Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy spoke at a lunchtime press conference ahead of Saturday’s Championship game at Aston Villa. STUART WATSON asked the questions.

Q: Does last Saturday’s positive performance (in the 2-2 home draw with Reading) mean you can look forward to these next four games – Aston Villa (a), Brighton (a), Leeds (h) and Norwich (a) – with a little less trepidation? If you’d have produced another performance like the one seen in last Tuesday’s 3-0 home defeat to Derby...

A: (Interjects) “You might have been talking to somebody else, I don’t know.

Q: Is that comment only semi tongue-in-cheek?

A: No, I didn’t like the Derby performance.

Q: So you’re feeling on the edge? Is that how you feel about yourself or how you think others feel about you?

A: I’d have waited and seen. We played really well on Saturday. I’ll take it game-by-game myself. That was a really good performance and the performance that I would be proud of to put out every week.

It made a difference with the players that came in, having those players available to play. I’d take that over the next 16 games. Just give me that performance and we’ll be fine.

Q: It sounds like you, personally, needed that performance on Saturday.

A: I needed it for myself. I want to feel good about things, I don’t like feeling bad about how we’re playing.

Q: That Derby performance and result was the lowest you’ve felt as Ipswich manager then?

A: I didn’t say that. I didn’t say that.

Q: No, I know. I’m asking if that was the case?

A: I didn’t say that. I don’t have to agree or disagree, I just didn’t say that.

Q: You said that you will maybe consider where you are at in the summer – how you feel about yourself and how you think everyone feels about you…

A: Absolutely.

Q: Are you saying that’s almost become a game-by-game thing now?

A: Not really, no, no. I just wanted a performance after Derby. The players responded, the new players helped and that’s always encouraging.