Boss Paul Jewell felt fans shouldn't be too downcast after yesterday’s 2-1 home defeat to Leicester City, the Blues’ first home loss since January 2nd. The Town manager believes the club’s form since the turn of the year and climb away from the relegation zone is a sign that progress is being made.

Jewell said: “Let’s have it right, it wasn’t so long ago that we would have been pleased with a comfortable mid-table position.

“I was looking at the fixtures this morning and Coventry were playing Bristol City and that’s where we were looking at at one stage.

“That’s 28 points we’ve got out of the last 15 games, which isn’t far off winning you the league. I’m not saying we’re going to win the league but we have to put things in perspective.

“We’ve had a disappointing second half performance against a team that’s cost an awful lot of money to be assembled.

“People will talk about the play-offs but we were never in the running for the play-offs this season, however, the form we’ve shown of late, 28 points from 15, is an encouraging sign, but we know that there’s a lot of work ahead and a long way to go.”

He says the current situation 17 points away from the relegation zone and nine from the top six in 15th seemed a long way off a little while back: “A few months ago when we couldn’t win a game mid-table where we are now was looking far away. We were in a relegation fight.

“We’ve crawled our way out of that and done a little bit more than that. We have made progress. Yesterday was a disappointing day, there’s no doubt about that but we will live to fight another day and improve over the summer and come back next season better.

“It was three months without a defeat at home [before Monday]. It’s disappointing because we wanted to put on a decent show for our supporters, but we weren’t able to do that in the second half.”

Meanwhile, one of the tabloids has linked Peterborough keeper Joe Lewis with the Blues along with team-mates George Boyd and Paul Taylor.

Jewell played down suggestions that Boyd and Taylor might be summer targets when their names were put to him last week.

Former Norwich man Lewis, 24, has been mentioned in connection with the Blues on more than a few occasions since Jewell took over as manager at Portman Road.

The ex-England U21 is currently not in the Posh first team and is out of contract at the end of the season.

Photo: Action Images

Hoppersblue10 added 09:00 - Apr 10 He may feel progress has been made, to a degree it has but everytime the oposition manager makes changes at H/T or during the game jewell is found wanting....The team may be making progress but as for jewell I am not so sure...
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Kesgraveblue57 added 09:06 - Apr 10 Whether you like it or not Naarwich are now light years away from Ipswich in football terms, they were lucky enough to choose the right man as Manager four years ago. We have to take yet another step backwards, try and get the right man this time, Jewell has to go he is a total failure Keane was just as bad, we must move on. The new man has to be young with a burning ambition to do well. We have to grow up as supporters we have been in the Championship so long now that fans are beginning to feel very comfortable with that position. I'm not!! It hurts like hell to see what Naarwich are doing.

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bluearmy4life added 09:12 - Apr 10 We have made progress on recent form. Lately we have become a tough side to beat again and have been better defensivly as a unit. There is still work to be done, we are not the finishing article yet. We have four games remaining which we have to finish well. Next season is a big season PJ will be judged a lot more next season.
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Langdon_Blue added 09:16 - Apr 10 Kesgraveblue 57 - sounds bloody great to me! Can you please give us the name of this young successful manager who will win us promotion in his first season?? You have my vote for Town's new Chief Exec ;-)
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bluearmy4life added 09:25 - Apr 10 Kesgraveblue57..... The last time we went for a young manager he got us in to a pickle? To be fair JIM was unlucky to go but since he has gone he is struggling. If we are not in the mix come xmas then a change may have to be on the cards.
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BlueBoots added 09:38 - Apr 10 Shopping list for the summer... A Premier League-quality goalkeeper A right-sided Centre Back (keep Sonks as back-up) A grizzled-old midfield destroyer to protect the back 4 (and mentor Hyam) Daryl Murphy If I was being greedy, another striker too (but as only the top 5 teams in the division have scored more goals than us, we're not far off at that end of the pitch) Could always try to bring Wickham back on loan for a season :^D

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Kesgraveblue57 added 09:42 - Apr 10 Langdon Blue read what I had to say Naarwich found there man called Lambert if your happy with Jewell and the Champonship that's fine by me, I'm not
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bluelady added 09:46 - Apr 10 Kesgrave, fantastic idea.... dont broadcast the name of who you have in mind cause 40 other teams in the Championship will be after signing him too!
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eaii added 09:50 - Apr 10 “Let's have it right, it wasn't so long ago that we would have been pleased with a comfortable mid-table position. Well lets have it even more correct it was your squad PJ that got us in the position that left us dreaming of mid table saftey. As stated above, a play off looking team next year any mishaps, bad starts or thrashings, dubious signings or stupid formations then you the same as leadboots can ..........

