Ipswich supporters may well be worried that their side are starting to fall away after Mick McCarthy's unbeaten run was ended by QPR.

Football is a streaky game for the most part and a team's a season can be defined by how well they maintain a good run of form or alternatively how quickly they can break out of a bad run.

Ipswich built up some good form by avoiding defeat in nine consecutive games but they will need to bounce back very quickly or they will risk being left behind in the race for promotion.

Additionally, if the Tractor Boys want to start challenging the better sides in the division they will need to ensure that they have the team spirit to recover quickly from a loss.

There are many different categories you can throw Championship teams into as some teams have the talent but no team spirit and these teams will often struggle when they hit a bad run. Ipswich on the other hand seem to have a very average squad on paper but also have a mentally strong unit which enabled them to go on their impressive unbeaten run.

Unfortunately, Ipswich will naturally struggle when they face a side who match their team spirit and have some of the divisions most talented players. However I firmly believe that these teams will be the only ones capable of holding Ipswich back this season.

It is worth noting that Mick McCarthy's side have only lost three games since the end of September and the three teams that defeated Ipswich were Burnley, Leicester and QPR who currently hold the top three positions in the division. Furthermore, the Tractor Boys have not been beaten by anyone currently sitting lower than 11th in the league table.

These statistics show that whilst Ipswich have struggled to beat the sides in the top half of the table and in particular the top three teams, they also do very well against the teams in the lower half of the table.

Without meaning to sound pessimistic I can't see Ipswich fairing any better against the divisions top sides in the second half of the season and if you can't pick up points from those games then automatic promotion is almost impossible to achieve.

However, it isn't all doom and gloom for Ipswich as the teams that pull themselves into the play-0ff positions are not necessarily the ones that occasionally achieve a great one-off result. The consistent teams that pick up a large points tally against everyone but the top three or four are often the ones that make the play-offs.

In previous seasons we have seen the occasional spectacular game where Ipswich have beaten the promotion favourites but still only finished just above the relegation zone.

The club has changed its transfer policy since then and the team has a completely different mentality. Whilst the team may not be capable of beating the very best, they will always put in a solid shift and make a decent push for the play-offs this season.