Ten games left, it’s still all to play for – is your Ipswich Town glass half full or half empty?

Come the final reckoning we will know whether Saturday’s 1-1 home draw with Brentford was a valuable point or a missed opportunity.

The Blues’ profligacy in front of goal was undoubtedly frustrating. Daryl Murphy may have taken his goal tally for the campaign to 22, but he also produced a contender for miss of the season.

And yet the attitude and performance levels, at the end of a difficult week, were equally encouraging.

It’s important to remember that Brentford eased to a 4-1 home win over Huddersfield last Tuesday night, while Town’s players didn’t get back to Suffolk until 3.30am on Thursday following their 2-1 loss at Leeds on Wednesday evening.

Instead of feeling sorry for themselves after back-to-back defeats, Town had a high-pressing side on the back foot for long periods.

Failure to win means the Blues remain outside the play-off places. Avoiding defeat means they remain very much in the promotion mix.

Seventh in the Championship table, five points behind the top four (Bournemouth, Derby, Watford and Middlesbrough all incredibly locked on 66) and just a point adrift of sixth spot with 30 points still to play for – that’s a situation every Blues fan would have taken before a ball was kicked.

Expectations have risen, as they should, but realism – an outlook McCarthy specialises in – is also important at this juncture.

The big question is, will the spirit and togetherness in Town’s close-knit group overcome their technical limitations?

With all of the leading teams dropping points, mental toughness could well be the most important quality of all in this nail-biting finish.