The faith manager Mick McCarthy showed in his under-fire backline played a vital part in the Blues getting back to winning ways, according to defender Tommy Smith.

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After conceding eight goals in two games during back-to-back losses to Brighton and Reading, the Town boss resisted the temptation to make wholesale changes and stuck with the same back five which crashed 5-1 at the Madejski Stadium, heading into Tuesday night’s 1-0 win at Leeds.

Smith scored the only goal to secure victory in the 32nd minute at Elland Road, but his impressive display at the back alongside Christophe Berra, Luke Chambers and Jonas Knudsen ensured Dean Gerken had a quiet night in the Town goal.

It was the clean sheet Smith and his defensive colleagues had been craving, with the New Zealand international delighted to have been able to repay McCarthy’s loyalty.

“He (McCarthy) showed loyalty to us, especially as a back four and a goalkeeper, because after conceding eight goals in two games it would have been very easy for him to shuffle the pack and make changes,” he said.

“He had a word with us and he told us it had to stop, conceding so many goals, and it’s nice we’ve been able to give him that clean sheet.

“It’s always nice to have the confidence of the manager and to know he’s not going to make knee-jerk reactions to things and it’s a big boost.

“We’re delighted to have been able to repay him with a good performance and a good three points which is great for the confidence.

“After the two defeats, we needed to bounce back with a clean sheet away from home and that was the perfect way to do it.”

Next up for the Blues is a home clash with Birmingham at Portman Road tomorrow night, with Smith insisting his side need to put a run of results together to banish all memory of their recent blip.

“Now it’s time to rest and recover and get ready for another game under the lights at Portman Road, which we all love being involved in,” he said.

“We got the win at Leeds but it’s important we back that up with home points, which is what we’ll be trying to do on Friday night.”