George Edmundson has admitted the Ipswich players need to ‘look at ourselves in the mirror’ after their miserable 2-0 loss at Charlton last night.

The Blues were comfortably second best as life after Paul Cook began with a limp loss at The Valley, with Town never looking like finding a way back into the game after Jayden Stockley’s opener. Alex Gilbey’s second finally killed the contest in the closing minutes.

Edmundson refused to use Cook’s surprise exit and its impact on preparation as an excuse, acknowledging that the squad players must do better.

“It was a difficult night,” he said.

East Anglian Daily Times: John McGreal will take charge of Ipswich Town for one last game before new manager Kieran McKenna takes the reins.John McGreal will take charge of Ipswich Town for one last game before new manager Kieran McKenna takes the reins. (Image: Steve Waller)

“We’ve had a long old talk in the dressing room and it’s something where we know we weren’t good enough. We have to look ourselves in the mirror.

“We said before the game that we can’t use the change of manager as an excuse because it happens in football and we’re all professionals. We know we weren’t good enough.

“You do wonder what’s going on (with the manager situation) but I’ve been in this situation before and I’m sure all the other lads have too. We know how it works and we have to be professional.

“I thought we started well and were growing into the game, but the goal killed us and we could never recover from that.”

Asked if he felt like the players had let interim manager John McGreal down with their performance in the loss, Edmundson said: “Yeah, massively.

“It’s been hard for John because he’s only been in for a day to try and get his point across to us.

“You could see it in glimpses but we’ve let him down. He’s not tried to reinvent the wheel, just give us a few key pointers which have come out in glimpses tonight. A game of football is 90 minutes, though and we showed it for 20-25 minutes.”

Town were supported by a big away following as more than 3,000 watched on at The Valley, with Edmundson accepting it’s performances, rather than words, that will put things right as fans made their frustrations clear.

“If I was in their shoes I’d be frustrated if I had been watching my team play like that,” Edmundson said.

“I feel their frustration and we’ve spoken in the changing room in great depth about how we have to be a lot better.

“Everybody has brought valid points. I don’t say much in changing rooms because I feel like actions can speak louder than words. We can do all the talking we want in the changing room but we have to go and do it on the pitch.”