x

Skuse: Midfield Needs to Score More - Ipswich Town News

Cole Skuse is not hiding from the fact that he and his fellow midfielders continue to come up short in terms of their goalscoring contribution to Town’s promotion bid.

Skuse has still to break his scoring duck in 68 league and cup appearances since signing in the summer of 2013 after the expiry of his contract at first club Bristol City.

Town’s midfield players have scored just five times between them in the league this season, Jay Tabb, Teddy Bishop, Luke Hyam, Paul Anderson and loanee Jonny Williams all scoring one each from a combined tally of 157 appearances — 109 starts and a further 48 from the bench — made by midfielders in the 29 Championship fixtures so far. Full-back Jonny Parr added one more when making a rare foray into midfield at Millwall.

Skuse said: "Of course we, the midfielders, need to score more. I would say the strike partnership between Daryl and Didz is probably the best in the league. Daryl obviously missed the last home game against Wigan but came back at the weekend and put a shift in against Rotherham.

"He had a couple of good chances but you can never blame Daryl or Didz for missing a chance.

"That is the hardest part of the game, taking chances, which is why clubs will pay millions for strikers.

"They are the ones under the pressure to take chances. They have been unbelievable as a pair but, yes, it would be nice if the rest of us chipped in with a few goals.”

Asked about the fear of perhaps letting slip a tremendous opportunity to at least make the play-offs this season, Skuse responded: "That’s not even crossed my mind and as a group we haven’t spoken about it.

"We’ve still got a cushion, so to speak, in the play-offs and although we haven’t picked up too many results we haven’t spoken about a blip or anything like that. We’re just waiting to get that result and get things back on track again.

"Can we still make the top two? When I’m on the phone after a game the first thing I tend to ask is how our rivals got on.

"After our defeat at Rotherham on Saturday they were telling me ‘So-and-so have won and gone six points clear of you instead of three’ and it’s tough when you hear it.

"But the top two is still our aim and there are still a lot of games left to play. Teams have got to play each other and that could play into our hands.

"We’re not a team who will give up — there’s absolutely no chance of that — and we will grind on and see where it takes us.

"I’m quite happy with my own performances and felt I did okay at the weekend. I had a little chat with the manager and he seemed to think I did okay.

"It’s not really for me to judge and I guess I’ll just let other people have their opinions on that.”

What to read next:

[Podcast] Blue Monday - New Podcast Now Online
A new podcast from the Blue Monday team is now available.
Town 'Willing to Pay Hackney £35,000-a-Week'
Town are reportedly willing to pay Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney £35,000-a-week, TWTD having revealed that the Blues had made an approach for the 23-year-old almost a fortnight ago.
U21s Defeated By Luton
A strong Blues U21s side was beaten 2-1 by Luton Town at Bent Lane in a pre-season friendly on Saturday afternoon with Tommy Taylor's first-half strike cancelled out after the break by a much-improved Hatters side.
U19s Draw and Lose Final Games at Czech Tournament
Town’s U19s finished lost one and drew one of today’s place play-off matches at the Zlaty Kahan tournament in Czechia.
Hirst: Early Confrontation Sign of Morsy's High Standards
George Hirst has revealed he almost came to blows with departed captain Sam Morsy early in his Town career, but believes the incident was illustrative of the high standards maintained by the former Blues skipper.
Former Town Defender Ndaba Set For Serie A
Former Town defender Corrie Ndaba is set to join Serie A Lecce from Scottish Premiership Kilmarnock, according to reports in Italy.
McKenna: New Coach Stanislas Comes Highly Recommended
Town manager Kieran McKenna has spoken about the additions of new first-team coach Junior Stanislas and set-piece analyst Michele Aragona.
McKenna: Young Will Bring Experience, Competitiveness and Edge
Blues boss Kieran McKenna says new signing Ashley Young can give the club different things in different areas, among them his experience, competitiveness and his edge.
Hirst: I Thought We Played Really Well, But Aberdeen Gave Us a Massive Challenge
Town striker George Hirst was pleased to add to his pre-season goals tally during the Blues’ 3-1 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
McKenna: Philogene Very Good Tonight, His Off the Ball Work Was Outstanding
Town manager Kieran McKenna was delighted with Jaden Philogene’s performance in the Blues’ 3-1 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie.