Gareth McAuley pulled no punches after his side’s opening-day defeat at the Ricoh Arena.

The Ipswich Town skipper was less than impressed by the goals his side conceded in their 2-1 defeat.

“It wasn’t acceptable,” said the Northern Irishman, who was jetting off afterwards for this week’s international against Israel.

“We handed it to them by conceding two soft, sloppy goals.

“We’ll watch the video of the game and it's important we cut out mistakes like that.

“We’ve got to make sure they don’t happen again.

“There were still positives, though, and we caused them a few problems.

“I should have scored from one set-piece but didn’t, which was disappointing.”

Despite the setback, McAuley insists this will be an exciting season for Blues fans.

“There’s a great belief in the dressing room and we’ve got to keep going,” he said.

“The games come thick and fast now, including one against my old side, Leicester, at Portman Road next Saturday.

“I looked out for their results last season and they got off to a good start on Saturday.

“It’s always nice playing one of your old sides but then again it’s no different to any other game. We want to win them all.”