We wanted to win to dedicate it to Tom Smith

Speaking about the goal, the former England manager added, “It was a great move that led to the goal and the strike was vintage Paul Ince. He pulled his hamstring in scoring the goal but it shows his character that he carried on and played the full ninety minutes.

“Maurice Ross set the whole tone tonight, winning several tackles he had no right to win. He set the bar for us. What we have done this evening is prove we can put a battling head on. Ipswich will now be a different game on Saturday because both sides will want to play football. This though has given us a lift, we still believe we can do it.”

Steve Cotterill was somewhat subdued after the game but explained the reasons. “We were so desperate to do well tonight because we all went to a funeral yesterday of a young boy called Tom Smith and we wanted to win to dedicate that to him and his family, and we are so disappointed that we haven’t.

“We all took a reality check yesterday and sometimes you can forget football and realise what else is out there in life. We got quite fond of Tom and we were sad yesterday. I was very proud of the players and how they acted, some showing emotions you don’t always expect.”

On the game itself he added, “It was disappointing because in the end we felt as if we’d done enough to get something out of the game. We could have had a couple of penalties so we are disappointed really.”

Clarets Mad would wish to send their condolences to Tom’s family and friends, our thoughts are very much with you all at this very sad time for you.