Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy has expressed his pride at his team after they suffered defeat in the Championship playoff semi-finals.
The Blues fell to a 4-2 aggregate defeat to bitter rivals Norwich City to ensure that they will be in the Championship for a 14th straight season next term.
By reaching the playoffs, Ipswich surpassed expectations this season and McCarthy has stressed that he remains "immensely proud" of his team.
"They're great," he told the East Anglian Daily Times. "We're immensely proud of them, they've been fantastic all season and I couldn't be any prouder of a group of a group of fellas.
"They're hard-working, really professional and I think they've shown today what they've been about and why we're in the playoffs when we were pretty unfancied at the start of the season."
Norwich will face Middlesbrough in next Monday's playoff final at Wembley for a place in the Premier League.
Pascal Lemesre
