ONE for all and all for one - that is Jason De Vos' defiant battlecry as Ipswich Town look to claw their way up the Championship table.The Blues skipper, in the absence of Jim Magilton, refused to point the blame at the strikers, well Nicky Forster as he is the only one playing at the moment, and insisted it was down to everyone in the team to score goals - including himself.

By Derek Davis

ONE for all and all for one - that is Jason De Vos' defiant battlecry as Ipswich Town look to claw their way up the Championship table.

The Blues skipper, in the absence of Jim Magilton, refused to point the blame at the strikers, well Nicky Forster as he is the only one playing at the moment, and insisted it was down to everyone in the team to score goals - including himself.

De Vos said: “We are lacking that killer instinct in front of goal and that is not a criticism of our strikers.

“Just as we defend as a team, we should attack as a team. We certainly we need to start chipping in with goals from all areas, especially at set pieces.

“Jimmy Juan was millimetres away against Palace after a good ball in from Darren Currie. The keeper was on his heels so there was no way he would have saved it.”

The towering Canadian believes too many people try and overcomplicate the game and said the Blues must stick to basics and not worry about formations.

He said: “Whether we play 4-3-3, 4-5-1 or 4-4-2, whatever, the game is quite simple. When we have the ball everyone looks to attack and score. When don't have the ball we have to try and get it back and defend.

“It is not a case of 'we have not scored today therefore it is the striker fault' or 'we have not kept a clean sheet today so then it must be the defenders fault.' All 11 players have to take responsibility.”

And De Vos insists that players have to look at themselves when the manager is coming under fire, as Joe Royle is increasingly finding himself a target for fans' vitriol.

De Vos said: “It is always the man in charge who comes under fire but, ultimately, it is up to players to make it right.

“The manager is the easiest person for people to blame but players have to stand up and be counted.

“It is easy to sit in the stands and criticise but it is not so easy to turn things around and be part of the solution.

“When I was out injured, I saw things from a different perspective while watching from the stands. It is easy to find fault and be negative but it is harder when you are actually trying to put it right.”

De Vos is convinced that the vast majority of supporters are still fully behind the team and the manager and hopes he and his team-mates can reward their faith.

He said: “We have terrific supporters at Ipswich and 99.9% of supporters are behind the manager and us as a team. It continues to amaze me, while driving around the area, at how supportive of Town they are and you see so many people wearing the coats, hats and scarves.

“That makes us even more determined and we want to reward fans and give them season to remember.

“It is easy to be a supporter when things are going well but it is a true test of the fan when things are not going so well. We all need to support each other as players and need the fans to support the players.

“We have not lost confidence and belief and nor should the fans.”

Although sore and tired after the 2-0 home defeat by Palace, De Vos is delighted that the side have a chance to play again so quickly when they take on Hull City tonight.

He said: “It is a chance to bounce back really quickly. We can take a lot of positives from Monday's game and use them at Hull.

“It will be a different type of atmosphere at Hull and, even though we won't have the vocal backing as we do at home when things are going well, equally we don't have the negatives.

“It is always the squeaky wheel that gets the grease but we can't criticise our fans as they have the right to their opinion.

“Our team has been decimated by the loss of so many top players so it is harder for all of us this season.

“It is not easy but that is something that spurs us on to greater efforts.”