Legend Matt Holland has expressed his concerns regarding the current situation at Town with the Blues sitting at the foot of the Championship with only one win all season under boss Paul Hurst and says he has heard that owner Marcus Evans has been sounding out potential new managers.
"It’s a horrible situation that’s panning out at Portman Road at the moment. Bottom of the table and not playing particularly well,” former skipper Holland, 44, said on talkSPORT.
"Crowds have held up pretty well, to be honest, there was 18,000 there against QPR at the weekend.
"But speaking to lots of friends and people that go to the games, they said that was probably the lowest they’ve been watching it.
"A close friend of mine left at half-time, he said it was that bad. He said it was the worst he’d seen as an Ipswich Town supporter. It’s really worrying what’s happening to the club at the moment.”
Holland says the club’s summer business is a big factor behind the present predicament.
"The recruitment has not been good enough, simple as that,” he said. "You look at the players who have gone. Martyn Waghorn, £5 million to Derby, Adam Webster to Bristol City, Joe Garner to Wigan, David McGoldrick on a free to Sheffield United. That’s four quality players that you’ve lost.
"In have come a number of players from League One and League Two. Now, I’m not saying that players in League One and League Two can’t make the step up to the Championship, but to ask, say, eight or nine of them to do it at the same time is asking an awful lot of those players.”
😢 "I’m so upset. It’s really worrying what’s happening at the club.”
🗣 "I’ve heard Marcus Evans is talking to other managers about the job.”
Ipswich hero @MattHolland8 opens up on problems at his old club. #ITFC pic.twitter.com/Ex5CORH3S6– talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) October 22, 2018
Evans was widely believed to have been considering whether to change manager going into the international break and Holland says he had heard that other potential bosses had been talked to.
"I don’t know what’s going to happen and whether a change is going to be made,” he added. "You hear one or two things when you’re involved and you’re close to the club. I’ve heard that Marcus Evans has spoken to other managers and there’s a possibility that something might change.
"I don’t know whether that will change or not. That was a couple of weeks ago I heard that, that he had spoken to other managers. That will be interesting to see.
"You also hear about what’s going on on the training ground and things and by all accounts perhaps man-management has been lacking.
"I’m at a loss really because I’m so upset, a club that I’m so close to. I still live down the road, I go as much as I can, I work on Saturday generally so it’s difficult to go and see the on a weekend, but I go to midweek games.
"I saw them in the first game of the season against Blackburn when they were probably a bit fortunate to get a draw that day as well. It’s a tough right now.”
Very sensible comments by @mattholland8 got his point over very well. A Manager’s job is hard these days, there’s more emphasis on man management skills than on coaching, that’s why you need a good ‘man manager’ and a good ‘coach’ to work in partnership! Hard to learn on the job! https://t.co/DLwSRIQeR7
— Russell Osman (@RussellOs5) October 22, 2018