Boss Paul Lambert had praise for both his players and the Portman Road crowd after the 2-1 home defeat to West Brom. Kayden Jackson netted with five minutes remaining to give the Blues a chance of grabbing late point with the visitors already two in front with Jack Lankester coming close to an injury-time equaliser with a freekick which scraped the post.

Asked whether the first period was tough viewing for him, Lambert said: “I think that’s a bit harsh on the first half. We stayed in the game, we were up against a really top, top side which has just been relegated and not lost many players.

“This club was really low when we came in, we had to lift everybody, not just the actual team. I remember getting asked the question at the AGM, ‘How do you lift a team that’s meant to be full of League One and League Two players?’.

“I think everybody’s perception is a little bit different now. We went toe-to-toe with West Brom, in the second half I thought we were outstanding.

“You always judge it by the crowd reaction and that crowd, I didn’t see many leaving because they got right behind them.

“So I’m proud of them, we’ve got a really young side. We’ve got academy kids coming off the bench, they’ve got a guy on the bench [Gareth Barry] who has actually won the Premier League. They’re a helluva side as well, West Brom. Sometimes the table does lie.”

He added: “I think you have to look at it objectively, West Brom are a top side and our team have been battered from pillar to post for most of this season and I’ll stick up for every one of the guys, they were absolutely brilliant.

“Every day in training, they’re brilliant. Every game I’ve been involved in they’ve given me everything and honestly I’m absolutely with how they’ve played.”

Regarding the crowd, Lambert said: “I’ll put in record, it’s a big thanks from myself to the supporters because they were brilliant the whole game, right from the off the atmosphere was outstanding, that’s the way it should be.

“That’s football, that’s the atmosphere and I know I made the fans’ group [Blue Action, who he met earlier in the week] know that and they were brilliant along with everybody else.

“The kids came to the game and, as I said before, that’s the next generation of fans for this football club.

“But the support, my God, that was absolutely great, so that’s a big thanks from me to them.”

Town came out after the break seeming to have grown in self-belief and Lambert says he spoke about that during half-time.

“I thought we were a little bit tentative in the first half,” he reflected. “We still knocked the ball about pretty well without really being aggressive with it.

“And we just got to half-time and regrouped a little bit and had some words with them and they played the way they did and the way we have been playing.

“We gave a really good account. But the players are the ones that can take the credit, and the crowd as well. The crowd drive you on but the players were fantastic.”

Lambert felt Lankester showed courage just to take the freekick which almost brought a leveller.

“Eighteen years old and having the bottle to go up and hit it in front of a massive crowd. Brilliant,” he said.

“I was just told he hit the post, another yard inside and it’s a goal and I don’t think anybody would have begrudged us that if that had happened. But that’s football. But we’re really, really happy with the team.”

He believes the second-half display was a further step in the right direction despite the lack of a victory.

“Absolutely,” he said. “A few weeks ago you were reporting on it, I was somewhere else in the world. You’ve been reporting it since the start of the season, you’ve seen games and the way the morale was and everything like that. That’s no slight on anybody, that’s just what happens when you don’t get results.

“But the performances since I’ve been here have been really, really high. We came up against a really good side, who are one of the favourites to get out of the division.

“But the actual positivity, you can sense it, in the training ground, in the stadium with everybody on board, the supporters, which we had to galvanise as well because they’ve had it hard too. Everybody’s had it hard. We’ve just come in to give everybody a lift.”

West Brom boss Darren Moore said after the game that he didn’t think Town would be in the position they are at the moment for too long.

“That’s really kind of him,” Lambert continued. “But I think everybody knows that. I think Darren’s done a great job and it’s really kind of him, we’ve only been here a few weeks.

“As I said before, when fans ask you how you get the best out of so-called League One and League Two players, that just shows you.”

Does it annoy him when people refer to his players in that manner? “It doesn’t annoy me because I hadn’t really seen the lads play [at the time the question was asked at the AGM]. You have to give somebody a chance.

“Did anybody every think I could go and play with Borussia Dortmund and win the Champions League? Probably not. I proved a few people wrong and I intend to prove a few people wrong here.”

Asked whether Town are just a goalscorer away from being a decent team, he responded: “I think we need a little bit of help come January, I really do, to help the guys out there. If we keep doing what we’re doing I really do believe we’re going to be fine.”

Lambert was delighted that Teddy Bishop made his first appearance since August as a sub: “He is [a talented footballer]. I’ve spoken to him and he’s got to stay fit. He’s got to train every day and not break down. Sometimes it’s out of your hands, it’s your own body, how your body copes with the training and the stress of it.

“But if you want to play top level football you have to train the way you play. I’ve never been involved in any team where you don’t train the way you play. Low key doesn’t work. Your body breaks down.

“But to be fair to the kid, he’s trained virtually every day since I’ve been here and he’s got a talent, as I’ve said before, he goes by people and he makes things happen. And this club has got a really good structure here with the young players.

“There are a lot of good young players here and if you can keep nurturing them and they grasp it then the club’s in good hands.”

West Brom boss Moore was pleased to get the three points having expected a tough game against the Blues now Lambert is in charge.

“I thought the game settled down after 10 or 15 minutes I thought we were in total control," he said.

“I thought we created chances in the first half, I thought we created chances in the second half.

“I can’t have a go for not converting more, we scored two very good goals tonight and whatever it may be, experience or whatever, young Tosin Adarabioyo will learn from [the error which led to Town's goal].

"It was a good one to learn from, it didn’t cost us three points and it will stand him in good stead because I thought he had a fantastic game tonight.

