Former Blues star Kieron Dyer has urged dissenting fans to forget their protests and get behind Town’s confidence-hit players as they go into “the toughest run ever” with relegation to the third tier of English football for the first time in 60 years, he believes, a very real possibility.

Ipswich-born Dyer, pictured above appearing on a recent Life's a Pitch, says he was listening to BBC Radio Suffolk on Saturday evening following the 2-0 defeat at Huddersfield - which saw the 14th-placed Blues drop to within nine points of the bottom three - and was concerned by some of the calls.

“I was driving home and I was listened to the Radio Suffolk phone-in and I didn’t realise it had got that bad,” he told TWTD.

“Basically the majority of the callers were talking about boycotting games and protesting because they’re fed up, saying this is their club and the manager and owner are ruining their club.

“I’m an Ipswich fan and everyone’s entitled to their opinion and I don’t pay money to go to games, while they pay their hard-earned money, so if that’s how they feel, then that’s how they feel.

“But I’ve just seen the run of games we’ve got in February and we have got the toughest run ever, and I would just say to the fans that the worst thing that can happen to our football club is us getting relegated.

“I look at our form and the lack of confidence from our players, because that’s what it is, the players have got absolutely no confidence, they all look shot.

“And if there are going to start to be protests and people boycotting the games, then it’s just going to make it even worse because it’s a toxic atmosphere as it is.

“It’s just going to make it even more unbearable for the players, they won’t get any more confidence and we could end up getting relegated.

“All I would say to the fans is, you’re all Ipswich fans, you want the best for your club, if you’re not happy with the owner and manager, I understand that, but let’s support the team and get us mathematically safe.

“And once we’re mathematically safe, protest or whatever you feel has to be done to be heard, then I totally agree, but I don’t think it’s the time with the way the team’s playing, where we are in the league and with the run we have to abandon the club and the players because everyone needs to stick together. Otherwise it’s going to be a really dire situation.

“We need everyone to get together - even some sections of the local media that sometimes seem to antagonise the fans and want the doom and gloom - get us safe and then do what you want. Let’s just get us safe first. This club cannot be in League One.”

Dyer, 38, says he knows what it’s like to be booed by your own fans from his time at Newcastle United and says it can have a huge impact on a player.

“I’ve been booed by 50,000 people and I was a confident player on the pitch,” he added. “But when I was being booed it affected me so badly some games, it was like I’ve never kicked a ball before, it was like I couldn’t even lace my boots up.

“Why Bobby Robson was so good was because he made everyone play feel a million dollars and they went on the pitch and played to the best of their ability.

“Our players at the moment are just fragile. Terry Butcher came out after the game against Lincoln and said they were a disgrace. I think that’s a harsh word because I think the term disgrace should only be levelled at a player who doesn’t want to play for the club, someone who doesn’t try when they’re on the pitch.

“Our players are trying 100 per cent. I go up to the training ground and I look at the stats. The running stats are through the roof.

“Everyone’s trying to put his shift in, it’s just that they’re so fragile. They’re so lacking in confidence.

“The fans pay good money so when they go to a football match if they want to have a moan, I get that, but our club has never booed players really. I’ve never really come across that.

“I know Scowy had a little bit from the boo boys when I was here, but nothing too brutal.

“But, for example, Jonathan Douglas, he’s getting sarcastically cheered off when he comes off and booed. How is that going to help him? He tries his nuts off every time he’s on the pitch.

“I get that fans might not think he’s good enough but the guy is putting a shift in. Don’t boo the players, that’s all I urge. Everyone stick together.

“There’s no better feeling than playing in a great atmosphere and the fans are on your side, it gives you more confidence than anything. I’ve been there, I’m speaking personally.”

He added: “Freddie Sears, I’ve worked with Freddie at West Ham, I see someone so low on confidence. Yes, he’ll still run, he’ll still put a shift in.

“Look at Christophe Berra in the last few weeks. It was only last season or 18 months ago that people were saying he was one of the best centre-halves in the league. Now he’s struggling. It’s not through a lack of trying, just a lack of confidence.

“It seems to me the players don’t want to play at home because there’s often that negative atmosphere.”

Former England international Dyer, who having retired in 2013 watches most games from the East of England Co-op Stand, says supporters stuck by their team in the last Portman Road fixture, the 3-2 victory over Blackburn, and he hopes the same will be the case when seventh-placed Derby visit next Tuesday.

