Centre-half Christophe Berra says the Blues have to get back to being difficult to score against and stop conceding sloppy goals, Vanarama National League leaders Lincoln City having been the latest side to profit from Town defensive errors during Saturday’s 2-2 FA Cup third round draw at Portman Road. Earlier in the season the Blues went on a run where they kept seven clean sheets in 11 matches.

“It was a scrappy game and to them it was a cup final,” Berra, the stand-in skipper in the absence of captain Luke Chambers, reflected on a game the Blues would have lost but for Tom Lawrence’s 86th minute strike, his second goal of the match

“They are top of their league and flying high so they came here full of confidence and that’s a huge thing.

“They are a full-time outfit so were very fit and we had to match that. We did that but they got a couple of goals, which were poor as far as we are concerned.

“All credit to them, they deserved the draw and it is all thanks to Tom that we were able to get a draw. That’s football.

“There are always highs and lows in football and at the moment we are suffering more lows.”

He added: “These kinds of game always create upsets and that could have happened but we were able to prevent that.

“It is a one-off game and it was difficult. We have not been as consistent as we have been in the past.

“Winning games breeds confidence and we have not won enough games. The fans are not enjoying it and that comes across. Lincoln fans were outstanding and really got behind the team.

“As a player you always want to do well in the FA Cup, in all competitions really, and you want to win trophies, but the league is your bread and butter. The further down the league you go the harder that is.”

Looking ahead to the replay at Sincil Bank a week tomorrow, Berra said: “They want to get to the Football League are flying high. It will be a different game at their place. They will be expected to do well and expecting a cup shock.

“We will need to play as well as we can and be more consistent. We need to get back to being difficult to score against.

“We have a good team here and we need to show that. We went on a great run of clean sheets earlier in the season, and we need to get back to doing that.

“Recently we have been conceding crappy goals and yet we still have the eighth best defensive record in the league.

“Clearly something is good about us but we are giving away sloppy goals, or sometimes unfortunate goals.

“People will say it is the back four but it is not always the case, although we will take it on the chin.

“There is pressure in every game, especially for defensive players because we don’t want to make a mistake. Attacking players can go out and express themselves so it is different.

“Speaking personally, I want to do well and I will go home and evaluate every game.”

Lincoln’s two-goal striker, Theo Robinson, said Saturday was one of the best days of his career.

“It’s right up there,” he said. “It was a great team performance and we were unfortunate not to get the win.

“It was a great strike from Lawrence because before that we were soaking the pressure up and I really thought we could hold on and win it.

“I could have had a hat-trick and that would have been a good personal thing, but the most important thing is we got the draw and we are in the draw for the next round. It is a case of going back to our ground now and getting the result.

“We have gone up against a Championship team and almost beaten them. We can take that into our league games and if we can play like that every game we should, we will do well for the rest of the season.”

Regarding the 4,838-strong Imps travelling support, the former Derby frontman said: “It was an emotional atmosphere. I have played in front of big crowds before but the Lincoln fans made this special.”

Robinson says he’s not yet thinking too much about the fourth round with the draw later today.

“We have to win the game against Ipswich first,” he continued. “The draw will give us a push so hopefully it will be a big team like Liverpool or Arsenal as I have never played at their grounds.”

Meanwhile, Town's U23s are in action against Colchester United at Playford Road this afternoon (KO 1pm).

Photo: TWTD

brittaniaman added 10:15 - Jan 9 OVER TO YOU BERRA !!!!!
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ipswich61 added 10:16 - Jan 9 i keep seeing breaking news on sky sports bla bla manager sacked,whens it going to be MM
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sixtyblue added 10:49 - Jan 9 Berra,keep quiet and get on with your job.Youdo nothing during the matches except moan and shout at Knudsen instead of dealidealing with your own inadequesies.Yor the main reason for Knudsens dip in form.
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brittaniaman added 10:53 - Jan 9 It would have been a complete disaster if young Emmanuel had not sprinted back and made that Last ditch Tackle !!! Because Chambers or yourself Berra ,, would not have been able to get back in time !!!!! ipswich61 :: Do not hold your breath on that.
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Bluetone added 11:33 - Jan 9 Quote Berra: We've Got to Get Back to Keeping Clean Sheets. Wrong we have got to get back to scoring at least one more goal than the opposing team.
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Hoofball added 11:41 - Jan 9 Kesgraveblue 57 Sorry for the mark down !
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dukey44 added 12:12 - Jan 9 Simple answer to that is drop you Berra and then we half way there!!
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Garv added 12:12 - Jan 9 Is eighth best an achievement?
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martin587 added 12:19 - Jan 9 All this talk about winning a game to kick start the season is utter rubbish.Winning every game or trying to is a must.Why at the start of each week do the club send out a player to make diabolical quotes.The answer my friend 'lies within'. The manager is to blame,he sets his stool out,but nothing ever happens and at the end of every game his press conference reads"they were a good team and deserved to win" etc, Getting back to Berra, he needs a long hard look at himself.Ok Chambers is not a RB and that's down to MM as is the LB situation. We will never score goals unless you get support from midfield,which to be honest is terrible and the situation has never been rectified. Lawrence has all the attributes to become an exceptional player but unfortunately he is not ours and never will be.Playing two defensive midfielders ldoes not help and not replacing DM was a massive mistake and that is down to both MM and the owner. Gates are dwindling and will deteriorate even further unless something happens sooner rather than later,so Mr.Evans have a good hard think before this club looses everything it once had. We cannot keep going as we are. I am one of many utterly fed up supporters.

