Boss Paul Jewell has revealed that Town owner Marcus Evans has been involved in the moves to help striker Michael Chopra overcome his gambling addiction. The Blues manager says he’s happy with life working under Evans, given the lack of patience at certain other clubs.

Jewell said: “Without being sycophantic about it, Marcus has been very supportive of me and the club, even what we’re doing with Michael. Marcus is fully involved in that.

“I’m at a club which I really enjoy, I really enjoy the feel of the football club, I enjoy the challenge, working for the owner and really want to get some success here, that’s what I’m desperate to do.

“It’s one of those clubs which deserves it because it’s not trigger happy with managers, it gives people a chance.”

Leicester dismissed their boss Sven-Goran Eriksson this week, with Jewell joking: “It would be nice to have had the sackings he’s had, I have to be honest with you!

“I’m not surprised,” he added more seriously. ”It is madness, he’s five points from second but I’m not surprised when you see these owners making these decisions.

“If they don’t think it’s working out, it’s entirely up to them, but they spent quite a lot of money in the summer and it takes time. It doesn’t matter who it is, it takes time.

“Very rarely does a team come together and clicks, but with respect, people from outside the game who don’t really understand how football works won’t have an understanding of that.

“That’s why I’m not surprised. I think it’s a knee-jerk decision. They might bring somebody in who takes Leicester up the table and wins the league and they might be proved right, but when a manager gets sacked when he’s five points off second in a league that’s so tight, you just have to shrug your shoulders.”

Jewell says Leicester like Town are amongst a number of clubs who will feel they should be in the Premier League: “At Ipswich we think we’re a big club, but so do Nottingham Forest, so do Derby, so do Cardiff, Southampton, West Ham, Leicester. The list is endless.

“We have no divine right and I think that supporters are intelligent enough to know that. If you get out of this league you’ve done really, really well. But if we’re making progress and trying to knock on the door, eventually we’ll get there.”

Photo: Action Images

Garv added 10:08 - Oct 29 Love reading Jewell quotes!
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gcasselton1 added 10:28 - Oct 29 Things like this make me proud of the club I support, we allow time for a team full of good individual players to gel together and work well, and it seems to be working. And we take players on fully aware there may be underlying problems but take the time to help them within their football and outside of it too. Proud to be an ITFC supporter, and I'm sure I always will.

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ThatMuhrenCross added 10:41 - Oct 29 He knows how to say the right things!
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jas0999 added 10:41 - Oct 29 No mention of happy working with Clegg?! Good to hear that Evans is supportive - but we knew that already.
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Guthrum added 10:47 - Oct 29 A club atmosphere and attitude like this will reap benefits in the long run. Both Robson and Ferguson started slowly, benefitting from patient owners, and built on good history to achieve major success.
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Mark added 11:08 - Oct 29 It's great that everyone seems so happy now and there is a strong feeling that everyone is working well together to make Ipswich a success. It's such a contrast to previously when, as someone joked on here, Keane was like an ill-fitting pair of pants at Ipswich. He was hardly speaking with the owner, the relationship with the Chief Exec clearly didn't work, he couldn't/wouldn't find an Assistant Manager to work with, there seemed to be no scouting network, and he was alienating many of the players. It's such a refreshing change now and whatever our short term form is like we can be confident that we have the right regime at the club to take us forwards.

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irishtim added 11:53 - Oct 29 i think we could be at the start of something special if we give pj the time. lets build the foundations now that will take this great club to the premiership & keep us there like stoke have done but with prettier footie by us. cmon town
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roytheboy added 12:43 - Oct 29 I am very comfortable with what I am reading and confident that everyone is pulling in the right direction now, I don't think that was always the case, especially with certain players a season or two back but things seem so much better now, well done Paul and Mr Evans too.
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BotesdaleBlue added 14:08 - Oct 29 Mark - I agree with everything you say. It's really great to hear this insight from Jewell. People may knock Evans at times, but I would much rather have him as an owner than a great number of others at this level and above.
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PSGBlue added 12:56 - Oct 30 Strange how these comments on how well the club is being run came to an abrupt halt 52 minutes before a 4-1 defeat to Millwall! That's the problem we are as only as good as our last game. a 5-1 victory against Donnie next week and the tune will change again!
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bigfatjoe87 added 21:36 - Oct 30 what does sycophantic mean :-)
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yorksblue added 09:29 - Oct 31 Tactically inept Scouser, I think!
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