“At the last game I went to the fans were brilliant, especially when it went to one-all. The fans could easily have switched but they stayed with the team and that was one of our better performances.

“But, as I say, the fans are entitled to their opinions, they spend good money, I don’t spend money to watch Ipswich, so they’re in a very different situation to me, but just stick with the team and give as much support, get us safe. The worst thing for this club at the moment would be if we went down.”

Dyer, who is currently an academy sponsor and previously coached at Playford Road, disagrees with some supporters’ perceptions of manager Mick McCarthy, who he believes has been a victim of his own comparative success in his earlier seasons.

“The grumble I hear from fans about Mick is the way he comes across in post-match interviews and they’re calling him arrogant,” he said.

“Mick is not arrogant, but he is very blunt and he feels that he doesn’t have to answer for things and that’s the just the way he is, and that riles the fans.

“The football’s not been great for a while, I totally get that. But Mick has overachieved, he has had no money to spend and he has found gems.

“He’s found Daryl Murphy for peanuts, he found Didz for peanuts, he found Tyrone Mings, he found the two loans, Jonny Williams the first time, Ryan Fraser.

“But you can’t keep producing free transfers and players for 50 grand that are going to get us to play great football to win the league.

“He’s overachieved, now the reality is that it’s hard to compete in this league with free transfers and cheap signings.

“And that’s where the owner [Marcus Evans] has to take responsibility, I feel. But again, and I’m not sticking up for the owner, but you’ve got an owner who has given all this money to Roy Keane and Paul Jewell and we were in the relegation places.

“He’s then employed a manager who he’s given no money to and we’ve got into the play-offs one year, nearly in the play-offs another and we’ve always been in the top half of the league.

“He thinks this is the way forward now. Because Mick has done well with no money the owner thinks that’s the norm now.

“But it’s not the norm. You can’t get success on free transfers and cheap signings. It’s crazy.

“I was peed off with the owner because I thought we should have got Cat One for the academy, gone all out for Cat One.

“Then again - like with the Mick situation where he’s thinking he doesn’t have to spend money because we’re doing really well - I’m saying we should go for Cat One and was fed up we didn’t get to Cat One.

“But then you think of it from the owner’s point of view and we’re Cat Two and are producing Andre Dozzell, we’ve produced Teddy Bishop, we’ve got Ben Knight coming through, we’ve got Tristan Nydam coming through, we’ve just sold Charlie Brown for £750,000 to Chelsea.

“He must be thinking ‘Why do we need to go to Cat One?’. But if we want to have the best academy, in my opinion we have to be in Cat One.”

He added: “I feel sorry for everyone, I feel sorry for the fans, I feel sorry for Mick and I feel sorry for the owner because he’s not a football man, he hasn’t got a background in football.

“He’s seeing the academy producing players, he’s seeing Mick getting great results with no money, so he thinks it’s the norm.

“Mick’s overachieved, now the reality is that he’s struggling like hell because he hasn’t been given the funds or the quality of the players and that has a knock-on effect on to the fans.”

Photo: TWTD

GiveusaWave added 23:43 - Jan 23 The 750,000 deal for Charlie Brown to Chelsea has only recently gone through. He would have been an amazing player for our club but that's life. Apparently the Sam Ford deal is another 130,000 also (to West Ham).
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braveblue added 00:21 - Jan 24 Latest nonsense. It really is all the fan's fault.
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braveblue added 00:21 - Jan 24 Latest nonsense. It really is all the fan's fault.
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madmouse1959 added 01:20 - Jan 24 Blame the coaching staff too. Where are they in all this mess ? Remaining in the shadows.
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madmouse1959 added 01:30 - Jan 24 This club has lost some of its most loyal supporters Kieron . The club is now a poor product, ran on a shoe string budget and yet expects the fans to keep throwing money at it. To sit through a boring 90 minutes to subsidise scandalous wages to people not bothering to do their job. Those fans are gone Kieron !!!!! Blame Evans and McCarthy for poor decisions and ignoring its supporters.

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Kropotkin123 added 01:36 - Jan 24 “It seems to me the players don't want to play at home because there's often that negative atmosphere.” - Interesting... We only have 4 less points than Newcastle at home. But we have only 3 more than Bristol, Burton and Blackburn away. To put it another way... League position: 14th Home league position: 10th Away league position: 19th Seems to me like they are held to account at home. And let it slip when they have less pressure to get a result in front of away fans.

