Joe Royle summed up the night perfectly when he said there were lots of 'look at me' performances.
While others in the game deride the Worthington Cup, Ipswich's new chief learnt more about his squad last night than in his previous two matches put together.
A comfortable victory against an improving Premiership side, ruthlessness up front and three well-taken goals made it a night for new-found hope at Portman Road.
And it just might be that this timely success provides the catalyst for a surge up the Division One table.
Food for thought was definitely on the menu as Royle made six changes to the side which slipped up against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Alun Armstrong and Wayne Brown missed out through injury, while Matt Holland, Jim Magilton and Darren Ambrose were given a well-earned breather.
Keeper Andy Marshall was left on the bench, allowing the new manager a chance to cast his eye over former Heybridge shotstopper James Pullen.
Also in from the start were stand-in skipper Mark Venus, Jermaine Wright, Tommy Miller, Finidi George and Fabian Wilnis.
And, in the main, Royle was rightly pleased with what he saw from his vantage point in the directors box.
There was solidity in defence, width from midfield and pace up front and, although the tempo dropped quite considerably after the break, the fringe players gave Royle plenty to think about ahead of Saturday's trip to Sheffield United.
Wilnis was the biggest success of the recalled players, handed an unaccustomed role on the right of midfield.
He revelled down the flank, peppering the box with crosses during the first half, and staked a sizeable claim to be involved at Bramall Lane.
Town were off the mark inside two minutes, Thomas Gaardsoe netting his second goal for the Blues.
Jamie Clapham was the architect, bursting forward and feeding the Dane, who let the ball run into his path before slotting past Mark Crossley.
For all their possession, the hosts had to wait until five minutes before the break before doubling their lead.
Clapham turned scorer this time, racing onto Miller's pass before lashing the ball past Crossley. It was his first goal of the season.
And a minute before the break the score was 3-0.
Wilnis intercepted a careless pass before bending over an exquisite cross for Darren Bent, who headed in via the underside of the bar.
Royle said: "Overall I was delighted and couldn't have asked for any more.
"The only slight disappointment was conceding at the very end but otherwise I couldn't fault the lads.
"There were lots of look at me performances and it was very satisfying to beat a Premiership side."
Understrength Boro were generally poor and never looked capable of mounting a second-half comeback.
They did snatch one back two minutes from time, though, when Allan Johnston robbed Chris Makin.
Franck Queudrue raced onto his through ball before firing across goal and past Pullen.
Just a few minutes before the consolation, Bent had curled a 25-yard shot onto the bar.
Boro's only other chances came in the latter stages of the first half.
Queudrue blazed over from inside the box while Pullen had one save to make, tipping over a swerving long-range effort by Luke Wilkshire.
The same player went close in the second half, drilling wide when clear through on goal.
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Published Thursday November 7, 2002
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