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Mick_Mills_Tache added 10:03 - Apr 10 Listen to you lot, first defeat at home in 9 games (including demolitions of West Ham, Cardiff, Bristol. And a good point against the away specialists of the league) and you lot are calling for Jewells head! We're safe, the lads are naturally going to get into the end of season mentality and i know alot of you will bite my head off for this....but they have had quite a gruelling month in terms of matches so to keep that run of 28 points from 15 games is quite good really!

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Karlosfandangal added 10:05 - Apr 10 Town have been far better for me. Need to buy some class players Keeper Centre Back and I feel a goalscorer, Scotland and Chopra have played well but feel we need a player who will be pushing 20 to 25 goals a season. Need to play for 90 mins instead of 45, However 4 months ago Leicester would have put 4 or 5 pass us, but even at 2-1 down felt we might get something out of the game.

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brittaniaman added 10:10 - Apr 10 IN the years we have been in the championship,, Norwich (dare I say it) have been in div.1 and in the premier league twice (and still there) where as we just cannot improve on our mid table positions. !! The best position we have had since Marcus Evans reign is 8th in the 07/08 season and we have gone downhill ever since then.!! even with all the money that has been spent (or wasted) ?? My colleague who has supported town forever said,,that is it no season ticket for me next year !!! Going back to the game yesterday, ALB did make some good saves yesterday,, after the damage was done on the stroke of half time, that would have been the most important save of the whole game,,,but that goal killed the town off for the rest of the game !!! we are a team who are fading away, which has been proved in our last 3 games ??? Bowyer whose age has caught up with him (he is no Kevin Philips) slowed our midfield down no end when it needed speeding up,, he is needed when we are winning 2or3 nil, if Leadbitter has signed a pre-nuptial with the Boro he should not have been in the squad let alone on the pitch ???? Wether Jewellio will improve us next season (if he is still here) I do not know ??? but we did escape relegation which is in his favour ????? He is no Lambert as we all know !!!!!! But he has GOT to get a regular no.1 and CBs. for next season.. I do admire Cresswell as he does not seem to look tired, and he has played almost every game this season and he does not shirk his responsibilities, well done !!! Well that is my gripe over,, I had better go along now and put my form in for next season WHOOPS !!!!!

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rosseden added 10:10 - Apr 10 Weren't a few people on here crying out for graham westley recently. On the basis he is of the same ilk as Lambert? And look how he is getting on. Managers like Lambert are few and far between. He and David moyes and maybe pardew probably the only managers in the epl with the form being talked about. So, as everyone else said, name these new super up and coming managers, then watch at least 12 other clubs all trying to get him. Lee Clarke was meant to be like that. But he got fired. Warnock hasn't moved Leeds forward really. . . . Who are these new people who can do it. Cos i can't really see them at the moment. . . .

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algarvefan added 10:29 - Apr 10 I don't think our position is anything to be happy about, but I'd give Jewell next season to see if he can improve things even more. To come from where we were to being a top Championship side isn't going to happen overnight. I know we fans are impatient, which is fair enough, but he has to be given a chance to finish what he has started this season. I'm not sure he's 'the one' though?

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Guthrum added 10:35 - Apr 10 rosseden - it's like the "young, hungry, lower-league players" that everyone says are lying around all over the place just waiting to be snapped up (but can never actually name).
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Langdon_Blue added 10:50 - Apr 10 It would be crazy to change manager now. There is no doubt that PJ needs to maintain this 2 points average from the start of 2012-13, but the fact that he has achieved it over the last 15 games, is enough to at least give him time to take that form into the next season. What is the alternative? Start all over again with the likes of Strachan, McCarthy or Curbs and have another bedding in period for a push in 2013-14??

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mikeybloo88 added 10:55 - Apr 10 Lee Clark would be the man for me - he's a Lambert in the making. Look how bad Huddersfield have been since they sacked him. Get him now!! Having said that, I firmly believe a good manager can't make poor players with poor attitude into worldbeaters, and I'm afraid, that's what too many of our players are. New man would still have to get rid of half the team.
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Lightningboy added 11:00 - Apr 10 Progress has certainly been made compared to the first half of the season but that's not really saying much...even after this great run we've been on since the beginning of the year,we still haven't managed to get above 14th place and constantly seem to implode whenever we get within touching distance of the play-off places...this has happened for 4 or 5 seasons now! I don't think Jewell helps himself by playing favourites with the likes of Leadbitter & Bowyer..neither have done much for this club - Leadbitter has only now in recent weeks shown what he is capable of but the cynic in me knows that this is because he wants a move to another club...I for one think PJ has done the dirty on the likes of Luke Hyam and to some extent Andy Drury who let's face it turned our inept midfield around when PJ was pretty much forced to pick them due to injuries & suspensions. I like PJ but it's decisions like that that don't do him any favours. I hope he uses some nousse in the summer and goes after quality rather than quantity..4 or 5 out & 4 or 5 in should do it.

