Derby v Ipswich: October’s home defeat to Derby not only heralded the end for Paul Jewell at Portman Road, but also signalled the start of a frustrating period for Jay Emmanuel-Thomas.

The winger was benched for the Blues’ following game – the 3-0 home loss to Sheffield Wednesday – by caretaker manager Chris Hutchings, but surely would not have predicted what came next.

Mick McCarthy took over soon after and guided Town to a 1-0 win at Birmingham, a game in which Emmanuel-Thomas was only used as a last-minute substitute.

He would have to wait until last Monday to make his first league start under McCarthy who, along with Jewell, has often expressed his frustration at the forward’s lack of consistency.

The former Arsenal youngster was one of several players that under-performed during Jewell’s tenure and things have only just begun to improve under McCarthy.

He made a match-winning block in the contest with Leicester City, set up Carlos Edwards’ winner against Bolton and scored the final goal in the victory against Leeds. All were home games.

Reflecting on the last six months, the Londoner said: “I don’t think you can say we let Paul Jewell down, we did not intend to lose games or throw points away.

“We just could not string the wins together to keep the manager in his job.

“After he left, my next start was not until the Aston Villa game in the FA Cup so it has been a bit awkward for me, but the tables are starting to turn a bit now.”