Cole Skuse admits that he and his Town colleagues must accept a massive part of the responsibility for last week’s below-par display in the disappointing goalless draw with rock-bottom Burton at Portman Road.

Town head for Carrow Road on Sunday for the latest chapter of the long-running East Anglian derby saga looking to bounce back from what manager Mick McCarthy labelled his team’s worst display of the season so far.

Few supporters present at the 0-0 stalemate would argue with that and McCarthy felt the full force of many fans’ frustration both during and at the end of last Saturday’s game, only a Man of the Match performance from goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski preventing the added humiliation of a defeat.

Skuse, who has clocked up 196 first team appearances since his arrival on a free transfer in 2013, said: “As players we take a massive part of the responsibility. The manager doesn’t relay to us in the dressing room beforehand or at half-time ‘Look, you’ve got to go out and play this poorly’.

“He’s given us instructions to go out and perform and we didn’t on the day, so we’ve got to hold our hands up.

“We knew that coming off the pitch, at half-time and again at full-time. It wasn’t good enough and we had in-house chats after the game and we’ve had them again this week in the lead-up to Sunday, when we will be looking to make amends.

“Before Burton I think we had a run of decent performances without getting big results. In any walk of life people have off days and bad days, and that was one of them for us.

“It was one of those days when it didn’t gel, didn’t click and what we were trying to do didn’t work. We came off the pitch knowing that the fans went away thinking the same, so we’ll be looking to make amends this weekend.”

Asked how he felt McCarthy coped with the flak, Skuse added: “Everyone is different when it comes to handling different things. The gaffer does it his way and you’ve got to give him credit for the way he handles it.

“He doesn’t change the way he is, never getting too carried away with the highs and certainly not getting down when we have our lows.

“He’s very much on a plateau and deals with everything the same way. We need to take a huge chunk of the responsibility for the Burton performance because we were nowhere near good enough as players.

“Going into what is arguably our biggest game of the season — the derby with Norwich is huge for everyone — off the back of that performance could be alarming.

"But we’re using it as a bit of an incentive really. There’s no way we want to be that bad again live on television and against our biggest rivals. We’re looking to put things right and have a big performance at the weekend.

“We need to give our fans a carrot to get behind us. You can’t expect to put on performances like we did against Burton and expect to get olés and be cheered off the pitch. That doesn’t happen in any football stadium.

“We need to put on performances that excite fans and bring them back week in, week out. We know we’ve got to do better than last weekend.

“It’s tough when the supporters are on your back. I mean, who wants that? I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be walking down the street and people booing you and telling you that what you are doing isn’t good enough. It isn’t nice but it’s something you have to deal with in football.

“It’s something the players need to get used to it because it can soon happen in a football environment. Only we can make amends and put it right. It’s just down to us to turn in better performances.

“It could be better that we’re away from home. When we played them at home earlier in the season I thought we put in a good performance and should have got something from the game.

“But the atmosphere that our fans generate away from home is always fantastic and we’ll be looking to put on a good display for them.”

Photo: TWTD

PortmanTerrorist added 16:55 - Feb 14 Classic manoeuvre. Chambers, Skuse, Mick to come…..we only need Milne to complete the set. Everyone of them apologists for the disgraceful product the Club are trying to convince us passes for football in 2018. A change is gonna come, and when it does there will be no room for any of you based on performances, not just recently, but consistently over past few years. If you do indeed do your “utmost to get the right result on Sunday” then what was stopping you last Saturday. Utter tosh from the proper blokes once more but don't worry, you and Chambo will be 2nd/3rd on the team sheet for the next game…..Bart is 1st as not even Mick is that mad !

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prebbs007 added 17:01 - Feb 14 Slightly misworded Cole. What you mean is that was as good as we can do but we are just not very good. How you've managed to get a new contract is a miracle. Congrats to you for continuing to be a proper bloke, clearly the only attribute required to impress the idiot in charge.
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blueblood66 added 17:02 - Feb 14 196 games and 1 goal from midfield.........
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dukey44 added 17:16 - Feb 14 One of micks muppet puppets.........
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finidi added 17:21 - Feb 14 Sick of hearing such utter tosh from two of Micks old mates, who are League 1 level at best.
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Carberry added 17:23 - Feb 14 So Cole, you've been wheeled out now, to contradict what your mate Chambers said previously. It's all very well comparing yourself with the man in the street having an off day at work but you are paid the big bucks to be the ultimate professional and do a job on the bottom team in the league. And by the way, don't patronise us with this 'carrot' rubbish, we pay your wages so treat us with some respect, unlike your manager who you have been sent out to defend.

