IPSWICH Town manager Paul Jewell’s decision not to push the boat out before the transfer window closed was fully justified tonight as his side thrashed league-leaders West Ham 5-1 at Portman Road.

The Blues boss ended up with no new signings on deadline day after some frantic late negotiating proved all for nothing.

A fee was agreed for a duo of Portsmouth players – believed to be Stephen Henderson and Joel Ward – but the deal fell through in the early evening.

Meanwhile, teenage defender Murray Wallace ended up signing for League One side Huddersfield, while Stoke’s Danny Higginbotham turned down a loan move.

All that was overshadowed by a scintillating display from Town though as Michael Chopra, Daryl Murphy, Lee Martin and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas (2) goals put the league-leaders to the sword.

“It’s a great tonic for everybody; players, owner, staff, supporters, even the guys here who ask the questions every week,” said Jewell.

“Credit to the players – they’ve taken a bit of stick and rightly so. You can see in the last few games though that we’ve had spells of playing well and tonight it’s all come together.

“The atmosphere was terrific and these are the sort of night we want to bring back to Portman Road. There’s a bit of magic about this place when it’s like that.”

Speaking of his transfer failing, he added: “It’s been a bit of a nightmare really – I thought we had at least two deals done when I arrived at the stadium around 5.30pm, but they’ve fallen through. It’s not happened because of personal terms.

“We told Falkirk we wanted to give less money up front (for Wallace) and more on appearances but they didn’t want to do that.

“Throwing money after things you aren’t sure of can be dangerous. You might have to take a bit of flack with it, but I think the club has paid over the odds for too many players in the past.”