Town manager Paul Jewell says he’s had a few calls from people in football lending their support during the Blues’ struggles but agents have also been on the phone to the club offering potential replacements.

Jewell said: “I have had [had a few calls from people in football telling me to keep my chin up] and I’m sure the chief exec has had a lot of calls from agents as well, saying that my manager’s available and your manager’s no good!

“It’s a small world football and, let’s be honest, everyone is looking out for themselves because the football management game is a dog eat dog world, but a lot of people have been supportive of me and I’m grateful to them.”

The Liverpudlian says one agent offered the Blues someone to come into a senior footballing role at the club: “I know that one agent rang up and asked whether were looking for a director of football. It happens but the owner didn’t even tell me, someone else did. It’s a small world, football.

“That’s the way it is. It’s happened to me in the past, but that’s football. I don’t get upset by it because I know it happens. I might not like it and I would never get someone to ring up on my behalf and put me forward for a job.

“I’ve never done it. I’m not saying I haven’t been approached by clubs but that’s not something I’d want to put my name to. If someone wants to come to you, it’s a different kettle of fish than you going to them.

“I think what happens is that if there’s going to be a vacancy you probably need to know who you’re going to go in with. If I got the boot tomorrow and a new manager came in on Monday or Tuesday I think that’s the right thing to do because I think you almost have to have a contingency Plan B.”

If Town lose today, then it’s likely there’ll be dissent on the terraces but he doubts Evans is likely to be affected by calls for his head: “I understand people’s frustrations but [the mood] can also change if we win the game.

“I haven’t got a crystal ball. If that happens, that happens and I’ll have to deal with it. Hopefully we can give fans something to shout loud about and cheer.

“I don’t think this owner is going to be swayed but I see some owners coming on the TV backing their manager and saying all nice things about the manager, then a month later they’ve got a new manager on board.

“He certainly doesn’t want the publicity, he doesn’t need the publicity but he’s a fantastic businessman, obviously, and makes right decisions. You don’t get where you are and do what he’s done without doing your homework on people.

“I think he’s shown great faith in me and I really want to repay it back to him and the supporters over the coming years. I really don’t want to be here just for a year, I want to be here for a long time.”

Looking back on his 12 months in charge, he admits it’s been no bed of roses: “It’s been a tough year, no doubt about it. I’m not going to hide behind the fact we’ve had a lot of poor results.

“It is a work in progress as I keep saying. Hopefully it’s long job. We play Blackpool tomorrow and Ian Holloway is one of the best managers in this division and Leicester sacked him.

“Maybe if they’d stayed with him a bit longer, perhaps they wouldn’t have had to go through four or five managers before they got to Nigel Pearson.

Despite the situation, he insists there’s no crisis at Portman Road: “I’m asked that question most weeks here. I think it’s a club that’s having a tough time at the moment and I don’t really know how a crisis is described in the dictionary.

“Certainly, financially we’re not in crisis. We’ve got an owner who is fully committed to the club, we’ve got a great stadium, we’ve got great fans. We’ve got a team that at the minute that needs to do better, we’ve had poor results, but I wouldn’t say the club is in crisis.”

Photo: Action Images

algarvefan added 08:21 - Jan 14 Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!
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Marcus added 08:27 - Jan 14 Says a man with a gun against his head...
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WorcesterBlue added 08:39 - Jan 14 Stuff and nonsense as usual. Do these guys actually talk to each other (owner, PJ, Clegg)? No one seems to know what is happening and this waffle is just getting irritating...sign up the players we have that you want, get a few more in in the positions we need, start playing football and shut up!!!!!!
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Behind_Enemy_Lines added 08:49 - Jan 14 In the last 12 months it's been no bed of roses, talk about understatement of the year and it should have been easier if you used common sense in half of your decisions and brought in some pace on the wings in case Martin or carson are out of form, bit of pace with technical and creative ability in the midfield and a couple of CB's,RB and permanent GK. (feckin not hard is it not like rocket science shall we say) and yet he still makes a pigs ear out of it. Round hole means round peg will go in it the answer sort of lies in the statement.

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tractorboy1961 added 08:51 - Jan 14 Perhaps that's why the club is to busy to answer my e mail. I wrote as a "concerned" fan but as usual get treated with the contempt which has become the norm these days.
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Essexnblue added 09:00 - Jan 14 The first thing that PJ and ME should do is get on the phone to Martin Keown who is freelancing as a defensive coach and get him in for 2 months,firstly he may give advice on who is a decent defender and secondly would give us the shape and defensive desire to keep us in this division. Would be the best over 30 signing that PJ could make ask Palace and Brentford!
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buryblue77 added 09:00 - Jan 14 I don't believe that the transfer activity going on here tha you all talk about is entirely down to PJ, he attracted good players to Wigan of all places, why can't he do it here? Something more than the manager I suspect, I always go back to Shaun Derry saying he was ready to sign a deal but it couldn't be done and why we wouldn't offer Norris the extra year he wanted. The on field performances are doen to Jewell but I sense that the lack of permanent signings are more to do with Evans and Clegg than Jewell. We all know we need a Right back, Jewell and Keane have known that too and I can't believe for one minute that any manager given the choice would opt for loans and ageing freebees over better permanent signings.

