Ipswich Town went into the 2012-13 Championship season with ambitions of achieving a respectable mid-table finish.
These aspirations soon changed to simply staying in the second tier as the Tractor Boys suffered heavy defeat after heavy defeat under Paul Jewell.
The Liverpudlian didn't last long before he was axed, with Mick McCarthy coming in to steady a ship full of loan players struggling to bond.
Here, Sports Mole casts its eye over the Blues' results under both men.
August
Competitive football began with a comfortable win over League Two's Bristol Rovers in the Capital One Cup before an encouraging opening-day draw with newly-relegated Blackburn Rovers.
A first league win of the season, last-gasp though it was, at Watford would be the Tractor Boys' only maximum for a long time.
It was followed by a 6-0 humbling at Blackpool and an exit from the League Cup to League One's Carlisle on penalties.
September
September began with a 2-2 draw at home to Huddersfield before Middlesbrough, Wolves and Charlton all took three points from games against Jewell's men.
The Blues looked on course to end their winless run at the seventh attempt in Barnsley but they were pegged back late on by the Tykes as their languishing form went on.
October
A second consecutive 1-1 draw was registered in a much more accomplished showing at top-of-the-table Brighton before a defeat to lofty Cardiff in front of the TV cameras at Portman Road.
The Blues' winless run went into double figures when they lost at Hull before an 11th game without three points against Derby saw Jewell get the sack.
The Ipswich board couldn't bring in a replacement in time for the visit of fellow strugglers Sheffield Wednesday and Chris Hutchings had to oversee a 3-0 pasting as the Blues went 10 home games without a win for the first time in their history.
November
Enter Big Mick to save the day for Ipswich. The former Wolves boss was appointed on the first day of the penultimate month and two days later he'd overseen a first win in 13 for the Tractor Boys at Birmingham.
It wasn't an easy ride for McCarthy, however, as two of the next three were annihilations at two of the division's high flyers. In between a 5-0 thumping at Palace and 6-0 drubbing at Leicester came a second win for McCarthy over Burnley, with QPR loanee DJ Campbell scoring the late winner to continue his scoring run for the Blues.
Ipswich ended the month with four points from six in front of their own fans thanks to a point against relegation neighbours Peterborough and victory over Nottingham Forest. This saw the Blues climb out of the bottom three heading into December.
December
The distance between McCarthy's side and the drop zone was extended further when they came back to win in Bolton and then ended Millwall's 13-game unbeaten streak in convincing fashion.
They met another side in form, Leeds, in the next and the mini four-game spell without defeat was ended at Elland Road. Another disappointing result followed as lowly Bristol left Portman Road with a point before the Blues moved five points clear of the relegation zone with a Boxing Day success at Charlton.
McCarthy has done more than expected since taking over and Ipswich are currently one of the form sides in the division with four wins from six. The veteran manager is sure to bring in new faces in January and will hope to extend the loans of certain players like Campbell. The job of keeping the Tractor Boys afloat in the Championship is far from over but so far, thumbs up for Mick.
Pascal Lemesre
