Eck on Boxing Day Suffolk punch

More from Alex McLeish post-Ipswich, in his own words.

On the win:

"We got the victory and it was a bit of a character performance. I asked for the character and I got that, I asked for the work rate and I got that, I got the organisation and the compactness of the team was good. We could have added a bit more quality to it, but we got the victory. We protected our lead in the second-half and could have shown a bit more composure and picked Ipswich off. After back to back defeats, the boys were a bit edgy and this is a difficult place to come, but we showed a lot of character."

On penalties:

"I couldn't believe how long it's gone on without us getting one. I think Cardiff have had 12 this season. It's a measure of how often they are getting in the opposition box and maybe we are not doing that enough. But it was certainly a very dangerous pass from Kemy Agustien and we had guys in the danger area. The referee was right up there to see the handball and James McFadden showed good composure to stick it away.

On Maik Taylor having little to do:

"Yes, but he didn't really in the Reading game the other week either. Reading scored three goals, yes, but two of them were set-pieces and the third one was when we were trying to get back in the game. He's guy who loves shut-outs as do the defenders as well. I'm pleased for Maik because the defence, in my opinion, wasn't at its best last week. But the concentration was there and they stood firm in the second-half."

On the victory instilling confidence:

"It should give them confidence but I am looking for these players to go on a run of outstanding performances individually because that's what you need when your team is competing for a championship. It's not one or two games that are not bad, we need consistent outstanding performances, with outstanding application, especially for these fans who came down here. I'm sure they're happy with the way the team has applied themselves but we know that we can do better and when you see players in the dressing room, see some of the disappointment on the faces, they know they can do better too.

On Damien Johnson:

"I thought he was excellent. I brought back his English nous and I thought it was important to the team. It was a calculated gamble as he has only played in one reserve game since coming back from a potentially career-threatening injury. But that game t I watched he was running from start to finish, his fitness is a good level. When you're Damien's age and you've trained all these years, you've done all the pre-seasons, it's in the bank. He will have an inner fitness player have until they retire. What you have to worry about is 'have the legs gone?' and Damien showed that he was efficient in all departments. He was running all over the place and getting stuck into challenges from the first minute to the last."

On leaving Kevin Phillips on the subs' bench:

"A lot of people may think I'm off my head but I wanted to rest Kevin Phillips because of playing two games in 48 hours. We've got to have trust and faith in other players."

On Swansea City:

"They are a good side, they play good football. We need to be tactically ready for them when we don't have the ball. But we have got to be a big threat in their box."