IPSWICH Town manager Paul Jewell admits these are ‘dark days’ for himself and his side.

The confidence-rocked Blues are now just one point clear of the Championship relegation zone following five successive losses.

Just like at Nottingham Forest the previous weekend, Town managed to take the lead at home against Reading twice on Saturday only to dramatically pluck defeat from the jaws of victory in another worryingly nervous finish.

Jewell’s men have now leaked 13 goals in their last four games.

And despite playing one fewer game than everyone else in the bottom half, they’ve still conceded the most amount of goals – a whopping 33 – in the entire division.

“It’s very difficult at the moment for Ipswich Town people to see any pluses,” admitted Jewell. “It’s a dark place we’re in.

“We just haven’t got that mental strength or physicality, or whatever it is, to get results. Football is all about confidence and we just haven’t got any at the moment.”

The Blues make the long trip to Burnley tomorrow night – a side who came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Hull on Saturday – before hosting Watford on Saturday, a team they haven’t beaten in 13 meetings.

With the former just a point above Town in the table and the latter on an equal 20 points, it’s a massive two games for Jewell and his players.

“We have to get ourselves out of this because no-one’s going to help us,” said Jewell, who will be without skipper Grant Leadbitter tomorrow night after he injured his groin at the weekend, while keeper David Stockdale (shoulder) and centre-back Ibrahima Sonko (hamstring) face late fitness tests.

“It’s no understatement to say that I’m frustrated, but we’ll go again. In football there’s no hiding place, it’s there, it’s life and we’ll face the music.

“We have to fight and scrap and get a result from somewhere.”

– For full Burnley v Ipswich preview, see tomorrow’s EADT and Evening Star.