Welcome back to Portman Road for this afternoon's Championship game against Queens Park Rangers.

We go into the match on the back of successive wins against Charlton and Scunthorpe which have kept us very much in the Play-Off picture in what appears to be a game of musical chairs at the top of the table at the moment.

No-one seems to be able to nail down a run that would cement a place in the Premier League, so there is everything to play for over the remaining seven Championship games and my players are ready for the challenge.

They have shown they are prepared to take what is dished out to them and come back stronger and we know that, if we are on our game and put in the performances that I know we are capable of over the final run in, we will have a fantastic chance of finishing in the top six.

It was a big three points for us at Scunthorpe last week and a deserved three points as well.

We stopped them playing, got on the ball and played some decent football in trying conditions and scored two excellent goals through our two Spanish lads, Pablo and Sito.

Unfortunately for Pablo, and us, he finished the game in the dressing-room after being sent-off with Scunthorpe's Jack Cork for what was nothing more than `handbags'.

I don't think the referee dealt with the incident particularly well. A quick word to both of them would have been enough and both teams would have finished with 11 players.

We saw enough on the video to launch an appeal but the FA came down on the side of the referee and although we are very disappointed about that, there is nothing more we can do and so we move on.

[Scunthorpe manager] Nigel Adkins also accused Pablo of spitting in the face of Andy Butler in the game with his quotes going out in the national press. Pablo was pilloried to be honest and unfairly so.

I reserved judgment after the match until I had spoken to Pablo and got his version of events and also looked at the video. He tells me he got elbowed in the face by their lad and spat out the blood. It's gone in the direction of the player but he's yards away and it certainly was not in his face as had been suggested.

If Pablo had been guilty of what he was accused of I would have dealt with him very harshly but he's not. I have seen the video, I have spoken to the player. I've backed him and the matter is closed.

He is suspended for three games, though, thanks to the red card and that means someone else will get their chance. Shefki Kuqi is back with us and has made good progress in recovering from a hamstring injury and we also have Jordan Rhodes who has been scoring plenty of goals for the reserves.

I've made it clear that I would have liked to have brought extra bodies into the squad on loan for the last few games, with us having injuries at the front and back at the moment, and it feels like I have spent the past week or two on the phone - along with every other Championship club that is - trying to prise players away from the Premier League.

We did manage to get Danny Simpson in from Manchester United and we're delighted that he is with us until the end of the season.

We have been pestering United all season over some of their young players, including Danny, so I'd like to thank Sir Alex Ferguson for allowing the lad to come here. He couldn't wait to come either, which shows a lot about Danny's character and he's already made an impression around the place.

He went on in midfield at Scunthorpe last week and showed plenty of energy, and quality as well, and he could have had a hat-trick in the 20 minutes he was on.

Danny will be keen to play today against a QPR side that are heading in the right direction. I have enjoyed watching their performances of late and I'm sure they will make things difficult for us this afternoon.

We are at home though and it's up to us to get a foothold in the game and take another step towards that top six.

Enjoy the match.