Royle lament after City go down

Joe Royle's Manchester City were consigned to relegation from the Premiership last night as Ipswich rallied to beat them 2-1 at Portman Road.

Clearly disappointed, Royle admitted his team were just not good enough.

He said: 'We've conceded 60-odd goals this season.

You can't do that and stay up. It's no coincidence that the three teams who have gone down have conceded the most goals.'

Substitute Shaun Goater gave the visitors brief hope that their fight might be extended until the final day of the season. Then two goals in the final 12 minutes by Manchester United fan Matt Holland and Dutch midfielder Martijn Reuser sealed their fate.

Royle added: 'Tonight I'm going to go away and be bloody miserable.That's nine times this season we've taken the lead and not been able to hang on for the win. The game was symptomatic of our season.

'You have to be able to deal with things defensively. Some of these lads were with us in the Second Division.

'Maybe one or two have been caught out a little bit at this level. The big difference is speed of thought.