George Burley has revealed that he was the recipient of "quite personal" letters and emails from fans having a go at him in the wake of the poor performance against Helsingborg at Portman Road. However, he says it is part of his job to put up with such criticism.
Burley said: "All of a sudden there were letters and emails arriving having a go at me. They came here and to the local papers. Some of them have been getting personal. It's strange really because I am the same manager I was last year. I am the manager who got the club into the Premiership after having gone through periods where we had to sell our best players to balance the books. I am the same manager who got us into the UEFA Cup by finishing in the top five last season and who received manager of the year awards from Carling and from the League Managers' Association. And I am the manager who has got us through to a game with Inter Milan in the next round of the UEFA Cup. I know that 90% of supporters are behind me but I am getting personal attacks. I don't think it's right."
Indeed, most fans are behind the manager and the letters in the papers Burley refers to were met by a volley of criticism and claims of ignorance on the TWTD Message Boad as well as in letters to the same local paper.
Burley says, however, he can hack it: "I can take the criticism. It's part of the reality of my job. People want to jump on your back but that's just the way football is. That's the reason why 20 or so managers have already lost their job this season."