Bournemouth v Ipswich: Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy is more than happy for his side to keep grinding out results after they moved into the play-off places with a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.

The Blues boss punched the air with delight at the final whistle, his side left hanging on in the closing stages after Brett Pitman had cancelled out Daryl Murphy’s opener.

Bournemouth had played the better football, but Ipswich’s organisation and spirit saw them extend their unbeaten run to seven matches in a row (eight on the road) and leapfrog Leeds into sixth place in the Championship table.

“Outstanding individuals may win you a cup competition or the odd game here and there, but all the stuff I like to do gets you points, gets you up the league and makes you competitive in every game,” said McCarthy.

“Sometimes you have to do the dirty jobs and the hard work. We certainly had to do that today.

“I like to be consistent as a person. I’m consistent with how I deal with people; I’m never too up or too down. In general life if you’re consistent with people you get consistent performances from them and that tends to do you well.”

The Blues continued: “I thought there were spells in the game they dominated and spells in the game we dominated. The momentum was gained and lost by both of us and in the end we had to defend well to see it out. It was a really good defensive performance from us.”

When told that his team had gone sixth, he said: “I never get wrapped up in all of that nonsense. Let’s just see where we end up in May. We’ll just do as good as we possibly can and will continue to be realistic about what we can achieve. We’re on a good run and lets’ just see if we can keep it going.”

Next up for the Blues is the visit of Charlton on New Year’s Day (Wednesday). McCarthy has confirmed that midfielder Ryan Tunnicliffe will be available for that match after his loan spell from Manchester United was extended until the end of the season.