George Burley wrote off Southampton's chances of promotion this season as the St Mary's faithful turned on chairman Rupert Lowe following their 2-0 defeat by Ipswich.

Calls for Lowe's head grew more vociferous as the second-half wore on and a couple of hundred fans vented their fury at the sale of Theo Walcott to Arsenal outside the stadium after the game.

Their mood was not helped by another clueless performance from Southampton, who were sunk by two goals from Ipswich new boy Alan Lee and slumped to a sixth defeat in seven league outings.

Head coach Burley admitted he sympathised with the fans, however, and refused to use the atmosphere as an excuse for his side's failings.

"Fans get frustrated at any club when things don't go right on the pitch, and they haven't gone right here for the last two years," said Burley.

"And when you lose the best young player in the country it's even more frustrating. I can understand the reaction

"But losing Theo was not the fault of anyone at Southampton. The chairman was as disappointed as anyone as he has built up the academy.

"I'm not looking for excuses because we didn't deserve anything out of the match. We had an experienced team out there but there are areas that clearly need changing. But it's not going to happen overnight.

"We have a big squad here and virtually everyone has had a chance to play now.

"I don't think we'll get promotion this season to be honest. But I want a squad in place here, in six months or a year, that will push for promotion."

Lee struck after just three minutes and capped a deserved win with a second shortly before full-time, his first goals for Ipswich since his recent move from Cardiff.

"He scored two and was a constant threat," admitted Burley. "We were looking for a good start and then we concede out of nothing after just three minutes.

"And the longer the game went on Ipswich looked lively on the break."

By contrast, Ipswich boss Joe Royle was targeting a push for the play-offs after his side leapfrogged Saints into 14th place in the Coca-Cola Championship.

Town's attack has been decimated by injuries to Nicky Forster, Sam Parkin and Adam Proudlock so Royle was delighted with the performance of his new striker.

"I'm pleased for Alan, he's come to us to start scoring goals again," said Royle.

"I've always liked him as a player, and you could see today that he can play, he isn't just a physical presence.

"Before he arrived we've been playing a 4-6-0 formation as we've had no strikers. That's hard for a side that likes to go forward.

"We're not getting too excited, we're a long way from the play-offs but with a few more players coming back you never know."

Royle also admitted he is in the market for another forward, possibly on loan until his current crop get back to fitness.

"Sam Parkin is still our top scorer and he's been out for two months," added Royle. "You never know what will happen, we're still talking to people."