Losing leading marksman Marcus Stewart for up to two months after a freak training ground accident on Saturday was bad enough, but the loss of another three points on home turf and new signing Ulrich Le Pen to injury on his debut compounded the gloom.

Yesterday’s 2-1 defeat to Bolton was the fourth time Ipswich have lost at Portman Road this season, and 11 matches have now passed since they last tasted victory in an FA Barclaycard Premiership match.

As preparation for Thursday’s third round, first leg tie against the might of Inter Milan, it could hardly have been worse, and Burley’s healing powers will be stretched to the limit over the coming days.

‘‘Sometimes things don’t always go for you and this is a test of character for us now,’’ he admitted.

‘‘At the moment we have got to knuckle down and weather the storm.

‘‘We are without a few key players but we have got 25 games left to put it right, and if we can get a couple of wins we can push up the league.

‘‘But when things are not going for you, you wonder when the next win is going to happen.

‘‘Now is the time for players to stand up and be counted. You could see in the second half they looked a bit edgy, but they have got to get that out of their minds and stay positive.

‘‘There are no magical cures. We have got to work hard and the results will come.’’