Ipswich Town defender Christophe Berra says the players are realistic enough to recognise they are ‘not world beaters’.

The Blues have finished ninth, sixth and seventh in the Championship table in recent years, but are currently 17th in the standings following last weekend’s 2-0 home loss to the previously struggling Nottingham Forest.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s visit of QPR to Portman Road, Berra said: “There are ups and downs in football and we’re Ipswich Town, we’re not world beaters, and we’ve got to realise that. We’ve got to be operating at 90, 95, 100% to get results. It’s the same for all the other teams in this league, apart from obviously Newcastle.

“Let’s be honest, we’re not Real Madrid or a Bayern Munich. Unless you are one of the top teams, who have good times 95% of the time, you have to get used to losing now and again. There are going to be goals conceded sometimes and we can’t let it affect us that much. We need to bounce back and do what we did against Sheffield Wednesday (winning 2-1 away prior to the international break).”

The Scottish international continued: “Obviously no-one likes getting beaten, but sometimes you have to take it on the chin. You learn more in defeat than you do in victory.

“We’ve had it good in the past two or three seasons, but maybe we are in a wee sticky spell just now and we need to get through that.

“Most games we play in are fine margins decided by a goal here or there. The Championship is so difficult.

“If you compare our squad to other squads you couldn’t say, for example, that we are outstandingly better than Forest or QPR. There is not much between us.

“This season it’s just not happening for us at the moment, but we’re not losing confidence and are going to every game thinking we can win it.”

Mick McCarthy’s side have been booed at the final whistle of their last two outings at Portman Road – the 2-2 draw with Rotherham and last Saturday’s televised shambles – while QPR arrive in Suffolk bouyed by a 2-1 victory over Norwich in what was Ian Holloway’s first game back in charge of the West London club.

“We’ve struggled a bit when teams have sat behind the ball and there is no space in behind. It’s difficult to break down,” said Berra. “Hopefully we can make teams come at us and make the games more open.”

He added: “I still don’t think that teams get on the bus to Portman Road thinking they’ll be in for an easy game against us.”