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BrettenhamBlue added 05:03 - Jan 24 I see where Dyer is coming from, as Norwich fans are laughing with glee at our present situation. We can only sign frees and loans, present squad looks beyond demotivated and down and we have a Manager who will be with us regardless of results. I speculate that if we lose at PNE the atmosphere will be beyond toxic at PR as it's the first time we have seen them since the ignominy of the Lincoln humiliation in front of millions. There isn't much to be proud of right now. I'm not sure what Dyer expects us to do. If we cheer them on during defeats and humiliations it gives the impression that those performances are acceptable. I'm glad the prospect of relegation is finally being discussed. I honestly think we are punching beyond our weight right now and it's a miracle we are mid-table. I think Rotherham are poorer than us but that's it. Relegation is a real possibility this season, given our squad. If we don't get relegated no more talk of promotion, it's a joke calling us a promotion team. Aim next season should be to avoid the bottom 3 places, and I hope whoever is in charge states that from the start.Mick talking about promotion only aggravates the situation with fans when we don't achieve. If Mick had said from the start of the season "our aim is to avoid relegation" most of us would be ok with where we are right now. We also need to stop competing with teams like Blackburn, Wigan, Bristol, Leeds, QPR etc for signatures. We always lose. Instead we should be concentrating on trying to scout for talent in Belgium/holland/Scandinavia. Cheap players who will be off these clubs radar.

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Dissboyitfc added 06:36 - Jan 24 pauljewelisgod totally agree with first paragraph, cant agree with next 2 though. We could and would do better with another manager. Scouting abroad got us Knudsen! just saying.
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Dissboyitfc added 07:00 - Jan 24 How would KD feel playing in our present team? A team where underperforming and past it mates are selected to start. a team that is losing week after week through negative team selections. A team where creative players are discouraged. A team that plays the most awful football. I can tell you how he would feel, peed off, as he is that we didnt Cat 1 Status. His fight with a team Lee bowyer during a match. Both these action were fuelled by passion and disappointment! So Kieron dont question the passion of Town fans wanting better or the passion and disapointment from another town legend! MM has to go and cheering the club in the masses wont help in getting him out!

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Brownie added 07:14 - Jan 24 Some good comments from Kieron. I have never booed my team or players and never will. I don't think MM is arrogant. I dong think we should be organising mass protests. We need to continue to try and improve the academy. BUT The manager should be changed. We need about half a dozen new players. We need to try and entertain & win rather than not lose.The owner needs to change plans and invest more money in the team if we are to start looking up rather than down. As none of that is going to happen I'm making my own protest. I'm not going...

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runaround added 07:39 - Jan 24 Agree with some of Kieran's points but he also doesn't fully understand why many fans are unhappy. We are fed up by the awful take a point, stop the opposition playing & try to nick something, nowt in the game tactics that MM employs which the hard working players follow. He mentions Sir Bobby, who used to give youth a chance, if you're good enough you're old enough he would say, not wasn't the game for him! Every word from MM mouth has negative overtones & its leading to mind numbing boring football which is turning fans away in their droves. A lack of spending power doesn't necessarily mean not being able to play attacking football trying to win a game instead of trying not to lose it? MM is yesterday's man with outdated ideas whilst ME is either clueless, disinterested or both. What else are unhappy fans meant to do? I have made the decision to cancel my season ticket after over 25 years as I can no longer back the expense of going compared when I don't enjoy it & I used to think I was addicted to going

