Lambert: Two-Game Ban Too Harsh But No Regrets Thursday, 21st Feb 2019 18:05 Town boss Paul Lambert has no regrets regarding his actions during the flashpoint close to half-time in the East Anglian derby at Norwich earlier in the month but believes the two-match touchline ban he was handed this morning, along with a £3,000 fine, is harsh. In addition, the club were given a £20,000 fine for failing to ensure their players behaved in an orderly fashion, while the Canaries were fined £25,000, the additional £5,000 relating to their involvement in similar previous incidents. “I disagree with it, the two games,” Lambert said when asked about his ban. “I think one game is sufficient enough, so I don’t know who’s plucked that one out. I don’t think it’s right, two games for that.” The Blues manager didn’t appeal against the misconduct charge as he felt there was no point. “It’s not going to get you anywhere,” he said. “People make up their minds. As I said before, there were a lot of things that went on there that have been bypassed.” He doesn’t believe the ban will have too much impact during the games, at Wigan on Saturday and at home to Reading the following weekend. “It shouldn’t,” he reflected. “You’re a footballer. A manager can only do so much. Once players cross that white line it’s up to them to go and perform, so it shouldn’t affect them too much. “I think that’s important for me that I know the lads are in good hands with the lads in the dugout area, so I don’t have a problem with that.” He added: “I think it’s an easy option for a player to hide behind. Once a player’s out there it shouldn’t matter who is in the dugout, the job is to try and win for the football club and the supporters that come and watch us, that’s the main objective. Whether I’m there or not it doesn’t matter really. “If they hide behind that, then there’s a problem. You can’t hide behind anything, you have to do your own job and you do it the best you can and hopefully you’ll get that result.” Some bosses, including ex-Blues manager Jim Magilton for a spell during his time in charge at Portman Road, prefer to sit in the stand to watch games and it’s commonplace in rugby, but Lambert says he's rather be in the technical area. “I think it’s everybody’s own prerogative how they want to do it,” he added. “I don’t like being detached from it. I like being in the action of it but I have to take the hit that’s coming.” He continued: “I don’t know too much about rugby, so I can’t really comment on that. I guess it’s individual, some people might be comfortable up there, some people aren’t. “I don’t like sitting up there, I like being involved in the mix but I’ll have to take the hit and that’s what it is.” He says he has no regrets about events on the touchline at Carrow Road: “No, I’d do it all again, because I was right. I’ll stick up for the team and I’ll stick up for the club, because I was right and that’s why I don’t have any regrets on it, no chance. “I won’t take it. I won’t let anybody belittle the club, I won’t let anybody, no matter who it is. I won’t stand for what I heard there, I won’t stand for being manhandled by somebody, I haven’t a clue who it was, as I said before. I certainly wouldn’t take that again.” Although not appealing against the misconduct charge, he did write to the FA outlining his thoughts on what went on but says he hasn’t had a reply. “I’ve not heard anything,” he said. “As I said before, I won’t stand and let anybody try and do that. “We never have anything like that here. I’ve not seen that before. Why did they have a police guy in the tunnel? First Ipswich manager to have a police guy in the tunnel looking after me for six or seven years or whatever it is. Doesn’t make sense. So, in answer to the question, I would do it all again.” Lambert has a reputation for being on his feet and lively throughout games - “I probably have my moments at certain times” - and his assistant Stuart Taylor, who will be the man in charge in the technical area for the next couple of games, can get equally animated. “I don’t really pay attention to him," Lambert laughed. “I see him sometimes floating around there. “If you ask me if he can handle it, there’s no problem. Gilly [first-team coach Matt Gill] will be the same, there’s no problem, Jimmy [Walker, goalkeeper-coach] will be the same, Jim [Henry, the fitness-coach] will be the same, there’s not an issue with the lads on that front. “The players are great guys to work with, they know the level that we try and get to, they know the intensity we try and get to. “Players will hide behind it if things go wrong and if they win they might think it’s a great idea, ‘You stay up in the stand!’, things like that. Players are great for making things up.” Regarding his staff, he added: “They’re close-knit and we’ll discuss things like anybody else and ultimately I’ll say we’ll do this or do that. “More importantly I can trust everyone, forget everything else, I trust them and that for me is important, that I can trust people that I know will work really hard and will try everything they can to succeed. I think that’s important.” Is Taylor, a manager himself for a year and a half at Limerick in the League of Ireland as well as Lambert’s assistant at Wolves, Stoke and Aston Villa, someone who challenges his opinions during discussions? “He’ll lose!" Lambert joked. "As a staff we discuss everything, we all do. And everybody will have their stake in it to see what they want to say and ultimately I’ve just got to say, ‘OK, we go this way, this is what we’re doing’ and everybody accepts it. “I never blame anybody. We do what we think is best for the football club and for the team. “The lads can probably have opinions on what they want to think and I’ll just say, ‘OK, we go this way’.” Moving back to Saturday, he says the preparation work will have been done in the week. “The lads know everything that goes on, they know everything that you want to try and achieve and the matchday really it’s just about basically being ready for the game,” he said. “Sometimes if you keep on speaking and speaking and speaking it’s in one ear and out the other a lot of the time and it’s no good with certain aspects. Saturday’s probably easy up until 3pm, then it becomes difficult.”
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