ALTHOUGH a vote of confidence, it did not have the same ring to it as the one that managers generally dread to hear.Not only has Ipswich Town chairman David Sheepshanks every faith in Jim Magilton but he is also genuinely convinced that good times will soon return to Portman Road.

By Elvin King

ALTHOUGH a vote of confidence, it did not have the same ring to it as the one that managers generally dread to hear.

Not only has Ipswich Town chairman David Sheepshanks every faith in Jim Magilton but he is also genuinely convinced that good times will soon return to Portman Road.

However, it was still the reassurance that managers would rather not be in a position to hear.

After watching Saturday's 1-0 defeat at an out-of-sorts Southampton, Sheepshanks said: “I have every faith in the manager.

“It was a unanimous decision to appoint him and the decision was widely acclaimed.

“This bad run is trying our patience and thank goodness we play no more games in February.

“It is one of the worst months I can remember playing-wise at the club and, fingers crossed, March will bring similar performances to the ones we enjoyed in January.

“It is no disgrace to lose to a Southampton side still in receipt of Premiership parachute money, but the next three games are important to us - and we need to win them. We believe we can.

“One lack of concentration cost us a point on Saturday and we must sharpen up in front of goal.”

Skipper Jason De Vos added his praise for Magilton. The central defender, who left St Mary's Stadium with a sore foot that will not keep him out of the QPR match, said: “We are all 100 per cent behind the manager.

“He is a great guy to work for, but when he has given all his instructions it is up to the players when they cross that white line.

“We are all 100pc behind him and when you are building for the future there can be some uncomfortable steps to negotiate along the way.”

Newcomer George O'Callaghan gave the views of the rest of the Town squad.

He said: “I feel for the gaffer. It is a pleasure to train with him and his ideas and we are all playing for him.

“The current run is very disappointing for us all, but we are all giving him everything.

“Our game plan went out of the window from the first minute. The plan was to frustrate Southampton and then gain the initiative.

“However, once they scored so early we were knocked off that path and at the end we were gutted.

“We have too much class in the squad to drop into the relegation fight, but we know that we need points from our forthcoming matches. A goal could work wonders.”