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midastouch added 12:19 - Jan 9 To keep clean sheets Chris you need to learn how to do the basics such as heading the ball clear instead of up into the air backwards and then straight at the feet of rival strikers! I've not commented lately as I'm just at a loss with everything ITFC right now. I did go Saturday as I couldn't resist the £2 entry fee for my son (even though I had previously said I'm going to boycott Portman Road until Mick has been shown the exit) and I did enjoy the match even if we were shocking. But it was worth going even if just to enjoy Lawrence in a Town shirt, because we know that prob won't last much longer unfortunately, and also to see the Lincoln fans out in full force. What an atmosphere they created! I can't understand why Morris wasn't given a run from the bench when we were trailing 2-1 Saturday. Pitman was pretty ineffective during the match (yes he did try and the ref definitely should of given him some fouls as their defenders were climbing all over him!) but I just wanted to see one of the young lads given a chance from the bench! We badly needed a lift from somewhere and that might of been what was needed. How do you know unless you try? My lad really enjoyed the match but he is 7 and little does he know that Lincs are about as far away from Inter Milan and Barcelona than you can imagine. The thing that killed me was that until the last 10 mins they passed the ball around a lot better than us, and apart from say the first 10 mins prior to them scoring as we had looked pretty comfortable before we got hit with their early goal, which came against the run of play. I had backed Lincoln at 13/2 as it seemed a generous price but I was happy to lose the stake and save the egg on face moment. I just hope it hasn't been temporary postponed because if we don't step up at their place we're going to go out 3rd round which seems to happen like clockwork almost every year for way too long now! I don't really know what to say any more. We just seem to be on a downward spiral and Evans doesn't seem to recognise the gravity of the situation. Or maybe he does but he doesn't really care and is happy to use the club for other PLC purposes. I honestly can't fathom it out. His statement was almost like the nail in the coffin for me. Several of us kept calling for a statement, and when we finally got one I was like is that it!? And of course actions always speak louder than words. So I'm at loss. Even the Mick supporters said give him till Xmas and we're now into the New Year, the footy is still diabolical. The promised early transfer business doesn't seem to be happening. If Mick is given till the end of the season surely we need to see a big improvement between now and then for him to still be in the hot seat come next season. Anyway, as you can tell, I'm at a loss, hence the low profile. I'm praying for a miracle but I fear our collective prayers are not going to be answered any time soon. The only solace I can take is that in football the unexpected is always possible, so perhaps we might turn the corner, but right now we seem to be stuck in 2nd gear going round an agonising bend which is honestly driving me to despair as in round the bend! It's seriously hard to keep the faith during such times! Over and out...

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jas0999 added 12:23 - Jan 9 I read somewhere that some folk are saying Lincoln are slight favourites to beat us. A non-league side. That's how low this once great / proud club has fallen under the ownership of Marcus Evans. Yes, MM is at fault, but look what happened with RK and PJ in the end. Evans just doesn't seem to care. A large portion of the fan base has now lost faith with Mick - his position is now untenable. I wonder if unambitious Evans would allow other high level managers in his organization to stay on if the same was true? No - I doubt it. The problem though is in addition to not having to back Mick financially with transfers, Evans also doesn't want to pay to get rid of him. He has made some lovely profits on players. As others point out, this whole thing is an unmitigated disaster.

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Langdon_Blue added 12:32 - Jan 9 Garv - I don't think he's saying 8th best defense is an achievement as such, more that the reason we are where we are in the league is more to do with goalscoring - only 3 teams have scored less than us. Hence the desperation to replace Murphy.
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Daleyitfc added 12:33 - Jan 9 As others have said, the only way we can keep clean sheets is to have a 7 man defence : thus ensuring we create absolutely nothing at the other end. The 'defenders' are inadequate : and I mean all of them ; I don't get what some people see in Webster who is the worst centre-half we have ever had on the pitch - and, yes, I saw Glenn Keeley play there back in the 70s! We have a squad of dross, managed by a man who can't quite beieve he's still getting paid when he should have been put out to pasture years ago : he's the same age as me and I retired in 2011.

