Ipswich Town legend Kevin Beattie believes Mick McCarthy can address the club’s current indifferent form.

Sixteenth-placed Town head into a crunch home game with fellow strugglers, Bristol City on Friday night - the Robins having won just one of their last nine games, which ironically was their 2-0 home victory over the Blues earlier in the month.

After that, the Blues head to west London on Monday, to face out-of-form QPR, the R’s having lost eight of their last 10 league games.

“He has been here for four years now and done well for the majority of the time – there was always going to be a blip, every manager goes through one, and he is having his now,” said Beattie.

“I think he can get out of it. You can’t just blame one man, but he bears the brunt of the criticism and that is what I love about him - he is very honest.”

Between them, QPR and Bristol have lost 17 of their last 20 games, although Town’s form is not great either, the Blues having lost five and drawn two of their previous 10 matches.

“We have two big games coming up, starting on Friday against Bristol City, before we go to QPR, who are not having a good time but seem to decent at home,” Beattie added.

“We should be expecting six points from the two games if you look at the respective squads.

“What we have got is far superior (to Bristol City and QPR) in my opinion but as Jimmy Greaves once said, football is a funny old game.”

One positive for Town has been the return from injury of Brett Pitman, who scored twice in Town’s 3-2 win at Wigan on December 17.

However, things have not looked so bright for fellow forward Freddie Sears, who has scored just two goals in his last 49 appearances, stretching back to last December’s win at Fulham, albeit having played numerous games in midfield or in a wide position in a front-three

“I feel sorry for Freddie, he has done a brilliant job but he seems to have had his head down the last couple of months,” explained Beattie.

“He does not seem like the same player. His best position is as a striker, playing off a big man.”