Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy resisted the temptation to panic buy before last night’s 11pm transfer deadline.

A sensational December consisting of 16 points gained from a possible 18 was followed by the January blues; Town winning just one match in six across all competitions and producing several flat performances.

McCarthy – whose side are just three points behind Championship leading duo Bournemouth and Derby, and who have a six point cushion to seventh-place Wolves – has kept the faith in his 22-man first team squad though, backing them to overcome a mid-season wobble.

Owner Marcus Evans has been keen to keep the purse strings tight during the McCarthy era, having seen previous bosses Roy Keane and Paul Jewell fail to get the team up the league after spending relatively big money on transfer fees and wages respectively.

And, with this being the Suffolk club’s best shot at promotion in a decade, everyone at Portman Road has been conscious of not disrupting the formula that has got the side into this position in the first place.

Much of Town’s success has been built on a low-budget, high-spirited, close-knit squad all pulling in the right direction; the whole worth a significant more than the sum of the parts.

Evans provided £100,000 to sign striker Freddie Sears from Colchester United earlier this month and is operating right on the edge of the Financial Fair Play rulings that now limit owners’ annual cash injections.

He turned down big money offers for Tyrone Mings and David McGoldrick back in the summer, issued a hands-off warning over key players leading into January and is very much ready to back McCarthy when the ‘emergency’ loan window opens next week.

Town have taken financial gambles in the past that have had catastrophic long-term consequences. That was something they were just not prepared to do this time – no matter how big the potential reward.