Town boss Mick McCarthy admitted that the Blues were beaten by a better side after losing 1-0 to Hull City at Portman Road.

“I thought the first half was pretty even,” he said. “The second half, although it wasn’t long into it, I thought we started well and put a decent cross into the box but unfortunately for us the keeper caught it and they showed their quality because the left-back Andrew Robertson is off and running and [they scored].

“It’s always disappointing however you concede but had we scored that we’d be waxing lyrical about it because it was a fantastic goal, everything about it, the pass, the finish. They showed their quality then for 10 minutes, it could have got worse.

“What I would say is that I always credit our lads for sticking with it and as bonkers as this league is we could have nicked something in the last minutes.”

Town claimed penalties in the first half when Brett Pitman appeared to be pushed by Robertson and in the second when Jonathan Douglas went to ground as he broke into the area.

“I’d like to see the penalties again,” McCarthy added. “I thought they were good shouts for penalties.

“I think they had a couple as well that they were shouting for, but I don’t think he was ever going to give one tonight whatever happened.

“In the first half we could have nicked the lead, I thought, for our performance before half-time.

“But that’s the fine margins of the Championship, of any league really, but of the Championship certainly, but we blinked first.

“I think they’ve only conceded 19 goals so they’re not an easy team to break down. And I might add that they’re a bloody good team full of bloody good players and, to be honest, they were the better team on the night.”

McCarthy was disappointed to concede so soon after the break: “The talk in the dressing room was about making a good start, don’t concede because it’ll be hard if you do because they don’t give goals away. But we did.

“I can’t say, having looked at it, that we did a lot wrong. It was a fantastic goal really. I hate saying that but that’s just the way it is because it was a bit of quality.”

The Blues boss admits that his side’s play-off push is starting to slip: “If you lose five out of six in all competitions, that is just the case. We’ve lost three on the bounce now but we’ve got to try and remain positive and get back at it.

“We have lost players, we’ve lost really important players. That wasn’t such a bad performance against the league leaders, who are really good team.

“But we’ll need to play better than that and have a bit more quality, I think, which is really important.”

McCarthy felt Hull did to the Blues what his Championship-winning sides did to other clubs by keeping Town to few chances, particularly in the second half.

“I remember being at Wolves and winning the competition and being at Sunderland and we had games where nobody had shots against us because we were a really good team and we won it by eight points on two occasions.

“They are a good side. Perhaps we should give them a bit of credit for being a good side. We didn’t have that many shots but we had our chances in the first half and if you score those it’s a different game.”

Reflecting on the difference between the two squads, Hull having benefited from parachute payments after being relegated from the Premier League last season, he said: “I look at the two players up front who cost collectively £15 million, Abel Hernández and Mohamed Diamé. Not bad, is it?

“In terms of that we’re comparing apples and pears, it’s two different things. What we’ve done is compete against a really good side and actually could have nicked something.

“They were the better side, they are the better side, they’re top of the league, they’re a better side than us, I’ll just hold my hand up. But that doesn’t mean we can’t beat them just because they’re a better side and for a period in the game I thought we might.”

McCarthy said he was pleased with Ben Pringle’s home debut: “I thought his contribution was good in a tough game and certainly his freekicks and corners have good quality.”

He confirmed that Luke Hyam suffered an injury when he went off in the second half: “Hyamsy had a fitness test before the game today. He came in this morning with a tight hamstring, he had treatment, went home and had a kip and it felt all right.

“He was fine in his pre-match test and he worked his nuts off and just had it tighten up, so hopefully he’ll be OK.”

The Town boss said Ainsley Maitland-Niles was fit despite being omitted from the 18: “No, he was just left out.”

Hull manager Steve Bruce felt his team’s superiority showed after the break: “It was difficult for us in the first half, I have to say, against a really committed Ipswich team who mirror their manager in terms of their effort and endeavour. They made it difficult in the first half.

“But in the second half we showed that bit of extra class and really we could have put it to bed. We had two or three opportunities after we scored and didn’t take the second one.

“But overall, again we’ve come away from home and showed that resilience that hopefully will stand us in good stead.”

