Matt Holland admitted a video nasty of the derby defeat against Norwich gave Ipswich Town's players a kick where it hurts most.

The Town skipper was inspirational in their 2-0 win at Tranmere Rovers on Wednesday night.

He scored one and made the other for David Johnson as Town moved back into second place in the First Division.

But it was the 90 minutes of hell watching a re-run of the humiliation by the Canaries which proved to be the catalyst for their win at Prenton Park.

The Republic of Ireland internaional said: "The manager made us watch the game and to be honest it wasn't very nice.

"We had taken a bit of stick from the fans for the result and seeing it all over again brought it all home. But we learned a couple of things from it and that can only be positive.

"We weren't getting enough shots on goal and we weren't closing players down. That was our downfall against Norwich but we went a long way towards putting that right."

Holland's performance was outstanding as Town rediscovered their form to inflict only Tranmere's fourth home defeat of the season.

It was the perfect reply to the critics who felt Town didn't have the heart to see the promotion campaign through to its zenith.

He added: "Tranmere is not an easy place to come on a Wednesday night but we rolled up our sleeves and put everything into it.

"You don't turn into a bad side overnight and we've come to a tough ground and got three vital points to put us back in the frame."

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