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delias_cheesy_flaps added 12:45 - Jan 9 I find it particularly galling that Berra has the nerve to comment on defending given the fact he's been shocking for the last season and a half and has cost us goals with his inept headers and positional play. Can ITFC get any more comical?
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oldbri added 12:49 - Jan 9 That's really rich . Two games in a row , your backward headers have cost us . Still , that's two assists for you.
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schenkermental added 13:13 - Jan 9 If as stated he is coming back to Scotland at end of season why not get shot of him now in a swap deal for Logan.
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LordMamu added 13:48 - Jan 9 Berra is right. They are a full time side so practice a lot as well. Also , he is right about it not just being the 4 defenders' fault. How can we expect to defend with only 4 defenders? Everyone needs to defend at all times. It's time to play a 10-0-0 formation. If the ball drops to anyone then just hoof it up the pitch as hard as you can and hope someone runs on to it/heads it on. Oh hang on, that is how we play.

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blueoneness added 13:55 - Jan 9 Stop weak headers back to the Goalie will help keep clean sheets!
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Cloddyseedbed added 14:26 - Jan 9 Agree battyblue, the reason we are shipping goals at an alarming rate is our defence is not good enough. When we were playing a defence with all the midfield protecting them we weren't letting many in, but we weren't getting out of our half much either, just hoof and it was back again within seconds. We must have a good defense we can trust to defend and we haven't. Chambers, Berra and Knudsen are just not good enough 1st choice defenders. It remains to be seen whether Emmanuel and Kenlock in the long term are, but what they have done so far they have impressed, both defending and giving good options and crosses into the box. The defence and MM can not expect the whole of midfield to defend and to protect the defense as a game plan. The defense need to man up, grow up and be dependable defenders in their own right.

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Warkys_Tash added 14:56 - Jan 9 Marcus, spot. However the point I was making after Sat game was this: Firstly, I don't like the style of football or lack or results being served up. However, Evans is not going to sack & MM is too proud to walk. So all us fans need to unite at least until the end of the season, otherwise we could all be contributing to our own clubs relegation/sinking to lower depths. This forum is just full of moans & negativity. I am not happy either but think we all should change tactic. Who wants to lose to Lincoln & have MOTD bang on about it for 20years? Not me. We all have our part to play. Anyone disagree, start hitting the minus button now.

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SamWhiteUK added 16:36 - Jan 9 "It is a one-off game and it was difficult" Well I've got news for you pal.... because it was so DIFFICULT, it's not a one-off at all! You've got to go and struggle against that "full time outfit" again!
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SpiritOfJohn added 17:31 - Jan 9 I just had a look at our 'purple patch' where we kept 7 clean sheets in 11 matches. In those games we won 3, lost 3 and drew 5 giving us an underwhelming 14 points out of a possible 33 - that is barely above relegation form. In the process we scored a dismal return of 6 goals while shipping a miserly 5. No doubt that has to be considered one of the most boring sequences of matches and results ever witnessed by the Town faithful. Please do not report that as some kind of achievement unless we are actively trying to drive fans away, and please let's not aspire to repeating that feat in the second half of the season. As many others have said, we need to be trying to win games by scoring goals instead of trying not to lose by conceding none.

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bobbyrobsonisgod added 17:55 - Jan 9 the same guy mis-times a header against QPR - we go one nil down. He does the same against Lincoln and we go 2-1 down (incredible finish by the way). 2 years ago we raved about the Smith and Berra combination with Mings on the left and Parr as a more than suitable replacement full back. Now we have sold Mings, let Parr go when we should have kept him, got KNUDSEN !!!, smith can not get a game, Berra is playing poorly, and chambers is way off what we need as a player, let alone skipper. Our only credible defender at present is Webster. And as for the fitness of their team (being full time and all that) their striker completely destroyed Knudsen - we were lucky to not lose at the end - surely our fitness should be beyond theirs?? Sorry Berra, embarrassing statement

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heathen66 added 20:24 - Jan 9 I believe that Berra is getting critisism because he is not playing well. At fault for the goal against QPR, Bristol City and now Lincoln. Obviously at this moment in time being one of Micks untouchables is not going to lessen this When Berra first joined the club he played really well but at ac cost of unsetttlling the balance of the defence experienced by Smith and Chambers. Christophe is a top defender if he needs to look after his man in a physical battle, however this is a team game and you also needs to be able to cover your team mates too (watch the QPR 2nd Goal as a prime example) when necessary. Yes Webster was caught but where was his partner (actually stopped watching 30 yards forward !!!) ??? I really hope that we are not going to revert back to the back 6 and Skuglas, as this is what Berra is suggesting. Yes we were difficult to score against (but they did) however we created absolutely nothing with 8 and a GK at the back

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Davidwb20 added 20:30 - Jan 9 Strange Berra has so much dribble to say !! It must be catching from his manager!! Concentrate on your woeful defending and shut up!! Please go now and take your mate MM with you as he is clearly blind to your woeful defending -All I can say wherever you go they have my sympathy!!
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