lose. What a change. Well done to all. Let's draw a line under this season and Jewell's abysmal reign and look forward to next year.

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warksonwater added 20:46 - Apr 27 Before Mick: W1 D4 L8 Post Mick: W16 D12 L17 Do the maths: with Mick, W15 D8 L9 = play-off form. I think MM also stands for 'Miracle Man'. We're not worthy! We're not worthy! Roll on next season!
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comebackburley added 20:46 - Apr 27 Mick and terry you are truly inspirational leaders. Fantastic second half of our season. Luke hyam. Chamber, tommy smith, jay tab. Scoot loach and Carlos and in fact the whole team today were magnificent. Mick and terry know who the best team are and play them. What a refreshing change. Surely chopra, jet and Martin were brought on either to convince mick he is making the right decision in letting them go or for them to say goodbye. They sealed their own fate in my opinion and the team fell apart, conceded a goal, Martin got booked characteristically on just 10 mins on the pitch...rubbish the lot of them... Get rid. Otherwise a wonderful atmosphere at Portman road this afternoon...truly vintage. Thank you.

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TownOnTheUp added 20:47 - Apr 27 Super, super Mick, super Mick McCarthy. What a performance that was. Birmingham were tired, flat, jaded, whatever you want to call it, but we flew out of the blocks. What was really pleasing is that we maintained the intensity and could have gone in 4 or 5 up at half time. Birmingham looked lightweight and we bullied them into giving us the ball, time, and space to play. Second half they got back into it, but in a very un-Ipswich manner we were clinical and killed the game. Nouble tired towards the end, substitutions were made and we lost our shape a little, but even so Birmingham didn't threaten and didn't really deserve their goal, which came as we finally lost our concentration. Still, a performance of strength and a little quality, and we deserved the win. I've said this before, but never forget where we were and where we are. We are safe and, if things go our way, next season could be ours.

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EssexTractor added 20:49 - Apr 27 Genuinely the feel good factor returned today. The all round team performance has not been equalled this season and based on an energetic display from everyone in the starting line up, the closing down by Hyam, N'Daw and the increasingly impressive Tabb substantially nullified what could have been a really dangerous opposition. And do we now have potentially the two most exciting full backs in next seasons Championship in the "older than his years Hewitt" and the back to his best Cresswell? If I was a Premiership scout I would be giving serious consideration to both of them!! Daryl Murphy has always bemused me, big guy, great left foot and more than useful in the air but inconsistent, a sometimes lazy look but today I thought he gave his best ever display for ITFC. His hold up play with back to goal, his aerial threat and his overall appetite demonstrated just what a really good player he can be. Captain Carlos has not had his best ever year but credit to him for always trying and today again showed what a fabulous striker of the ball he is , as well as still having a burst of speed that few others have. Scott Loach is continuing to display a growing confidence and how delightful it would be if his excellent end of season proves to be the springboard for him to become Towns undoubted number 1. Frank Nouble still very much an unfinished article,I have to say when I first saw him I wondered what an earth is this. He seemed to be off the pace, had an inability to read the game and lumbered! Apology time, Frank, you might just be a real star. With MM and TC believing in you it could happen. Finally to,the two on field players who have jointly been the overwhelming success of the last few months.Tommy Smith and Luke Chambers have matured together on the floor, in the air, inspirational and without doubt ITFC stars that have taken us from almost hopeless gloom and despair to a smiling finale, masterminded of course by the astute and immensely popular honest and straightforward Messrs McCarthy and Connor Our spirits are lifted, and all can have a positive forward look to the 2013-14 campaign.

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Talbs77 added 21:01 - Apr 27 Wolves obviously still rankles with big Mick, at the end of the day their possible demise is of their own making. Their lose is definately our gain although there could be another crazy twist to come, I certainly wouldnt say Wolves are down just yet. What a magnificent job MM has done, we are now 11th in the table, considering only having 7 points from 13 games when he took over is a magnificent job. If we get in the top 10 with a win at Burnley it will be the icing on the cake. I really like the boy Hewitt, he looks a very good player indeed, crosses a great ball. Edwards was excellent too although would be harsh to single players out to be honest as I thought we outplayed them the whole game.

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RM909 added 21:19 - Apr 27 I'm sure someone has done this maths already and I'm very aware that this is all speculative and we should just be happy to be safe but.... Average points per game under MM: 1.6 1.6 x 46 = 73.6 We'd be battling with Brighton for 4th place! All irrelevant now of course...but just goes to prove how far we've come...roll on next season!
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brittaniaman added 21:38 - Apr 27 As a passioned Wolves Supporter said the other week !!! seeing McCarthy guiding Ipswich up the table ,, is like watching your Ex girlfriend ( (who you really loved) walking down the road hand in hand with another guy !!!!!!!!. I wonder what his words are today ???????????
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warktheline added 21:44 - Apr 27 Never doubted our Championship status when MM and TC took charge.Daydreamer?
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Lightningboy added 21:52 - Apr 27 Great looking at the bottom half of the table on Sky Sports news and NOT seeing us in it! First time since last August!!
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