ALEX Bruce has demanded that the Ipswich players start acting like men away from home and stop making schoolboy errors.The Blues defender was livid at the way Ipswich slumped to their 13th away game without a win and admits the sequence is taking its toll - but that it is down to them to change things.

By Derek Davis

ALEX Bruce has demanded that the Ipswich players start acting like men away from home and stop making schoolboy errors.

The Blues defender was livid at the way Ipswich slumped to their 13th away game without a win and admits the sequence is taking its toll - but that it is down to them to change things.

Bruce said: “It does play on players' minds. It was all over the dressing room before the game that we could go third if we won but unfortunately instead we have slipped down the table.

“We have to start grabbing hold of the situation if we want to progress. It is up to us to act like men, not boys, and start producing gritty and hard-working performances away from home.

“I'm sick of saying it but it was one of those days again. We didn't deserve to lose the game but we have come away losers so we need to go away and reflect how we can go from beating a team like Bristol 6-0 to a 1-0 defeat against a team we should beat.”Town were beaten by a Paul Parry goal which stemmed from sloppy play on the halfway line.

Bruce said: “It was an even game and we didn't deserve to lose. The difference was that piece of brilliance from Paul Parry and sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say what a great goal.

“But it has come from our throw-in and how the hell we can give the ball away from our throw-in and they counter attack to score is simply schoolboy stuff.

“That is the sort of thing we need to address, especially away from home.”

Ipswich now have two home games to try and get back in among the play-off places and Bruce is still confident they can be contenders - but only if they can start winning away.

He said: “We also have that game in hand so we are still in a good situation and we have to take advantage of that. But we also need to start adding wins away from home.

“To do that we have to analyse what we are doing as individuals different away from home and how we can put it right.”

Bruce played his part in trying to engineer at least a point at Ninian Park with a surging run from deep and ended up crossing but the chance went begging.

He said: “I was just doing something to try and get us back into the game. I didn't feel we were under pressure at the back at all and should not have lost.”

Blues boss Jim Magilton admitted he was clueless as to why his side failed once again to perform away from home.

Magilton said: “It is very disappointing not winning away after doing so well at home. I don't know why it should be. You sit here and I will ask you, because I have no idea.

“We have an away team and a home team and there will be changes in the next away game.”

“Cardiff showed more desire to get a result. The second half was different as we were chasing it. We put them under more pressure but we still didn't really create a clear-cut chance.”

Under fire City boss Dave Jones said: “Sometimes winning ugly is not a bad thing. We played some fantastic stuff in the first half. Paul Parry was in the right place and took his goal well.”