Ipswich Town managing director Ian Milne has praised the club's manager Mick McCarthy and said that he is the reason why they are doing well with a small squad and budget.
The Tractor Boys are on a seven-game unbeaten run in the Championship and lie sixth in the table, two points behind the three teams on 21 points at the top, after 11 games of the season.
Unlike many others around them, Ipswich have barely spent a penny in transfer fees since McCarthy's arrival in November 2012.
The £10,000 paid for Tyrone Mings, for who Ipswich received a reported £2.5m bid from Crystal Palace this summer, is their only outlay in that time.
"Maybe Mick is the difference. Good managers can make all the difference - he inspires confidence," Milne told BBC Look East.
"Mick brings a great confidence, not only to the training ground, but to the whole club as well.
"People say we've done it on a budget - in transfer fees yes. But what we've got to remember are the salaries and it's that bill we have to watch."
McCarthy is under contract with Ipswich until the end of the 2016-17 season after agreeing a new deal this summer.
Pascal Lemesre