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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 09:05 - Jan 14 I like PJ, and you can hardly expect him to try to sound anything other than upbeat in face of the current situation. Also, all respect to ME for coming out and supporting him. But if we are not in a crisis, then I think we are very close to one, and you can't keep being in denial for ever: clear relegation candidates, an awful defence, a constantly changing first eleven, no obvious long-term team building, a once-revered youth system that we suspect is about to be dismantled, falling crowds and future young ITFC fans not being attracted to the club. If we are to stick with PJ - which seems to be what ME is saying - then I think there should be some kind of pact between managment and fans. Let's run it over the next 5 home matches. Our part of the bargain: Get yourselves to PR, get behind the team vocally and in numbers for the next 5 home matches. "Their" part of the bargain: Make sure the team are in on this and show 110% willing, reduce the prices for the next 5 home games, and, most importantly, get X (shall we say 9) points out of a possible 15. If the points total is not fulfilled, then changes should be made. No doubt all kinds of holes can be pulled in my plan, but something drastic or something new needs to be done because at the moment we are in a downward spiral with no fresh ideas about how to get out of it.

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BlueBoots added 09:14 - Jan 14 “I know that one agent rang up and asked whether were looking for a director of football. It happens but the owner didn't even tell me, someone else did. It's a small world, football." If ME is serious about his 5 year plan, he really ought to be looking for one to replace Clegg (after he's milked all his Olympics contacts in the summer, of course) Now...who's got Joe Royle's phone number?

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Premiertown added 09:20 - Jan 14 Financial plan - prepare for the 1st Division? Get rid of the permanent staff and start with cheaper replacements. Otherwise nothing makes sense now.
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righty added 09:39 - Jan 14 totally agree with premiertown change now or were down
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Sibelius8 added 10:13 - Jan 14 Thank you Steve of South Sweden for some sensible observations and positive suggestions. Far too many comments on this site are simply negative and abusive. If times are difficult, the club needs supporters who, above all else, support the team. These all-too-predominant comments of anger and spite do ITFC no favours and makes our situation worse, not better. Yes, criticise the club, with forcefulness and indignant concern if need be, but not with such bile and unpleasantness. Thanks too to Essexnblue for penning a sensible and straight piece of advice to the club without any wrapping of negativity. Much appreciated.

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NITFC added 10:19 - Jan 14 This reminds me of the Robert Chase days at Norwich a few years ago to be honest when Chase seemed to be systematically destroying the club and the fans wanted him out. I remember seeing him on TV saying that he was getting lots of letters of support telling him to carry on so he had decided not to walk away. I WROTE ONE OF THOSE LETTERS MYSELF AND I KNOW OF AT LEAST ONE OTHER TOWN FAN THAT DID THE SAME!!! Actually I would like PJ to pull us through because I dont think further upheaval of a new manager will do us any good. However, I do wonder whether any of the "few calls from people in football lending their support" are hoaxes!!!

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buryblue77 added 10:35 - Jan 14 NITFC, lets hope those budgies lovers up the 140 don't get the same idea you had!
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buryblue77 added 10:40 - Jan 14 As you say NITFC, change of manager would not necessarily do us any good and if we did how many more new faces will we see. Managers now don't seem to want to take on a club and it's players, they always seem to want to bring in a complete new crop of players as the core as Keane and now Jewell has done, I don't think we can afford another complete overhaul, how many players in the squad are still here from the Magilton days? Wright (although released and back again) Smith and Peters are all I can think of and none of them are regulars.

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walberswick added 10:46 - Jan 14 Can't through cos Porno Paul on premium rate line.
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MattinLondon added 12:51 - Jan 14 “I have had [had a few calls from people in football telling me to keep my chin up] and I'm sure the chief exec has had a lot of calls from agents as well, saying that my manager's available and your manager's no good! Clegg wouldn't know a good manager from a bad one...so waste of time even calling him
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Lightningboy added 14:19 - Jan 14 If you want to be here for a long time Paul then you really do need to up your game because this season has been an absolute disgrace..there are plenty of managers out there available at the moment : Burley,Curbishley,Billy Davies,Dave Jones,Warnock & some not quite available : Magilton,Karl Robinson,Darren Ferguson,Lee Clarke..who I think would all do a decent job here. Much more of what we've been served up - on and off the pitch - and you should be resigning...we deserve better than this cr@p.

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