IPSWICH manager George Burley admitted after his side's 4-1 defeat by Bolton Wanderers that his side's first half defensive collapse was the worst performance by any Town side he has managed.

The Town boss watched from the side-lines as German striker Bobic's hat-trick and a goal from French International Djorkaeff put the crucial Premier league relegation battle beyond Town's reach.

"This was such an important game for us," Burley told the official Ipswich Town website. "And we just didn't start playing until the break, and by that stage the game was all over bar playing for pride."

Over 2,000 travelling fans made the journey in hope to the Reebok stadium and the Ipswich manager felt his players owed them an apology. "The team must look at themselves after the awful first half display and know that they let those fans down badly," stressed a very unhappy Burley who admitted that the 4-0half time score had left him "angry and embarrassed."

The Town boss refuses to give up on hanging onto the club's Premier league status, however. He said: "We need two wins and a draw, I know it won't be easy against Arsenal, Middlesborough, Manchester United and Liverpool, but it is not impossible."

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