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Andy32Cracknell added 11:04 - Apr 10 I'm sorry, but i don't think Ipswich fans are impatient. But what they do like to see is a detail/strategic plan put in place over 3,4,5yrs. Anyone who supports town can plainly see this hasn't been the case in Jewell's regime. Now whether this is Jewell's. Cleggs or Evans fault i wouldn't like to say. But we can safely say that this season has been a complete disaster in some respects i.e The goalkeeping situation, the constant changing of formation, the constant picking of old has been's. However, i cant deny that fact things have improved. With the introduction of the younger players we looked a far better defensive unit than what we did a few months back. Hopefully next season Jewell will integrate the likes of cropper,hyam, carson,ainsley,smith,murray into the team with some quality additions, but i wont hold my breath.

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havinit69 added 11:11 - Apr 10 Blue lady, I would be VERY impressed if you could name me those "40 other teams in the Championship" ?! The problem isn't the manager, its the so called fans the believe that just because we have a wealthy owner, that it should guarantee promotion! Any team that gets relegated from the Prem will be one of the favs to go back up and I am afraid we are a good 2 or 3 more seasons away from being any where near the likes of Cardiff and Reading that ALWAYS seem to be in and around the top 6. Whilst we keep signing premier league teams reserve players we'll always be where we are now. Out of the top 10 goal scorers in the League, only Phillips, Nugent and King are from Premiership clubs. Lambert and Vaz Te are the top 2... Need I say more ? If we sign a few promising and proven (in League 1 and 2) players and keep them together we will be far better off. Isn't that what Norwich, Southampton, Brighton and so on have done, but we're still 2/3 seasons away if PJ acts NOW!

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itfc94 added 11:16 - Apr 10 Jewell has come under so much scrutiny over this past season and credit where it is due we are starting to look more like a team. Less signings and more youth and gelling time over the break and I reckon we could be a strong side ready to prove a lot of people wrong next season. Yes, it is taking longer to get back into the top flight than we all want, but back Jewell
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bluelady added 11:17 - Apr 10 havinit69 ha ha realised my blooper but couldnt be bothered to post again! i meant 20 :-)
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rosseden added 11:22 - Apr 10 Guthrum, thats my point, young hungry players, super up and coming managers who are dying for a championship job, a brilliant chairman with 20 years experience who wants to come to ITFC etc etc etc, until i see names / form / people stating they want to be here, and theyre better than what we have, i find it a little tedious to hear all the time about these people, who im not even sure exist! oh, and Havenit, i think you'll find Vaz Te dropped down from the prem to go to Barnsley before getting sold back to Allardyce.... he was at Bolton for 7 years or so..... i do agree with the sentiment however, we need to get more lower league players and build, with Norwich, Southampton and Brighton they all went down to league one, which after the fall out buys you time to rebuild a core to the team, hopefully PJ can do that whilst maintaining our status and push on from there...... i do think the acid test for Norwich, and Swansea as it goes will be next year, remember a team who went up a few years back and finished 5th in their first season up, then look what happened........ 2nd and 3rd years up are the big test, momentum cant carry you that far.......

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8ashblue added 11:25 - Apr 10 the most important thing for PJ to realise is that HE has made mistakes and that HE needs to learn from them otherwise the current upturn in our fortunes will not be sustained. Firstly signing older/injury prone must change. Secondly he must trust the youth to deliver either from the current pool or he needs to look in the lower leagues aka Drury. With the new restrictions coming into account we arent going rely on loanees who probably unsettle the side anyway. Time for PJ to show us why he should be our manager!!

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IvorFeeling added 11:30 - Apr 10 On the plus side: Martin (in the Centre), Cresswell, Drury & Edwards Good but need to be more consitent: Leadbitter, Chopra, Smith, Scotland & Murphy Jury still out/Enigma - JET & Jimmy Not Had enough time or games - Carson, Hyam and Stevenson Time to Go - Bowyer, Ellington No for PJ and Backroom staff: On the plus side we have tightened up and for periods of upto 45-60 mins played well but yesterday was a typical ITFC day at present. Played well for 35-40 mins scored, let in silly goal. Pearson was brave and sent on two substitutes to change game at start of second half which changed balance in midfield - town on backfoot, PJ very slow to react and within 10 mins there were a goal up and it could have been 3! PJ then left bowyer on, who was having a nightmare and our worst player but a country mile, took off Murphy our only big target man against two giants of CB's and then sticks Martin on the left wing when he has been a revelation at CM! Confused? I was!! Anyway rant over - I am still not sure that PJ is the one but we will know by end of June if we will have a good 2012/2013. The teams who have the best times are those that do there transfer business early both in and out and therefore have a solid, unrushed, prepared and focused pre-season. We should stick with PJ but if in the first fifteen games of next season we are not at least between the 25-30 pts mark, then for me it is time to go.

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