Town boss Mick McCarthy says he doesn't "give a flying one” about the Blues being bottom of the Championship table when it comes to pass completion and 16th on possession.

The Blues’ pass success rate this season is 61.8 per cent the lowest in the Championship, while their share of possession during their league games is 49.1 per cent.

“Where are we in the league?” countered the Blues boss. “I can bring you, and I’m not going to, but I could, [stats which show that in] more games we’ve won, we’ve had less possession. If we have 400 passes, I guarantee we get beaten.

“I don’t give a flying one about the possession, I really don’t, because we come up against teams and they’ve had 400-and-some passes and we’ve had 220, and you know who has had 150 between them? Their two centre-backs, the central midfielder and the full-backs, and it’s not going anywhere.

“So, great. Their two centre-backs are wonderful players, they’ve both had 75 touches each. Am I bothered? No, because our centre forward’s had about 50 and he’s scored two goals.

“So don’t bring me stats. What is it they say? There are lies, damned lies and statistics? And that’s just what they are.”

He added: “I see the stats and sometimes I think ‘How the hell have we won that game?’. Then other times I think ‘We’ve murdered them’ and we’ve been beaten, we’ve had loads of passes, loads of crosses, loads of balls into the box. If you want somebody to analyse stats, get them all in here and see what happens.”

Regarding Saturday’s 2-2 FA Cup third round draw with Portsmouth, in which the League Two side had 68 per cent of the possession to the Blues’ 32 per cent, he said: “Portsmouth murdered us with the ball on Saturday. Did we lose? No.

“At Milton Keynes we won, and by the way should have won by more, we had the better chances.

“If you’re trying to get a story on stats, you can write all you like but I don’t give a monkey’s.

“The stats I like are that we’re in sixth position, we’ve got 41 points, we won five away on the bounce and drew on Saturday. We’ve been unbeaten for a while, we’re on a good run.

“There’s always somebody who could find a negative to anything, though, which I understand but find difficult to tolerate, I have to be honest. The only stat that matters is how many points you get at the end of the season.

“And there are all different ways of playing. Portsmouth were fantastic, they’re fourth in the league, but they’re not top of the league, so there are some good teams [in their division], but if they’re playing like that every week they’ve got to win the league, because they were outstanding.”

Despite the low possession and pass completion statistics McCarthy says his team has a consistent threat from wide areas through wingers Freddie Sears and Ryan Fraser.

“And I have with Tommy Oar and Ainsley Maitland-Niles as well," he added. "We’ve been a real threat.

“I go back to it. Portsmouth were great on Saturday and they should have won the game. We’re just on the back of beating QPR with the team that’s playing, beating Brighton, drawing at Burnley.

“So we have a draw in the FA Cup with a lot of changes. Hey ho, we’ve been a real threat, us. We’ve been a constant threat.”

You can find a TWTD blog assessing Town’s low pass completion rate here.

Photo: Action Images

Priskin9 added 06:10 - Jan 12 What do stats make? Good reading! What do points make? Prizes! COYB
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Keaneish added 06:15 - Jan 12 And there we have it in black and white: 'I do not care about the game of football as long as we win'. I never thought I'd say this, but I see where Roy was coming from and understand the bust up a lot better now.
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battyblue added 06:18 - Jan 12 Typical MM but who wants to watch that crap week in week out not me for one.
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Benters added 06:22 - Jan 12 Sorry Keaneish i meant to up arrow that ! battyblue im with you on that,i went Saturday and have a Preston ticket however i am thinking of giving it away,and saving my money for the day out ar QPR .
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Flewitt85 added 06:23 - Jan 12 Thank you MM, exactly how I think. fans that moan take note!!
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Len_Brennan added 06:23 - Jan 12 Mick seems to be getting quite upset by this line of questioning. He does of course go on to accept that the stats showing that Portsmouth had far greater possession than us on Saturday was reflective of them being the better side and that they should have won the game. Nobody is questioning that we have good team spirit & are resilient, which can get us results at times.

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GiveusaWave added 06:58 - Jan 12 Its not really an issue. When you look at the amount we hoof during a match we are well at the top of the Championship (89%). I'm pretty sure if there were "jumping" stats we would be right up there too (poor Murphy is always jumping). We are the hoofball specialists of the UK, if not the entire world. That's something to be proud of.
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Benters added 07:02 - Jan 12 Len Brennan we were put to shame by Pompey who a team not 1 league below us but 2! How i wished we could pop the ball about like them on Saturday. Yes i know we played a "weakend team" but they still play for Ipswich town ,not bloody Stanway Rovers.
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christiand added 07:06 - Jan 12 It's ok at the moment because MM can say we are 6th, but things can quickly change - we aren't comfortably sitting in that final play off place. A few bad results then there will be more focus on the manner in which we play.
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iaintaylorx added 07:07 - Jan 12 Really highlights the stubbornness of MM has right there. That is quite frankly ever so embarrassing, to think the likes of Rotherham, Bolton etc have a better pass completion rate than us... Yes, we all love to win, but I want to watch Ipswich knock the ball around and play attractive football, rather than lump a big one up to Murphy every time we look to go forward!! I know we are not going to get that with Mick and I think if we aren't promoted this season, there needs to be a change at the helm, however I can't see either of those happening, unfortunately.

