Town have confirmed the appointment of Paul Lambert as manager, the 49-year-old having agreed a deal to 2021.

The new boss will watch today's game at Millwall from the stands and we understand will meet the players and coaching staff at Playford Road on Sunday. A press conference is pencilled in for Tuesday.

Lambert's backroom staff are his Stoke assistant manager Stuart Taylor and fitness coach Jim Henry, as previously reported by TWTD, along with first-team coach Matt Gill, who has been working as Norwich City’s U23s coach.

“I am delighted that Paul has agreed to become manager of Ipswich Town,” Town owner Marcus Evans told the club site.

“He made it clear from our first conversation that he would relish the opportunity to come here.

“He is a very knowledgeable manager who has vast experience of the Championship as well as working for a number of years in the Premier League.

“In his time at Aston Villa he showed he could work and develop young players and his teams have always looked to play exciting football and those attributes fit our ethos here.

“He obviously enjoyed a lot of success at our local rivals and the aim for Paul and everyone at the club is to see that repeated here - and bettered!

“The first priority though is to start climbing the table and I urge the supporters to get right behind our new manager and the players to strengthen our ability to do that.”

New boss Lambert added: “I can’t wait to get going and I’ll be using all my experience - and give everything I’ve got for Ipswich Town.

“I know about the history of the club, what a fantastic football club it is and I’m proud to be the manager here.

“Obviously it’s been a difficult start to the season but to get through this period we need to be pulling together as one - players, staff and supporters.

“I want us to play with tempo, with enthusiasm, with drive. I want the players to enjoy their football and I’m relishing the challenge of helping to take this club forward.”

Lambert, the 17th manager in Town's professional history, was last in a job earlier this year, taking charge of Stoke City in January but leaving in May following the Potters’ relegation to the Championship.

Previously he was in charge at Wolves, Blackburn and Villa, but is most remembered in East Anglia for his stint in charge at Norwich between 2009 and 2012 during which he took them from League One to the Premier League in successive seasons.

The Scot had joined the Canaries from Colchester United where he had spent just under a year. The U's had defeated Norwich 7-1 on the opening day of 2009/10.

His managerial career started at Livingston, where he finished his playing days, before he moved on to Wycombe.

A midfielder, he played for St Mirren, Motherwell, Borussia Dortmund - with whom he won the Champions League - and Celtic as well as Livingston. He won 40 caps for Scotland, scoring once, and played at the 1998 World Cup.

Photo: Action Images

Town_Boy added 09:03 - Oct 27 HE HAAATES NORWICH!
17

BotesdaleBlue added 09:03 - Oct 27 Welcome Paul. The right manager for the position we are now in, and the best man currently realistically available Please, lets all get behind Lambert and start the move up the table.
51

Blue_75 added 09:04 - Oct 27 Welcome and good luck Paul!
31

boroughblue added 09:04 - Oct 27 Cant say this was the appointment I would have wanted, but he's now Ipswich Town's manager, so he will have my full support. Season starts today lads!! get behind the boys and our great club will pull through!! Welcome to the biggest club in Anglia Paul!! COYFB!!
22

RegencyBlue added 09:05 - Oct 27 He's got his work cut out for him but let's hope he turns things around. Welcome and good luck.
26

mike added 09:05 - Oct 27 We are all behind you Paul and hope that you can pull us away from the bottom!
23

coolcat added 09:06 - Oct 27 Welcome to Ipswich, Paul!
16

loudnproud added 09:07 - Oct 27 One of two things can happen here.......He destroys us or not........Im on the fence.....for now
-3

GFH added 09:08 - Oct 27 Welcome Paul, let's hope we have got the right Paul now!
19

Erics_size_5s added 09:10 - Oct 27 His ability to progress our young talent will be the key to success. How quickly can he prepare the exciting young crop so they are ready to gradually replace those players of more average ability.
21

Wembley78 added 09:10 - Oct 27 Whatever we think of the appointment, especially if we don't like it, we must all get behind the team and manager. COYB!!!
16

Woodbridgian added 09:10 - Oct 27 Welcome Paul. Time now for every real ITFC supporter to get behind him and the team. Onward and upward
20

martin587 added 09:11 - Oct 27 Welcome to The best club in East Anglia Paul.See you this afternoon at At the Den.
8

Radlett_blue added 09:12 - Oct 27 Not sure about the 3 year contract but we desperately need a fire-fighter to get us out of this mess. I doubt it will be pretty, but hopefully he can stop us leaking goals & we can be stabilised before Evans allows him to bring in some new recruits in January. I don't give 2 hoots about his Norwich connections & hope some of the support don't start making a big deal of that if things don't go our way.Fingers crossed!

17

tempzzzz added 09:12 - Oct 27 Can't pretend I was happy about this when I first heard it, didn't even have time to get excited about potential other managers, but I've come round slightly now. If he can keep us up then great, if he can end our winless run against the scum then even better. I just fear if he is the one to take us down it will be an absolute embarrassment that he's ex scum, we'll never live it down. But I will get behind him of course, despite right now finding it strange that the last time I sing his name was singing "you'll always be scum....." You know how it goes!

4

BlueMachines added 09:12 - Oct 27 Evans must back him in January. We are desperately short on quality, particularly up front. I hope he is a roaring success here, but whoever had come in needs EVANS to get his chequebook out!! Welcome Paul.
24

MoscowBlueMule added 09:17 - Oct 27 Now up to you Marcus to start signing multi million pound cheques for player. As they say 'either @@@@ or get off the pot'
6

raycrawfordswig added 09:18 - Oct 27 Always care about the team.Wonder how many of this team will be shipped out as not good enough.
6

Eiffel78 added 09:18 - Oct 27 Can see why Evans thinks he's a good appointment, and every new manager deserves a chance. But his Budgie past might be problematic if things don't turn around soon, some of the knuckle draggers will be looking for any excuse to turn on him.
-2

runaround added 09:19 - Oct 27 Welcome to Portman Road Paul looking forward to seeing you help improve the club
10

Daleyitfc added 09:19 - Oct 27 Another 3 year contract handed out to someone who will probably last just a few months : good to know that Evans is happy to waste his money in this way rather than on players.
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blueboy1981 added 09:20 - Oct 27 A gamble, if it doesn't work Evans could be in for another heavy pay off. Lets' all hope he's hungry for success, has a point to prove - and takes us where we want, and need, to be. Time, as always will tell.
1

muccletonjoe added 09:20 - Oct 27 We go again. This time it's serious.
10

rfretwell added 09:21 - Oct 27 Just get us promoted Paul. No pressure!
5

StringerBell added 09:22 - Oct 27 Please let us forget the past couple of years (whatever our personal feelings about who, what, and why) and UNITE behind the new manager and team.
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