‘Relax’ – that’s Mick McCarthy’s message to his Ipswich Town players ahead of tomorrow’s pressure match at Huddersfield.

With key duo Ryan Fraser and Cole Skuse having recently joined long-term absentees Teddy Bishop and David McGoldrick in the treatment room, the Blues are enduring a difficult time at present.

Tuesday night’s 1-0 home loss to table-toppers Hull City saw them drop to 10th in the Championship table. Altogether it’s five defeats from six in all competitions and just two wins in 2016.

“I thought we were all a little bit hurried the other night in trying to get back in the game, a little bit rushed,” said McCarthy. “We weren’t as considered as we could have been.

“I think Murph (Daryl Murphy) sums that up. He’s got eight goals at the moment when he had something like 19 at this stage last year.

“We’re all getting frustrated and he is as well. You start trying to get goals out of nothing and that’s like putting the cart before the horse. Goals follow performances and Murph has always got his goals out of being a big handful, running in the channel, sticking the ball, upsetting defenders and bringing others into play.

“I think, at the moment, we’re all just a little bit rushed; be that shooting, the final pass, getting a cross in. Maybe we just have to relax a little bit, Murphy included.”

The last time Ipswich lost four matches in succession was immediately prior to McCarthy taking charge in November 2012, Paul Jewell departing after defeats to Cardiff, Hull and Derby, with caretaker boss Chris Hutchings then overseeing a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday.

“I’d be stupid if I sat here and said I wasn’t concerned by three defeats on the bounce, albeit from three tough games,” said McCarthy.

“I’m pleased the way we stuck at it on Tuesday, but of course I am concerned and I’m disappointed that we’re not giving our fans something more to shout about. We’re working at it, as always.

“Doom and gloom will only make things worse and exacerbate a bad situation. We’ll try and stay positive.”

Asked if he was sticking to his usual mantra of ‘there’s no such thing as a bad away draw’ ahead of tomorrow’s game, the Blues boss said: “We certainly don’t want to get beat because that would be four on the bounce.

“In terms of stopping that rot, I’d take a point, but we’re going there to win because we need wins if we are going to get back in the top six. A couple of wins can do wonders, but getting them is not easy.”