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Lambert: Some Guys Will Need to Move On - Ipswich Town News

Town boss Paul Lambert has reiterated his intention to trim his unwieldy squad and played down the chances of further additions on top of the three signings so far, Stephen Ward, David Cornell and Oli Hawkins.

"I think they will have to at some point,” Lambert admitted when asked if there are players who will have to depart at this morning's Zoom press conference.

"Obviously we’ve got to have 22 over the age 21 [under salary cap rules], so we have to look at that as well.

"Some guys will maybe need to move on because the squad’s too big. We’ve got a lot of young kids who need to go out on loan and play competitive football.

"I think they’ve moved away from U23 level, so I think they have to go out and play competitive football.”

In terms of the 22-man squad, the Blues currently have precisely 22 players fitting that bill with Harry Wright having moved to Swedish club GAIS on loan.

Asked whether his summer recruitment drive was over or whether there would be further additions, Lambert said: "We can’t buy anybody. We’ve not got that money to go and buy players. We’ve got a big enough squad. The three lads that have come in have done great.

"Stephen Ward’s been brilliant, a really good guy, very vocal, he’s been in the Premier League, the top level for a long, long time and knows the game inside out. He’s been great.

"We needed somebody like him. His vocal-ness and the way he is and his experience. OK, he’s an older player, but his brain will take him quicker where younger ones might be just a little bit inexperienced.

"He’ll be a calming influence as well, which I think will be important to us. I think we needed somebody like him.

"Big Oli’s something different for us, he’s been a breath of fresh air, he’s been great. I think he’ll be a handful.

"He’s not fully fit but he’s getting there and Cornell’s come in and is doing well and is pushing Tomas [Holy] to fight for who is going to be the number one.

"The two goalkeepers haven’t trained much because of Tomas’s [shoulder] injury and Cornell came in at a later stage. Three good guys who I think will benefit us.”

Is it a squad which is capable of finishing in the top two? "Yes, of course it is. Everybody’s going to tell you that. We have to perform better than we did at the tail end of last season. We have to play better, we have to improve on a lot of things.

"There are some guys coming back from injury, young Jack Lankester, for example. Two years out, more or less, a long, long time for him. There are a lot of good things there as well, a lot of good things there as well.”

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