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shakytown added 08:10 - Jan 24 Sorry Kieran but if the fans could even see the slightest glimmer of hope they would get behind the team. A manager with no clue who prefers to waste space with past it losers like Douggie rather than try to build a real team around youth and encourage them and teach them to be better players is the problem. Mick out ASAP.
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SpiritOfJohn added 08:23 - Jan 24 Kieron was a super little player, but I wonder if he would have been able to break into our current matchday 11? He wasn't great at stopping the opposition from playing so would probably be sat on the bench.
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BlueMachines added 08:26 - Jan 24 Found Murphy did he? I thought he was on loan 4 times before he signed. And certainly here before MM.
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Safetyfirstmrwark added 09:08 - Jan 24 Spot on Kieron. The only way anything fundamental will change with our proud club is for a new owner who might actually understand football culture or who has enough money to throw at a decent manager to turn things around. Evans out.
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Wacko added 09:19 - Jan 24 So he says "get behind Town's confidence-hit players" and then at the end he says "(MM) hasn't been given the funds or the quality of the players" - great confidence-booster there...
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Ferguson added 09:50 - Jan 24 Seems to confirm Evan's remoteness. As an owner though nothing will be his fault, his directors will blame their managers who will all blame those below them until errrr it's all our fault ?
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bohslegend added 09:54 - Jan 24 Seriously how many on here use just about anything they can get their hands on to beat the manager? McCarthy did find Murphy. While he was manager of Sunderland and brought him there from Waterford Utd. When he came to ITFC he signed him permanently after loan spells with previous management. But this whole article clearly shows how full of themselves some fickle Ipswich fans are. One of our best players of the modern era, and home grown too, states an opinion from the point of view of a player (which by the way, none of us here are or likely ever will be despite our grand opinions and faux-expertise) and he has the boots laid into him for expressing it. Typical. So many above (the usual "realists") with total disregard for the service paid by KD to ITFC. Sure, that's genuine support

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WadeyBlue added 10:00 - Jan 24 "Everyone's trying to put his shift in, it's just that they're so fragile" They so fragile???? Man the fk up. The players should stop crying about what the fans are doing and get stuck in. What sort of generation of players are we producing nowadays?? We'd better be careful with the younger ones, go upsetting them and they'll be straight onto Ester Ransom and childline. Honestly. Fkn fragile. Bring back the 70's footballer.

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BlueMachines added 10:18 - Jan 24 Fair point bohslegend. Welcome back. I was worried about you!!
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littlestoneblue added 10:49 - Jan 24 There's one quick way to solve this problem Kieran, Get rid of MICK and his staff, FACT, and bring in someone with a good track record like Gary Rowlett or similar to bring back some pride to our club, ok I'll accept Marcus's football knowledge is zero, and if he wants to hide behind closed doors then fair enough, but for the love of our club buy some quality players to compliment you youth players coming through, Just like Sir Bobby did, and start playing football as it should be played, the Ipswich way ok

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hoppy added 11:55 - Jan 24 “I look at our form and the lack of confidence from our players, because that's what it is, the players have got absolutely no confidence, they all look shot." Was that last word a typo, I wonder?
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StavangerBlue added 12:38 - Jan 24 If the club wants the fans to get behind the team play with passion, commitment and fight for every ball. Keep possession, pass the ball, run faster than the opposition, use initiative, improvise when things are not going right and respect the fans. I was at Huddersfield, they ran us off the park, they passed it better, they kept possession, they were more flexible and they were hungrier for the win. We have Plan A and that is it! We hit the ball long and when that does not work we have no alternative action to choose from. We are relatively static around the pitch, we simply do not move enough...ever heard the phrase "pass and move"? The style of play does not entertain, we defend too deep putting ourselves under immediate pressure everytime we lose the ball. Getting in loan players is only papering over the cracks...why are we not building towards the future? Finally, applaud the fans after the game. Many pay a lot of money to travel around the country even during this fiasco. When all is said we are Ipswich fans. We want the club to have success. We all support the club but at the moment many feel we are taken for granted and being patronized.

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JimmyP45 added 12:47 - Jan 24 Cannot take anyone that defends Jonathan Douglas seriously. To say he always puts a shift in is delusional. If running around the pitch staying away from the play and not showing any footballing ability whatsoever is "a shift" and is good enough then the team has hit an all time low. It is very clear who in the squad can cut it at championship level and who simply cannot so why can't the manager see it and select a team based on that.

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Seasider added 13:13 - Jan 24 Kieron was a great player for us,and gave his all.I remember him playing on with a broken leg,albeit a hairline fracture. Agree about some of the points he makes about Evans;but not McCarthy. Kieron says our club has never booed players really;think it shows how tolerant we are,and proves we wouldn't show dissent unless things were badly wrong. Daryl was brought here by Roy Keane,and Russell Osman discovered Mings .Yes Didsy;but like Jonny they spend more time out injured than playing.Personally not that impressed with scouting set up now,or youngsters coming through;but this is partly due to not being Cat 1. Also question Keiron saying McCarthy as had great results,certainly not recently.

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