Photo: Action Images

yungblue added 23:19 - Feb 23 Is he actually having a laugh? £37 on the door tonight? for that price I truly expect to be entertained, that's what the fans deserve, edge of the seat, eye catching attacking football, we haven't had that for 3 years, leave OUR club
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bluefeast added 23:20 - Feb 23 IN MICK WE RUST
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jas0999 added 23:23 - Feb 23 Ticket prices don't reflect the quality of football or the players signed. Evans needs to change his strategy. Better side or not, the clear lack of quality tonight was there for all to see. Cheap hard working players get you so far. We are going backwards now. Evans and MM must take joint blame.
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Norwichbeater added 23:24 - Feb 23 If every team is better than us mick including Bristol city etc etc, what are your plans and aspirations? We need to know what the expectations now are. Every week you compare what other teams have spent but keep saying that you can't get any better by spending!!!!!!!! You and ME need to come out and be honest about where we are going rather than making bloody excuses for rubbish footy every week. This can't carry on without fans getting seriously peed off. I am there now.

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Knightsy added 23:24 - Feb 23 We've been beaten by the better sides 4 times out of 5 in a league and also in the FA Cup against Portsmouth. Just not good enough.
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blueherts added 23:25 - Feb 23 Yes Mick and Evans - 'we have lost players 'but i felt we cannot get better than the ones we have so I would rather line my own pocket and negotiate an extension to mine and my mate TCs contract Same old rubbish - club has no ambition , no plan , no direction What is the goal , last season Top 6 so I really though this year was build on it - I get the feeling he has his pipe and slippers on and is just coasting Dont get me started on the U21s Adam McDonnell - sounded a great little player but obviously not a patch on Digby Toure and Coke the Joke

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bluefeast added 23:29 - Feb 23 We never produce a shock , we don't look a unit ,we don't create chances and the players do not have licence , each player in our squad is less effective than last season and thats the problem.To make up for that Mick plays good players in their wrong positions ,which makes them look worse than they are. He does this as the squad he has built is not good enough so we have no replacements. Why not play 4 2 3 1 , i.e. protect the defence with two holders and say to the 4 in front of them ,do what you want ,create , shoot and cause problems , but oh no ,they have to tracek back ,we win possession back and can only then hoof it. Pass and move is easy ,but the coach has to give licence ,Mick clearly does not

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blueherts added 23:30 - Feb 23 Somone please ask him 'What is yours and MEs AMBITION for the club ? I really would be fascinated to hear - sad thing he would probably give some sarcacstic expletive strewn answer - tired of hearing him now- I have supported MM over past few years for what he DID but we are now at a point to press the button - ME has lost interest or money me thinks and MM just wanted his contract sorted in January ( oh and his mates)

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hoppy added 23:30 - Feb 23 "Hyamsy" - seriously?
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carsey added 23:30 - Feb 23 The difference tonight was Hull are coached to work hard AND play football. I have to question whether Town are actually coached at all. I have said elsewhere on this site that having little cash to spend is no excuse for playing sh!te football. Brentford did it last season under Warburton and spent less than we did and Portsmouth demonstrated in two matches against us in the cup it is perfectly possible to play the game on the ground and nobodies going to tell me they have players worth millions of pounds. Whether Evans has closed the door on spending or not doesn't excuse McCarthy coaching his players to play like they do. Players spend all week training, get the ball down and pass it on the floor to someone in the same colour shirt preferably forwards but FFS keep possession. Everyone of them panic when it comes to them and wack it away or head it up in the air aimlessly.

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cartman1972 added 23:36 - Feb 23 Hyam is another sick note, according to the Gospel of St mick 23 other teams in this league are better than us therefore usually my mathematical brain we are the worse and that's your fault kindly leave, do one, whatever fed up with ssdd.
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Mark added 23:41 - Feb 23 Six points behind the play-offs now with a much worse goal difference, in fact we have conceded as many as we have scored this season. We look a million miles away from being promotion quality so might as well give up on that. I can accept mid-table if we have a STRATEGY for the future, but what is it? If the team was full of youngsters I could believe they will improve next season and the season after, but we seem to lack the youth and the quality. Where is the investment in young players? Then we get onto the playing style...long ball has never been the Ipswich way and it's depressing to see us out passed nearly every week. The fans will rightly question the value of high ticket prices when we get neither the entertainment nor the results. I am not blaming the players, they try hard. I am not blaming McCarthy, he is working on a shoestring. The owner and Chief Exec need to speak to fans about strategy and future goals though, are we still intending to get into the Premier League as a serious ambition? Don't the season ticket renewal packs usually go out about this time? Oh dear.

