IPSWICH TOWN: Marton Fulop is much happier to be a footballer than an international swimmer.

He is relishing the Carling Cup game against Northampton at Portman Road tomorrow night.

He might not be playing as Brian Murphy has had the nod for cup games this season between the posts, but the Hungarian international is looking for the pain coming from three straight defeats to be eased.

“This is the great thing about football,” said Fulop.

“If you are a swimmer and you miss out on a medal by one tenth of a second in the Olympic Games you have to wait four years to put that right.

“We get three days, and this is what we will be looking to do against Northampton.

“Our confidence is still at a high level.

“We are a team that can beat Cardiff City and Middlesbrough away.

“And we are team that can win plenty of games in the months ahead.”

And Fulop, who confirmed that he received no reaction to the back injury that made him miss last Tuesday’s game at Watford, is refusing to write off Town’s chances of promotion.

“The table does not take shape until after Christmas and we have plenty of games to move back up the table,” he said.

“Anything can happen and it is not beyond our capabilities to win five games on the trot.

“If we did that we would be back as contenders for automatic promotion.

“There’s no doubt that we have suffered a bad spell since the international break.

“Three defeats are of course what we didn’t want.

“But it’s not the end of the world with others losing as well.

“It is a case of going back to basics and rediscovering good habits.

“Our fans behind my goal in

the first half were right behind us – and we appreciate their support.”

When asked why Town continue to start slowly the tall custodian replied: “I’ve no idea.

“Perhaps it becomes easier

for us after the interval because the pressure is off and we can

try a few different things. We have a winnable home game with Millwall on Saturday and we

have to win that. But before that is the cup match – an ideal game to get our season back on track.”

And Fulop had no

complaints about the quality of Lewis McGugan cracking 45th minute free-kick on Saturday. “I didn’t have a chance really and

all credit to the lad for a great strike.”

Murphy, who deputised for Fulop, is set to start tomorrow, with Town without the cup-tied Jack Colback and Jake Livermore.

Ronan Murray could get a start up front with Reggie Lambe hoping to be back from international duty with Bermuda to be able to be considered.