CEO Mark Ashton says the Blues new owners are trying to change the culture of the club and says those working for Town had previously been working “under really difficult circumstances”.
At last night’s fans’ forum it was put to Ashton, who took over as CEO in June following the Gamechanger takeover, that former manager Paul Lambert had if nothing else revealed "how rotten the club was behind the scenes” and was asked how rotten it really was prior to the takeover.
"That’s a really hard question to answer,” Ashton considered. "Don’t underestimate, there’s a lot of people, and some of my team are sitting at the front here, they’re blooming hard-working people, they really are, and they have been for a very, very long time.
"A number of these people have served this club for many, many years under really difficult circumstances and I would get myself into trouble if I told you what some of those circumstances were, but they’ve worked really hard whether that’s at Portman Road or at the training ground.
"Rotten isn’t a word that I would like to use. What I would say to you is that when you’re a CEO in this industry, it’s not a job, it’s a way of life, it’s just the way it has to be. It’s the same for [manager] Paul [Cook] as a manager, it’s a total commitment, there are no days off, you lose and it affects you, you win and it affects you. You have to be totally committed.
"I just think it’s been a challenge for all the people at the club not to have someone here with the authority to make decisions and the authority to lead on a day-to-day basis because when that person’s not in place, it leaves a vacuum and that causes challenges in whatever business you’re in.
"We can talk about the past and how the club’s been run and things that have gone wrong and not been how the fans would like it all day long.
"But you know what, all I can impact on and all Paul can impact and all [chairman] Mike [O'Leary] can impact and all [Gamechanger director] Ed [Schwartz] can impact is the massive space in front of us, and honestly I get up every morning and I am so excited by the opportunity at this football club.
"I’ve been blown away by the welcome the welcome the fans have given us. I’m blown away by the size of the fanbase and the continual numbers, huge numbers that fans come to Portman Road in and travel away in, it is incredible.
"What I would say is we’re trying to change culture. We’re trying to do things differently. Hopefully that will bring success, but you’ve heard me say this before, I can’t do it on my own, Paul can’t, players can’t, we can only do it together and I genuinely and passionately believe that if we stick together through the tough and the good times, we can take this club together back where it belongs, and that’s right at the top flight. I really believe that.”