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Taricco_Fan added 23:48 - Feb 23 Happy with what he's got.
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Stato added 23:49 - Feb 23 No AMN in the squad ? WTF ?
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essex57 added 23:59 - Feb 23 No AMN in the squad purely because he's bin way off for the last 6 weeks.
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MicksZzzTactics added 00:01 - Feb 24 WOW! Real powerful lingo and post-game 'lecture' there from The Dinosaur today, I dare say! :-) But ehhhh Mick ..... Yes YOU Mick "I don't give a flying f*** about among other things the ITFC fans, whom I regularly treat as being retards!" McCarthy .... Here's a kind piece of real classic advice: A WORD TO THE WISE IS ENOUGH!!! (And if you should happen to be unfamiliar with this particular idiom, Mick ... please look it up then!) With regard to your own re-discovered 'wisdom' so surprisingly well narrated in the above analysis Mick ...Thumps Up, matey! :-) .... but allow me to still counter with an quote from an eons old Greek dude -- or 'Tragedian' rather. Repeat 'Tragedian'! -- named Aeschylus:

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alfromcol added 00:03 - Feb 24 Not worth the price of the ticket. Woeful. It's a good job we had a good start to the season and nicked a few 3 pointers in the last few minutes of matches or we would be down with the relegation scrappers!
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clint_eastwood added 00:13 - Feb 24 Jonas Knudsen playing left-back = Giles Coke playing left-back.
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Tufty added 02:13 - Feb 24 Didn't do much wrong - er we lost -can't get much more wrong than that
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battyblue added 05:24 - Feb 24 Full of his ifs buts as normal same sh-te same outcome just another day.........AMN pi-- ed off I expect with MM style he was a better player when he came here like a few others I can think off.
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dannyrr added 05:54 - Feb 24 Why can't we keep the f****n ball on the floor. I coach kids and teenagers and see all of the teams taught week in week out to pass the ball on the floor. Why the hell cant our professional footballers that are paid to play football do it? Every time we either hoofed the ball from the back when a pass along the floor would have been more effective or played head tennis when the ball just went straight to the opposition. Do they seriously train to do that???? It isn't working!!! The midfield was almost nonexistent and the Hull left back proved it many times by making runs from the back to our half with no challenge whatsoever. They outpaced out passed and out played us. We always seem to play better football when Bru is on the pitch but he can't do anything about the aimless hoofball from the back even when there is time to control the ball and look up.

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prebbs007 added 05:54 - Feb 24 How can that be ??? You "can't get better than you have" Mick. You're a joke. No plan B. Play the favourites. The same back 4 who have let us down all season. (38 fixtures only 9 clean sheets, goal difference now 0 but everyone agrees we score enough goals) Where the hell was Knudsen as Diame strolled through the left back position to score??? The same useless uncreative centre midfield and the same donkey centre forward who continues to prove last season was a fluke. You've taken us as far as you can Mick and we will always be grateful but it's time for our club to change style stop hoofing it running around a lot and hoping we get lucky, time for some quality, time to play football, none of that is going to happen while you're here. Yes you saved us from league 1, no these players and this hoofball will not take us up !!! But perhaps that's exactly what Mr Tight Mr Stubborn and most of these dross players want cos none of them (management or players) are good enough for the premier league !!!!! Frazer injured 3 defeats in a row 1 goal, stuffed at bottom 4 team who lost 4-0 at home last night, to a team who lost 4-1 at the weekend!!!! Season over. Look to next season. Be brave ITFC, get a young hungry upcoming football playing manager who can bring in players with ability to play not just run a lot and cancel the contract you gave to a man who can no longer take us forward !!! Anyone who says we have not gone backwards from last season is either blind or deluded and these are sad times ( and no need to blurt out "I watched Duncan era or Keane spent loads or Jewell let in hundreds of goals ) that doesn't mean the cr&p we are being served up now is good enough cos it clearly is not. Time to move on !!!!! 😢😢😢

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NSL added 06:57 - Feb 24 The attendance of just over 17,000 was a complete lie. Just like the lie about money available to spend and to mount a serious promotion challenge. We are being treated like mugs now. Wouldn't surprise me if we are struggling to clear gates of 14,000, 15,000 next season. This is not an enjoyable hobby at the moment!
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Keaneish added 07:37 - Feb 24 Man says the same every week. Plays the same tactics every week. Plays largely the same side every week when permitted. And sticks by the same philosophies and principles every week. What are we paying this man for? In my profession we tailor each project to the client's needs. We're adaptable and fluid, drawing on new learnings, new technologies and new approaches to continually improve to compete with the market. This man is archaic. You'll get no more of my money this season.

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carlisleaway added 08:13 - Feb 24 If you call that entertainment than McCarthy and Evans had better think again. This season is over and we have watched garbish all season, can imagine a lot of fans will not be taking up season tickets next season. I will but you can only watch so much hoof ball.......if there was a competition for heading or kicking the furthest we would win by a mile.
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