Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy believes winning football – and only winning football – will bring the fans back through the gates at Portman Road.

On Tuesday night, a crowd of 15,228 watched the Blues draw 0-0 with Brighton on Suffolk soil – the second-lowest league attendance of the McCarthy era.

“I saw that when I looked back at the game this morning and that disappointed me – it did look pretty sparse,” said McCarthy, speaking ahead of today’s visit of Championship table-toppers Huddersfield.

“I don’t like that, I’d prefer to have big crowds and the only way we’ll get them back is by winning games.”

Asked if it was purely winning games that attracts fans, the Blues boss replied: “If you’ve got any other reason as to why it is, whether it’s because they haven’t got the money, which people haven’t sometimes, or something else, you tell me.”

When it was put to him that entertainment value could come into it, he said: “When I came in four years ago and we were bottom with seven points, did the crowds increase? Yes. Why? Because we won games.

“Very rarely have I come away from watching a game, when I’m supporting the team that wins, and go ‘I didn’t enjoy that today’. Whether it’s rugby, tennis; whatever. If the person I want to win does win then that’s generally more entertaining than when you get beat.

“I could name a couple of teams that would spin that. They play some lovely entertaining football and we’re not playing them anymore (because they got relegated).”

After a pause, McCarthy added: “And by the way, we’re not trying not to play entertaining football. Let’s just clear that up, we don’t go out and try to play un-entertaining football. We’re not trying to do that.”

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