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iaintaylorx added 07:08 - Jan 12 I also add that we have the players in the squad that are capable of attractive football!
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Dissboyitfc added 07:24 - Jan 12 You will find MM quotes the stats when it reflects in his favour, ground covered by players during games..for instance!
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bluefeast added 07:26 - Jan 12 Its a style thing , MM has done a great job at stamping his style on the squad , personally i would prefer chinos over flared jeans.
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MicksZzzTactics added 07:32 - Jan 12 ROFL! Absolute priceless 'insight' (and personally not the slightest surprised about the 'reaction' what so ever!) .... all from a real vintage Football-Dinosaur speaking his seemingly trouble-free mind! HaHaHaHa Too bad he wasn't confronted with the fact that his hard-working HOOF TOWN discount boyz is also dead last in The Championship in 'dribbles-per-game' .... but anyhow while I could quote at least a truckload of famous characters on the subject of Mick's very own take on 'Being In Denial' -- and similar related mental states :-) -- I will just suffice it to pick a somewhat compassionate (with our Football-Dinosaur's reaction) one, from the currently immensely cult-popular George R.R. Martin from his 'A Games of Thrones': "MOST MEN WOULD RATHER DENY A HARD TRUTH THAN FACE IT" :-) and then a real classic one from American cartoonist Bill Watterson: COYB!!!

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Fat_Boy_Tim added 07:47 - Jan 12 I'd rather look bad and win than look good and lose, end of.
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VulpineBlue added 07:50 - Jan 12 As Iaintaylorx touches on, THE important statistic is that of completed passes. Our record on this at present is famously poor . When Murph with his intelligent layoffs and high completed pass rate isn't playing up front we just seem to fall apart... as we did on Saturday against Portsmouth. There's nothing wrong with allowing the opposition long periods of possession as long as it is in their own half, but a poor pass completion rate is inexcusable,

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Benters added 07:52 - Jan 12 Fat boy Tim what happens when we look bad and lose ?
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dirtydingusmagee added 08:01 - Jan 12 Sorry Mick, i think you should give a flying one,we may be in top 6 at present but we could do better than we are and passing is an issue.Its a major reason the front men are not getting the service they need.Just wish you would see beyond your nose at times.I know team are doing well, you are doing well,BUT there is room for improvement in both cases .
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DurhamTownFan added 08:05 - Jan 12 Sorry if this is overly negative, but I've just about given up on MM's football. He's right in that we're sixth and did ok last season playing this way, but if you look at our stats vs the best teams in the division, we have performed consistently poorly. Even last year it felt like we were sort of desperately hoping we'd win the play-offs, turning them into a battle rather than trying to take control of games. For al those who say that we don't have the funds to buy players who can get it on the deck and pass it: I give you Portsmouth on Saturday.

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Slambo added 08:16 - Jan 12 I'm a bit worried about his defensiveness but totally agree with the sentiment. I'm also deeply disappointed by the posters on here 'who would rather not turn up' than watch our so-called ugly anti-football. If such people want to see gorgeous, tiki-taka football every week, sit on your backsides in front of your Skyboxes and just watch Barca, in your replica shirts, waving a little Catalonian flag. Ipswich Town are a small/middling club with restrictions; at the moment we're agricultural, but just over a decade ago we were a sublime footballing team. What will we be like in another 10 years? And the bottom line is this: I am an ardent supporter of Ipswich, therefore I am emotionally involved every time I watch them. Doesn't matter how they play - I just can't get enough...

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Cloddyseedbed added 08:50 - Jan 12 Stats may show ground covered by players but it doesn't cover air miles traveled by ball! Possession lost when lumping it up and having to chase to get it back to lump it up again.
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ITFCGloryDays added 08:54 - Jan 12 By MM; “I believe I'm going to be here for a long time, so there's no point in just thinking to the end of the season,” Strewth, 'a long time' of this type of football and the fact of no doubt, due to this, continuing as we are in the Championship. The cynic might say he's on a very nice contract, he'll knock about of getting free's and loans in but we as a club won't go up, with irony, due to that little bit of added investment that could come from ME but hey Mick's got his contract and he'll just mull along. As ITFC don't advance.

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BlueandTruesince82 added 08:58 - Jan 12 I spend an evening in a bar talking to a beautiful women we are together for 4 or 5 hrs. Half way through the eve another man comes in and escorts her to the bathroom where they make love and she spends the rest of the evening with me. He slept with her, but that doesn't matter because I had moat of the possession. I know I'd rather be Slave Bilic. At the end of the season it's points that count not posession.

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Cheshire_Blue added 09:11 - Jan 12 There is only one statistic you get points for and that is what matters. When you look at the league table at the end of the season and you are at the bottom there is no mention of all these other stats which are totally meaningless.
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Garv added 09:21 - Jan 12 Did someone hit a nerve?
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