Gillingham boss Steve Evans says he hopes he and Blues manager Paul Lambert will shake hands before tonight’s Leasing.com Trophy game and Portman Road and will share a glass of wine afterwards, in stark contrast to Lambert’s plans for the evening.
As reported yesterday, Lambert says he has no intention of having anything to do with Evans and won’t shake his hand either before or after tonight’s match following Evans’s comments after the Blues’ 1-0 win at the Priestfield Stadium last month, which he labelled "complete rubbish and lies.
"Me and Paul normally have a good relationship,” Evans told the Kent Messenger. "We both wanted to win the game so badly. Both of us went home that night and were probably disappointed.
"We will have a handshake before the game and probably have a glass of wine afterwards. We have done that before as managers.
"He is passionate. He is a brilliant manager and he will take Ipswich back into the Championship, in one hit. He did it at Norwich and he will do it again. They will be a much better club in the Championship with what he inherited.”
Reflecting on their backgrounds, he added: "I don’t know who is from the toughest area of Glasgow. In terms of hard upbringings, I say it is me, he says it is him!
"He said he is from Parkhead, which is two or three miles from Cambuslang, where I come from.
"I had my brothers’ trousers and shoes and they did have holes in them. I am not sure he was at that level.”
Like Lambert, Evans, who fell out with another Town boss, Mick McCarthy, for comments he made after the Blues beat his Leeds side in 2016, will field a much-changed team in tonight’s game with a League One fixture at Portsmouth following on Saturday.
"One or two of the kids will play,” he said. "The focus will be Fratton Park. The majority of the boys that played Saturday will not be involved, they won’t travel, they will train Tuesday morning.
"We are not as fortunate as Ipswich, they will be able to make 10-11 changes and probably still be strong. We have a first team squad of 20.”