Ipswich Town midfielder Cole Skuse says no-one should question the club’s ambition.

A season which promised so much, after the play-off finish of 2014/15, faded badly in 2016 and there have been plenty of forgettable matches at Portman Road.

Owner Marcus Evans and manager Mick McCarthy have both come in for criticism over investment and style of play respectively, but Saturday’s 3-2 home win over MK Dons means the Blues head into their final game, at Derby on Saturday, knowing they will finish either seventh or eighth in the Championship table.

With the club now preparing for a 15th successive campaign in the second-tier, Skuse – who was captain for the day in the absence of Luke Chambers – said: “I’m not really the person to answer questions like what it takes to take the next step. That’s down to staff and the hierarchy.

“The fans have been vocal in their criticism, but perhaps not in as many games as social media and the press would have you believe.

“There was perhaps one game, against Rotherham, when we were particularly disappointing, but believe me the players were just as disappointed as the fans were.

“The fans made their frustration clear but it has not been as bad as it has been made out to be. I don’t think the club lacks ambition at all. People question the players, question the manager, question the owner but they really should be careful what they wish for.

“Who are you going to get in the Championship that is a better manager than Mick McCarthy?

“And the owner has been very, very, very generous and has done a lot for this club.”

He continued: “It is a case of the players stepping up next season. We, as players, thought we would do better than eighth, we thought we would be top-six, but it doesn’t always work out the way you want it to.

“We don’t come to work looking not to do well, we have bad days, it’s human nature.

“Every team has bad spells, we had ours at the wrong time and the fans get frustrated, we get frustrated too but you can’t question the club’s ambition, or certain people’s ambition.”

He added: “It was massive to finish the season at home on a high. Maybe it was because we had nothing to play for but also the team was as offensive as it could be and that showed by getting three goals.”