NO matter whom the incumbent, life never gets any easier in the dugout at Wanderers.

Despite the problems mounting up for Neil Lennon, it is to the immense credit of the Northern Irishman and his side their unbeaten run of six games remains intact after a tussle with high-flying Ipswich Town.

Losing Max Clayton to what looks a nasty knee injury after just 24 minutes was the latest setback in a difficult week for the Whites boss.

Craig Davies was already missing through injury, Josh Vela benched with flu on the eve of his 21st birthday and Joe Mason – the man many expected to start up front – looks set to miss months rather than weeks with a torn hamstring.

Reminded that Chung-Yong Lee is due to report for international duty at the Asia Cup before the end of the year, which could rule him out for the whole of January, Lennon at least saw the funny side.

“Christ, you’re really trying to cheer me up,” he told this reporter, experiencing his umpteenth injury crisis at Wanderers.

“We’ll use him for as long as we can. Once again today most of the good stuff we did came through him.”

If it wasn’t totally apparent to all and sundry before kick-off, Lennon really needs to find reinforcements quickly in the January window, loan or otherwise.

The 36-year-old Eidur Gudjohnsen, who arrived as somewhat of a gamble a few weeks ago, is now looking like a life-saver, and with Emile Heskey back in training this morning he too could be a vital short-term measure for his former Leicester City team-mate.

Lennon cannot afford to take the same route as his predecessor Dougie Freedman, who was content to wait as long as it took to sign the men he felt were necessary to boost his squad.

But then the former Celtic boss is showing he can definitely think on his feet.

The Whites boss tried every trick in the book to stay on par with Mick McCarthy’s high-fliers, changing formations and personnel with dizzying regularity.

To the untrained eye, it was three at the back, four at the back, two up front, one up front, two behind the striker and finally three in front of the defence.

The net result was a solid point, not a spectacular one by any means, but one Wanderers simply would not have earned at any other stage in their Championship tenure.

Gudjohnsen was the highlight of a dull afternoon. Even the sight of him warming up in a neon orange bib was enough to bring fans cheering to their feet.

By the time Lennon brought him on an hour in, his every touch was greeted with a cheer.

The Icelander even managed to get a round of applause after giving the ball away completely on the edge of the box, but then Wanderers fans do seem a much more forgiving bunch these days.

Yes, time waits for no man, and Gudjohnsen is not going to cover all four corners of the pitch as he did in his teens for Colin Todd and Sam Allardyce.

But the joy of watching the former Barcelona man dance around agricultural midfield challenges as if they were not there made my, and many others’ afternoon.

David Wheater was restored to the line-up for the first time in three-and-a-half months as Lennon looked to combat the physical threat Ipswich offer by moving to a back three.

Defensively, Wanderers are a totally different proposition these days and while David McGoldrick’s movement and pace did cause a few flutters, this is not a unit which will be picked apart quite so often any more.

It was 13-goal Daryl Murphy who had the game’s first chance, a curling shot which forced Andy Lonergan into a smart save; not the last of his day.

Clayton could have scored at the other end after getting behind Luke Chambers but the outstanding Christophe Berra got back to block his shot.

The former Crewe striker felt his knee 22 minutes in but briefly returned to play before collapsing completely.

It was terrifically bad luck for the rapidly-improving 20-year-old who will have scans to determine the extent of his lay-off.

Tim Ream had Wanderers’ best chance of the game when he picked up on Liam Feeney’s cross from the right – but the American refused to shoot first time, ballooning a second effort over the bar.

Jay Spearing replaced Clayton, prompting a change in shape, and though the midfielder went close with a low drive soon after his arrival he failed to get into his groove.

Conor Wilkinson was making his full league debut for Wanderers but getting little change out of Ipswich’s impressive central defence. The 19-year-old Ireland Under-21 will learn from his experience and come back stronger for it.

Ipswich began to get on top and Lonergan made a vital save just after the break from Tabb after McGoldrick’s shot had bounced off Matt Mills into his path.

If the Wanderers keeper has ever enjoyed a better run of form in his career than he is on right now, I’d love to have seen it.

Gudjohnsen’s entrance livened the mood, although it was at the expense of a concussed Darren Pratley.

Ipswich still looked dangerous – Tabb’s header pushed away at close range by Lonergan and McGoldrick arrowing a shot inches wide.

Lennon shored things up by reverting to his tried-and-trusted 4-2-3-1 at the end, introducing Vela, but aside from a few bizarre cautions from referee Gary Sutton the end of the game had little sparkle at all.

Chung-Yong Lee might have had a penalty in injury time when his cross looked to have struck Berra on the arm but the Lincolnshire official did not want to know.

Wanderers had hung on in there and with three games still to negotiate before the loan window opens, you sense it will not be the last time this festive period.

Gudjohnsen has added a touch of mystique to the grittiness but Lennon knows he will need a lot more options if he is even to consider a run at the play-offs in 2015.