Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy is determined to win back the support of those who are now ‘calling for his head’.

The Blues boss’ stock was sky-high after two-and-a-half years in the job – a relegation-threatened outfit transformed into play-off participants on a shoestring budget – but a wholly uninspiring 2016 has led to many beginning to question whether he is the man to take the club forwards.

Town have failed to score in more than 400 minutes of football and the 1-0 home loss to Huddersfield prior to the international break was the latest in a long line of non-events at Portman Road.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s game at fellow Championship strugglers Blackburn, McCarthy said: “I heard the reaction after the last game. If they want to get shot of me, and they want change and want to do something else, I can’t affect that.

“I’m not bothered. All I can do is try and get back to when they weren’t calling for my head – and that’s by getting results.

“If we go to Blackburn, get something, then beat Burton (at home) on Tuesday night, suddenly we’ll have a different feeling.

“I do prefer it when they are cheering and not jeering, and when they are applauding us rather than booing.”

Asked if this was a tougher time for him than his initial relegation battle in 2012/13, McCarthy replied: “That kind of wasn’t my fault that was it? Nobody blamed me for that, but they’re blaming me for it now.

“You get a bit of a free one for a while. Nobody was giving me any grief because it was the regime before’s fault. At the moment it’s down to me and down to the players.”

So do the players need to share the burden of blame?

“You’ve known me for four years... if I get to November the first,” said McCarthy, with a wry smile. “Have I ever come in here and blamed anybody? I’ll never blame players in my life, ever, ever, ever. I’m the leader, I’m the boss, I make the decisions, I pick the team. Whether it’s injuries, transfers, whatever, I never make excuses and I’m not about to start.”

Meanwhile, Blues midfielder Jonathan Douglas says it’s up to the players to take responsibility.

“The fans have the right to have a go at us and it’s up to us on the pitch to change things,” he said. “The manager works his butt off every day of the week and it’s up to us as players to get the results.

“That’s not happening at the minute and the manager is getting a lot of the stick because he’s the manager.

“But before he came in the club was looking at League One, he’s turned it around and, to be fair to him, with the budget we have at this club, he’s done remarkable.

“If he’s getting the flak it’s up to us to get him out of it. A lot of the lads here owe him a lot – I’m one of them. He gave me an opportunity to come to a great club like Ipswich and I’ll be doing everything I can to turn it around for him.

“I believe, with the ability that we have in the squad, that it’s only a matter of time before it will turn around for us.”

McCarthy said: “It’s great hearing Dougie say that. None of them are thinking ‘I’m sick of this place’ or ‘I don’t want to play’.”