He was in excruciating pain

Tony Mowbray, the Ipswich caretaker, was impressed with his own team’s performance but did seem somehow to forget that the opposition had played well. After the game he said,

It was Sam Ellis’ duty to reflect on the game in Stan’s absence although he did have one or two less than sympathetic messages for his boss.

"He was in excruciating pain", said Ellis explaining that Stan was suffering from mouth ulcers and an abscess on a tooth, "He didn’t travel but after speaking to him on the phone he is happy.

"We played our part in a good game and Ipswich are a good team with very good players. We created a lot of chances in the game and in the second half we restricted them and they didn’t get through as much.

"It was a good thing to make it twelve games unbeaten and that is a smashing run. We had a never say die attitude and it was a good game all the way through."

Skipper Steve Davis had a word for the gaffer and said, "I think he would have been proud of us but it was strange not to have the gaffer here, he really fires us up in the dressing room before a game but Sam Ellis was the same and he stood in really well for the gaffer."

He also spoke about the effects of travelling on the day of the match, "It was for obvious reasons we travelled down on the day but a six and a half hour trip is not ideal. We can't use that as an excuse, but it did not help with our slow start."

"I think we showed both our character and our spirit tonight. Considering they were a Premiership side last year, and they have only sold a few players, I though we deserved something out of the game, especially in the second half. We knew before the game they were a good that is able to pass the ball well so we tried to close them down.

"In the first half they made a bit of space but in the second half we more than matched them, in fact the referee ran past me a couple of times and said he thought we would score because we were battering them.

"At the start of the season we did not know how to win but now it is a bit like we have forgotten how to lose. We talked about the lack of confidence when we were struggling but when you are playing with a lot of confidence it makes a heck of a difference.

"The whole team is playing well, we are on a good run and we are creating chances in every game we play. It is great to be on a roll like this."

THINGS always seemed so steady at Ipswich Town, but after George Burley’s managerial tenure was ended 12 days ago, the only thing reigning at Portman Road is uncertainty.

It is uncertain who will be the new manager and it is not clear if Ipswich can make the most of their potential and regain their place in the Barclaycard Premiership this season. The only thing that can be said with confidence is that they delight and frustrate in equal measure. Last night they did so within a single game as they conceded a late goal to draw with Burnley in the Nationwide League first division.

The list of potential candidates for the Ipswich job is long: Bryan Robson, Micky Adams, Joe Royle, Bruce Rioch, Peter Reid and Ronnie Moore, among others, have been mentioned. Tony Mowbray, the caretaker manager, also wants the job. Since Burley was dismissed, Ipswich have won one game, lost one and now drawn one. Mowbray realises, as he said afterwards, that he is in "the results business". On that basis he is unlikely to be appointed permanently, but he accurately diagnosed some of the club’s biggest problems: the lack of confidence and morale.

"Signs were there that the belief is coming back," he said. "I thought they all pulled together. The way they were defending for their lives (in the second half) shows togetherness. I know I’m building blocks and trying to get the spirit back to where it was a year ago."

For tangible success they could do worse than look at Burnley. Now 12 games unbeaten, Stan Ternent’s team had won their previous five matches and last Saturday they became the first visiting side to win at Leicester City’s Walkers Stadium. Direct, compared with Ipswich’s daintier approach, Burnley know how to get results and their momentum carried them to a point that they should not have been allowed to gain.

It was Ipswich who started more convincingly, going ahead after just 75 seconds. Mark Venus hoisted a free kick into the area and two Burnley defenders and Marlon Beresford, the goalkeeper, got in each other’s way, allowing John McGreal to rise above the tangle and head in.

Within five minutes Burnley were level as Arthur Gnohere, the defender, nodded in a well-directed header from a corner. Ipswich needed a boost and they got it thanks to a sublime moment of skill from Darren Ambrose, their hugely impressive 18-year-old midfield player. He received the ball inside the area with his back to goal, turned and volleyed a low diagonal shot into the net after 15 minutes.

If Ronnie Moore is a serious contender for the manager’s job, his son, Ian, will be able to provide him with a useful scouting report on his potential employers.

The Burnley forward saw at first hand that for every moment of exciting play from Ipswich, there is an instant of shaky defending. So it proved in the final minute when Dean West crossed from the byline and Andy Marshall, the Ipswich goalkeeper, unaccountably rooted to the spot, allowed Dimitrios Papadopoulos, a substitute, to head in the equaliser unchallenged from close range.

Burnley, too, were missing a manager: Ternent is suffering from chronic mouth ulcers and did not travel, leaving Sam Ellis, his assistant, in charge. "He jumped up and bit one of his ulcers when we equalised," Ellis said.

Pain but gain: that seems to be the Burnley way.

As Ipswich continue to suffer in mid-table, their manager-search is proving difficult and the soul-searching is not much fun either.