Dejection for West Ham - Ipswich Town vs West Ham United, npower Championship at Portman Road, Ipswich - 31/01/12 - MANDATORY CREDIT: Rob Newell/TGSPHOTO - Self billing applies where appropriate - 0845 094 6026 - contact@tgsphoto.co.uk - NO UNPAID USE..

“Frankly we’re long overdue a regulation win against this lot, and we can only hope that Tuesday’s capitulation serves as a much-needed kick up the backside”

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To say Tuesday’s 5-1 demolition at the hands of Ipswich was a bolt from the blue would be an understatement.

On the train to Portman Road, we spoke of how it would be ‘typical West Ham’ to contrive to lose, but this was really nothing more than the typical pessimism that has become the ritual of every pre-match train journey we take.

We have become accustomed to West Ham winning ugly on plenty of occasions this season, well this time we got to see them lose ugly.

From the very first whistle it was completely inadequate. The players seemed to be easing their way into the game when the first Ipswich goal hit the back of the net, having only arrived at my seat a few minutes before kick-off I can’t actually know for sure whether they had bothered to come out and warm-up before the game.

Maybe the game would have been different if Carlton Cole’s header had crept in when it hit the inside of the post while the score was 1-0, but almost everything that followed that moment was a horror show.

In a failed mission to find a half-time beer, I didn’t even have the solace of witnessing our only goal, but sod’s law meant I wandered up the steps just in time so see George McCartney concede the penalty that killed the game off right on the stroke of half-time. I don’t even want to talk about the disaster that was the second half.

What better preparation could we ask for ahead of the visit of the old enemy Millwall at lunchtime? Frankly we’re long overdue a regulation win against this lot, and we can only hope that Tuesday’s capitulation serves as a much-needed kick up the backside.

The arrival of three new faces on deadline day should help matters. Nicky Maynard is a proven goalscorer at this level, and while I consider both Ricardo Vaz Te and Ravel Morrison both to be unknown quantities in terms of reliability, they should hopefully provide that extra pace and creativity that has been sorely missing all season long.

Hopefully all today’s talking points are about the football, and more specifically about a crucial three points in the promotion push.