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NBVJohn added 17:36 - Feb 14 First ‘Chambo' and now ‘Skusey' Who else will be asked to state the bleeding obvious before Sunday? As senior professionals at the club, please, PLEASE, shut up, get your heads down, work hard and put in a performance on Sunday. Please feel free to talk to us again when there's something worth telling us. I can see that Saturday's performance was garbage. I don't need ‘Skusey' to be wheeled out to tell me, and I certainly don't need ‘Chambo' to tell me how to support the team. Cobblers - shut up! This club is a pale shadow of what it used to be. From valued pillar of the community to cynical spin powered vacuum in 10 short years. In my opinion Evans didn't save this club as we are often led to believe, he merely provided a slow, lingering death. The Robson and Burley era's are often recalled with misty eyes, and in truth both had faults and disappointments which are often conveniently forgotten, but there was an integrity, excitement and identity that has been steadily eroded. After a bad performance, there was always next week. The anticipation has been killed off by lack of vision, direction and imagination. We are slowly starving on a diet of journeymen and cast offs while our former academy products prosper. Did anyone see Conor Hourihane's goal on Sunday? Such is the change and the spin that we might as well be MK Dons now. Sad times.

10

OwainG1992 added 17:37 - Feb 14 Everyone having a go at Skuse for speaking about how bad we were? Nearly everyone was praising him/The club when be got a new deal! Stop being so fickle people!! Either way last weekend was God awful.
4

peteswindon added 17:38 - Feb 14 Well done Cole a good honest interview. Not sure what a lot of these so called fans want to hear.
2

Cloddyseedbed added 17:40 - Feb 14 The Portman Road public relations team are so predictable, just like MM's tactics on the pitch.
4

Carberry added 17:47 - Feb 14 OwainG, he didn't say how bad they were - he said they had an 'off day', very different. And he has quite clearly been sent out to defend his manager, you know the one who believes his own publicity and needs no support because he lives in the world according to Mick. Always remember, to him, we are 'those fu@kers.'
2

HackneyBlue added 17:49 - Feb 14 Just hand back your wages for that disgraceful display and you need not say a thing
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dukey44 added 17:52 - Feb 14 Peteswindon??? He's a tosh player playing for a tosh manager and you defend him?? Make me chuckle!!!!
3

HackneyBlue added 17:54 - Feb 14 Skuse,if i performed like you lot did i would have been dismissed for gross misconduct and would not get another chance,certainly would have not been paid.
6

bigolconnor added 17:55 - Feb 14 I wouldn't pay £30 to watch someone walk down the street, but if I did and they did it really badly I would probably boo them.
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jocasaja added 18:00 - Feb 14 No sh*t Sherlock !
3

Cakeman added 18:00 - Feb 14 Correct Skuse. We weren't good enough. The rest is the usual waffle!
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CornardBlue added 18:01 - Feb 14 Its about time Skuse and Chambers as senior players had the "Balls" to tell the manager this is not the way we want to play football. I did notice during Saturdays game Garner having a go at McCarthy about not getting any service. Playing a system of 7 defenders 4 forwards with no midfield is a joke.
11

Super_Cooper added 18:06 - Feb 14 "We need to give our fans a carrot to get behind us." A carrot at Carrot Road! Nice one Skusey!
0

Bert added 18:43 - Feb 14 Skuse may not be everyone's cup of tea but his blocking is needed in a team . The problem is that midfield lacks balance. I think the proper block phrase is now a bit dated chaps. Abuse is not necessary.
3

Daleyitfc added 18:43 - Feb 14 The support that our useless players, of which Skuse sits top of that list, and even more useless manager continue to get from the moronic 'keep the fafe' brigade on here, is frankly staggering. Disgusting, in fact, that they seek to perpetuate the current state of affairs.
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dukey44 added 18:49 - Feb 14 Haha some of you are huge muppets too!!? Hahahaha he's tosh and he signed another contract that's good for us because??? Then he spouts off blah blah blah so it changes everything if we win Sunday?? Of course it doesn't we are going nowhere with people like skuse and chambers in the team haha
6

howdonblue added 19:42 - Feb 14 Hear hear Portman terrorist They roll out a senior player with that “we know how bad we were BXXXXXXT” This is extremely boring. Evans grow a pair and do something sooner rather than later and let this uncertainty end as most normal thinking fans are not enjoying this brand of football, and at least if they know if Mcarthy stays then they will be able to make their season ticket decisions for next season . Which is a big deal to hard working people who no longer want to waste hundreds of pounds a year on this brand of supposed football. Just do it sooner rather than later man as this club is going nowhere fast under the present set up

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kpblues added 20:17 - Feb 14 Skuse defending "Chambo" and Mick. One can't make a forward pass, one can't defend properly and the other manages a team not to lose rather than win. How totally depressing and predictable. If Skuse and Chambers become coaches good luck to them but please can they do it somewhere else ?!
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dukey44 added 21:21 - Feb 14 Hahaha talking of muppets billybaxterwasbest is back on hahaha minus minus......
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