 Matteo Sereni and Finidi George arrived before the 2001 – 02 season to boost the squad for its foray into Europe . The club 's league form was poor , and 18 games into the campaign , Ipswich were bottom of the table with just one league victory . However , there was some relief in the UEFA Cup with a victory over Inter Milan 1 – 0 at home in the third round , despite which the tie was lost over two legs after a 4 – 1 defeat at the San Siro . From bottom of the table at Christmas , a run of seven wins from eight fixtures appeared to have secured the team 's league status , but another decline set in and relegation was confirmed on the final day of the season with a 5 – 0 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield . The loss of income due to relegation to the Championship contributed to the club going into financial administration , resulting in the sale of a number of players including Jamie Clapham , Darren Ambrose , and club captain Matt Holland . Ipswich had the consolation of again qualifying for the UEFA Cup , through UEFA 's Fair Play system , losing in the second round to Czech side Slovan Liberec . A poor start to the domestic season , leaving the club 19th in the table by mid @-@ October , resulted in George Burley being sacked after nearly eight years as manager . 
