It was nothing more than a poor performance which in all honesty, came as little surprise. That last sentence goes totally against all my positivity.
I know I am in a minority, but I wanted us to win this game. We knew that there would be wholesale changes. But on paper, it should have been enough to mount a better spectacle.
But with so many changes, especially with a few in unrecognised positions, it was always going to be a disjointed performance.
I suppose we are also used to going out of the FA Cup to teams lower than us at the time. But at least this was not a loss to Maidstone, Barrow, or non-league Lincoln at the time.
Still, I want us to win every game and any defeat matters. The flip side of defeat is that all thoughts can now be focused on the league campaign ahead.
Town were dumped out of the FA Cup at Wrexham (Image: Ross Halls)
A real concern was a potential for a fixture backlog too. We still have the game at Portsmouth to fit in. Thankfully with Leicester losing at Southampton, our game with them in early March can now go ahead as planned.
Back to that 50th live TV game for McKenna. He is only the second Ipswich manager to oversee this number of live games.
He is now ten behind the 60 George Burley took charge of. With a win percentage of 38%, McKenna is just behind Burley’s 40%-win rate.
There is another area in which I apparently currently fall into a minority group too. That is the continued condemnation of some of our players.
I really struggle to understand why there is so much contempt at present. It must stop. But it is not going to, I concede.
Sindre Walle Egeli has been a target for abuse (Image: Ross Halls)
Sindre Walle Egeli is clearly struggling at present. We were warned that patience would be required with him. A young man in a new country has not lived up to the hype bestowed upon him.
It is a similar story with Kasey McAteer. Is it his fault that he came with such a price tag on his head? Both players have yet to spark to life. But I am sure there is nobody more frustrated than the players themselves.
And then there is George Hirst. The vitriol toward him of late is horrendous. Memes being created on social media. The boos he must deal with during games. Is it any wonder he is struggling with confidence?
Am I happy with the output of all three players? No, of course I am not. But I do not see what anything other than encouragement and support will benefit them.
If you were struggling in your workplace, I am sure you wouldn’t get better at your job if those around you abused and heckled you at every given opportunity.
Is it any wonder George Hirst is struggling with confidence? (Image: Ross Halls)
I understand it. Footballers are in a privileged position. The money they earn, the lifestyle they have and the accolades they receive when things go well are great. But they are human too.
Social media plays a huge part in everyday life now and I am sorry to say, it is not for the good in most cases. It is getting worse too.
When I first started watching Ipswich on a very regular basis, we soon regressed from winning the UEFA Cup and finishing runners-up in the first division, to playing in Division Two.
In the blink of an eye, we went from Bobby Robson to John Duncan. From watching Paul Mariner up front, to watching Neil Woods. I hate to think how social media would have combusted if around in those days.
A more recent era of the Marcus Evans days saw 13,000 Portman Road fans drowning in apathy. But we knew where we stood and it was just pure miserableness.
Despite the cup exit, Town are in a good place – so why the negativity? (Image: PA)
Our change in ownership and the relative success that brought us in recent times has changed things.
But, despite a much better club these days and our particularly good position at present, it feels that it is entrenched with constant negativity.
We move on from Wrexham to….well, Wrexham. A better performance is necessary if we are to take all three points.