Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy says he has to stay level-headed amidst the ‘knee-jerk’ reactions to last weekend’s 1-0 home defeat to rivals Norwich City.

The Blues, who have conceded four sloppy goals and looked very limited in attack during a four-game winless run, could drop into the Championship relegation zone with defeat at hotly-tipped Derby County tomorrow.

A slow start to the campaign has raised fears among many supporters that Town are set for a long season of uninspiring fare and mid-table mediocrity.

Asked what he thought of the negative reaction to last weekend’s loss, McCarthy replied: “Can I show you my best bothered face? (making a show of displaying no emotion).

“I fully understand that was always going to happen, it happens more so when it’s a big derby game and it’s even more important. You get that knee-jerk reaction from everybody.

“I’ve been here nearly two years now though and you know me well enough by now. There hasn’t been too many knee-jerk reactions from me, whether it’s been a great win or a bad result. That’s the consistency that I’ve shown and that runs through the club that.

“We’re neither high as kites or low as a snake’s belly. We’re somewhere in between all the time. By being like that you keep everyone on a consistent basis.”

He continued: “It’s four games played, it’s not the end of the world. And when I say ‘it’s not the end of the world’, don’t take that as being I don’t care because I do.

“You just can’t treat a win as being the best thing in the world and a loss as the worst thing ever because there’s no constant in your life then. We have to keep a level head about it.

“We’ve actually played alright. The game on Saturday was just a bonkers goal that cost us. The game was going nowhere and we conceded a goal that was very unlike us.

“I’ve seen it again and it was offside, but even then, as I’ve said to the players, we should have dealt with it. We’ve conceded too many preventable goals recently.”