Boss Paul Hurst believes a lot needs to change at Town - regardless of who is sitting in the managerial hotseat - for the club to progress and have a realistic chance of promotion to the Premier League.

Hurst took over at Portman Road at the end of May and has had a difficult first few months at the helm with the Blues bottom of the table having won only once.

Saturday's 2-0 home defeat by QPR was widely panned as the poorest performance of the season, a viewpoint Hurst didn't disagree with.

Asked whether he felt there would be more evidence of the high-pressing style of play he outlined when came into the club by this stage, he said: “I disagree with some [of that] and I think there’s a naivety to some comments in terms of, do you not think we tried to press high up the pitch on Saturday? I would beg to differ, I could show you numerous clips [where we did].

“Did that always work? Or perhaps when we did press we forced them to play longer, they then had players that got hold of the ball or won headers.

“And every game’s different, that’s something the players spoke about. The Swansea game was a lot different to the QPR game. You can’t always do exactly what you want to do.

“Some teams come and try different things or set up differently. We’re not good enough to play just the way we want to play all the time, that’s blatantly obvious.

“But I think there are some things in terms of having an energy to us that I would have hoped would have been there more that I think’s been a little sporadic, rather than constant.”

Reflecting on the difficult start to the season are there moments which come to mind where things might have gone another way, perhaps the second game of the season at Rotherham which the Blues lost 1-0 late on having been the better side?

“That’s certainly something that sticks out but ultimately the season is 46 games long and we can’t just keep looking back, but there are valid points that you raise that it could have been different,” Hurst added.

“I spoke about when there was a lot of optimism, about how that can quickly change and, let’s not kid ourselves, that has changed.

“But I was the one trying to play that down and everyone else seemed to want to get excited about that, that’s just the way it is.

“But there are certain games I think we could have had more fortune in, whether that’s from decisions, or maybe that’s not fortune but we could have forced the issue more and made sure that one or two things were different.

Does he have any regrets? “Everything I’ve done has been for the right reasons. I stand by what I said when [I was asked about] people questioning team selection.

“Everyone’s entitled to an opinion and that’s why people love the game and get involved. But I don’t think I will ever be at a point of picking a team that I don’t think can do the job and isn’t the right team on the day. It would be ludicrous to do that.

“Hindsight’s always a wonderful thing, you look at everything. Of course, there are one or two things, I think anyone who says they wouldn’t have done anything different would probably be lying, but decisions made at certain times [were made] for the right reasons but maybe I should have pushed for certain things to have happened quicker.

“There’s lots of things at this football club that I would change and that’s not putting it down.

“But for the football club to progress, which is kind of why I was brought in and [there was] talk about changing the football club.

“Irrespective of whether it’s me sat here or someone else, I think there’s lots that needs to occur here to try to fulfil the desire and hopes of the fans because at the minute, everyone wants to be promoted to the Premier League, is that a reality for Ipswich Town?

“At this moment in time I don’t believe it is and the spending power [elsewhere] makes life more and more difficult.

“To make up for everything that leaves you short, I think everything else has to be absolutely on point and at the minute I don’t think that is.”

Asked to elaborate on that, he remained tightlipped: “No, that’s not a conversation to have in public. And again, that’s not about making excuses or talking about performances and our current league position. What I’m talking about is the progression of the football club.

“People will jump on that and say, ‘He’s looking for excuses’, but that’s not the case. Evolving the football club is what I’m talking about.”

He says the levels of financial disparity in the division haven’t come as a surprise: “Not particularly because I think you know what figures are bandied about, although you have to be careful about what you read because, let’s be honest, a lot of what’s in the papers isn’t true.

“But at the same time, it’s pretty obvious your Middlesbrough players and West Brom players, even though they have their issues, they’re having to cut back to a degree, but you know that they’re on figures that probably would take five or six of our players to get to perhaps. Sometimes more depending on which ones we’re looking at.

“But overall it has proved difficult, there’s not getting away from that and it makes me laugh sometimes. I look at a team that are down there moaning about their budget. I think it’s probably double ours. In terms of a player going in, we can’t get close to that.

“It doesn’t help, but I hoped we could have still made up for that and at this moment in time, we haven’t been able to. But it’s still not impossible to change that.”

Photo: TWTD

ihatecanaries added 19:50 - Oct 23 Starting with you Paul, then evans followed by all of your useless signings (Edwards and pennington can stay) and Bart back in goal would be a senssible change
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naa added 20:08 - Oct 23 Have to say I'm amazed that he's throwing this kind of thing around. People in glasses houses etc. He should be addressing the issues he's created. Explain to us why playing everyone out of position was the best thing to do. Why playing a short striker on his own up front is the best way to score goals. Why we need two defensive midfielders at home. Why he brought on two strikers as subs and plates them both on the wing. Maybe start with that rather than throw rubbish around about the club. After all, we were managing ok until he came along. I can't see how he can blame that on the club. Oh and what about the multitude of errors we keep making. If we make them every game and we didn't last year under previous management how can he seriously say it's nothing to do with him? What arrogance

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ThaiBlue added 21:21 - Oct 23 Only thing you will be changing is your postcode when you go back to Yorkshire on Thursday morning hursty.
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Edmundo added 21:49 - Oct 23 Evans is a poor man's Mike Ashley. Hurst has a he'll of a job following MM in terms of results, given that we have bu88er all budget. Style was great, but is going as we lose confidence and he loses the changing room.
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Northstandveteran added 22:10 - Oct 23 Ah Cakeman,the bushes growing from the roof of the sir Alf. I always point them out to my teenage children and say, "Who do you think gets up there to water them?" Oh how they laugh 😒
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Skip73 added 09:32 - Oct 24 I'd change the manager and most of the players.
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naa added 12:28 - Oct 24 Skip73: so would I, but it was doing just that that's got us into this mess.
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Pabloisgod84 added 12:38 - Oct 24 i will get shot down for this but some of our fans do need a reality check. we think we can just get this manager in or that manager and it will all become magic. we would need some luck to pick up a really good young manager or get a wiser head in who can still manage in todays game. we have been in steady decline for years apart from 1 flukey season where murphy scored 1 in 2 and we sneaked a few one nils. the play off loss to Norwich shew how far off we were anyway. so steady declines, selling our better players and not willing or affording to spend money on decent replacements or loan wages for good players. taking in to account lack of passion and face from owners/directors and falling crowds the whole club is sadly in a horrible downslide. it sucks especially with the horrible yellow muck picking up some results. But what is the answer..... as bad as it is and not just results performances too.. i still think give hurst a bit of time, 2/3 wins in 4 games would changes things a lot (unlikely i know) . i just dont see who we get or who would want to come here.

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