Town boss Joe Royle felt his side were given few problems by George Burley's Derby County. Burley, on his first return to Portman Road as a manager, was unimpressed that his team gave away two "diabolical" goals.

Royle said Town didn't need to be at their peak to beat the Rams: "I don't think we had too many problems, although we were not at our best going forward. I'll take that result when we were so depleted.

"We had two midfield players in our back four and John McGreal was playing his first league game in a year - despite that I cannot recall too many dramas around our box."

Richard Naylor limped off after 21 minutes and Royle says he may not be fit for the trip to Millwall: "He was suffering from a spasm in his hamstring and must be doubtful for the visit to Millwall next Saturday."

Georges Santos will be available next week after his one-match ban at the New Den.

Royle had planned to give some action to subs Martijn Reuser and Pablo Couñago but decided not to make any changes due to the Blues' narrow lead: "Being only one up I had to keep our strongest defensive formation on the field."

The Blues' manager also felt that Derby's goal perhaps ought to have been ruled out: "I thought it looked well offside, but I'll reserve judgement until I've seen the video."

George Burley, given a rapturous reception by his old fans, was less than impressed with his side's defending: "You don't need to be brilliant to pick up points in Division One, but basic errors always prove costly and that was the case today.

"It's a mental thing. I told my players they had to be strong, but mistakes made it difficult for us. Players must be aware of their responsibilities.

"I was looking forward to coming back to Ipswich and appreciate the great reception from the crowd.

"The pressure on me, though, was to get the right result for Derby.

"I am rebuilding the squad and I am optimistic for the future with young players coming through.

"Christmas came early for Ipswich. I can't believe how many errors we managed to make in the opening 24 seconds of a match.

"For 20 minutes Ipswich were well on top, but in the final stages of the first half we found our feet and got our game going with Ian Taylor twice going close.

"It was a blow when Michael Johnson had to go off after eight minutes with his calf injury after he had passed a late fitness test.

"In the second half I felt we were the only team likely to score, but to say we were unfortunate would be wrong. We gave as good as we got, but then we were punished for another diabolical mistake."

Photo: Action Images

Ipswich Town Polls