BLUES defender David Wright has rejected suggestions that manager Jim Magilton has lost the dressing room.

Derek Davis

BLUES defender David Wright has rejected suggestions that manager Jim Magilton has lost the dressing room.

Ipswich Town's disappointing first half to the season and the defeat by Norwich City have had critics searching for reasons and the players have been accused of no longer backing the boss.

But Wright denied that was the case and said: “Of course the manager still has the dressing room. Because we got beat by our local rivals it doesn't mean the team, or the club, has fallen apart.

“It was very disappointing performance at Norwich and the place has been like a morgue since but we have to pick ourselves up come back strong and confident.

“There is no reason why we should not be behind the manager and we are all pulling in the right direction.

“If we win the next two games everyone will be happy.”

Wright also refused to accept the accusation that Norwich wanted to win more than Town on Sunday.

“I would not say they showed more desire. I would say they played better than us. We have to be honest about that and they deserved to win.

“We can be criticised for all sorts of things, our passing or any kind of technical things, but when people start questioning our desire and hunger to want to win games that is very wrong and really hurts.”

Wright was among the scorers in the 6-0 hammering of City last season and while another freak result like that may be too much to expect, it is a chance for Town to win back some support.

He said: “It is another game and it doesn't matter what game you play in, you have your own personal pride and you are playing for each other and the club.

“We have to believe in what we are doing and that is the right way of playing and things will come good.

“We now have two home games and we need to be very confident and believe. We need to make sure we get as many points as possible form those games.

Town are in danger of being cut adrift from the play-off places although six points from the matches against Bristol City and Cardiff City would put them right back in the fray.

Wright said: “There are three clubs that are showing consistency and they are at the top by a long way. Everyone else is so inconsistent which is why the league is so tight. We need to find that consistency, individually and collectively and when we do we will be in the top six.”

The former Crewe and Wigan defender has arguably been Town's best player so far this season, playing his part in a defence that has shown improvement.

But the lack of goals, eight in eight, has not been particularly good and Wright believes Ipswich need to start scoring more, from all over the park.

He said: “We defend collectively and we score collectively. Going forward has always been a strong part of our game and in the past we had defensive frailties but more recently we have been tighter and a lot more solid so teams are finding it harder to break us down but goals win games for us.

“Collectively we have not shown enough quality with the final cross or pass and we need to put that right. Once we do then we have enough quality to score the goals.”