“I thought he showed his adaptability, his versatility, I thought he was agile, his speed tonight was very, very good, his heading contact was very, very good.

"It was just a little mistake and it will be a good one for him for his career going forward. We’ve had a chat, he knows it, he’ll accept it and we’ll move on.”

He added: “I think you saw tonight it was an accomplished performance. I think at the end when they huffed and puffed, I thought our positional sense was excellent in the game.

“I’ve seen games like that this season where we’ve been away from home and we’ve been a little bit disjointed, so we keep working and tonight I was really pleased to come away with the three points.

“We knew we had to come down here and put on a performance, we knew we had to be very good tonight because Paul, this club, this team’s a different team at the moment, they really are.

“They won’t be where they are for much longer, I’ll tell you that now because of how they play. Very, very good, experienced manager and it’s three valuable points for us today.”

Photo: TWTD

unknown100 added 23:26 - Nov 23 So far he has done everything right and getting the best out of what he has, im confident the wins will come
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StringerBell added 23:26 - Nov 23 Much praise for you Paul and what you're trying to achieve with the most limited resources at your disposal. Can see the hard work you've put in and wish you'd joined us a lot sooner. Not your fault that the club has been poisoned and ruined by idiot Evans #Removethepoison
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pastystringbean added 23:45 - Nov 23 I don't want to be downbeat but West Brom didn't look under pressure at all, they played the game with ease. It doesn't matter if you've taken the new managers tactics and beliefs on board, if your not good enough, your not good enough. We fluked a goal (well taken), but still lucky. Amazing atmosphere tonight, we're gonna need it to escape this. COYB
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clint_eastwood added 01:56 - Nov 24 "How do you lift a team that's meant to be full of League One and League Two players?". That is so true. That is what we are right now, a team full of League One and League Two players playing in The Championship which was 'brilliantly' assembled by a League One manager. If only you were here right from the start of the season, Mr. Lambert...things would've been so different.

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Len_Brennan added 06:41 - Nov 24 @pasty: I don't disagree with your analysis of this game, but I am still impressed by how positive Lambert comes across, despite obviously seeing the same gap in quality of the two sides. IF we are going to survive, IF, we are going to need him to get every possible ounce of effort out of the players at his disposal, before & after Christmas. You just know that he has them rallied again already for the Bristol City game, despite the loss & the possibility of being further away from safety come 5pm. It won't be for the lack of man-management skills between now & May, should the worst come to past.

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jas0999 added 06:45 - Nov 24 Very impressed with La,Bert, but this squad isn't good enough. But he knows that, regardless of what he says.
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muccletonjoe added 06:50 - Nov 24 In some ways I would take where we are now just to have the club back together again. We are all pulling the same way , we have a fantastic manager. If we go down I have no doubts we will come back stronger.
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marco007 added 07:50 - Nov 24 You have to admire his optimism bit i think PL is borderline delusional. Yet again hopes were dashed...great build up fantastic entertainment...apart from what took place on the pitch! All i was left with was total disappointment as we were well beaten by an average side that if in the Premiership would be rock bottom. Was hoping to see more organisation and positivity but afraid all i saw was players lacking in confidence and too many hopeful long balls. I'm not blaming Lambert as he has inherited a mess...full backs that cannot defend and have no positional sense, a captain that leads but cannot play, midfielders with no creativity and not a single decent striker. Thought Roberts was completely out of his depths, and Edwards was more interested in trying to win freekicks. The only spark was Lancaster when he came on Roll on January as this squad has Div 1 written all over it 😥

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blues1 added 08:03 - Nov 24 Why are some of you guys on here going on about acteam of lge1/2 players? Looking at our squad with those players bought from lower leagues, how many of them played last night? Just 1. Edwards. Then jackson as a sub. The rest of the starting line up was made up of experienced championship players plus 2 loanees one of whom has played in premier league. So hardly a team of lge1/2 players. Just people using anything to have a go still. At the end of the day we were simply beaten by a better team full of premier league players but gave a very good account of ourselves in the 2nd half. Unfortunately we shot ourselves in the foot by conceding the 2nd goal from our corner. And that alone is why we could well get relegated as u can't afford to do that against the better teams, as they will punish you for it

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mathiemagic added 08:29 - Nov 24 WBA - Better than ITFC last night, deserved the win. PL - Excellent manager ITFC - Under PL we will be fine. I have no doubt that come the end of the season we will easily finish 4th bottom or above. #IPLWT #Believe
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muhrensleftfoot added 09:13 - Nov 24 No doubt Lambert has made a massive difference, but I fear it is not enough. The gulf in class was there for all to see. Every time WBA attacked, they looked dangerous. We looked ponderous and unsure in the final third, with the last pass generally going astray. Providing we continue to play positively we will certainly pick up some wins in the near future, but it is an uphill battle thanks to the deluded tactics and team selection of the previous manager. Unfortunately it may be too late to save us from the drop.

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TimmyH added 10:14 - Nov 24 Your forgetting Roberts @blues1 as well, and West Brom if they were a bit more clinical should have won the game by 2 or 3 goals...another 'biggish' Championship team that have come here and hardly had to get out of 2nd gear to win other than the last few minutes.
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Dissboyitfc added 10:23 - Nov 24 pasty i dont agree, although WBA are a better side i believe we did put them under pressure, especially the start of the second half. we scored from a mistake and they scored the second from a mistake. on to the Bristol game. COYB's
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Daleyitfc added 10:37 - Nov 24 We were second best throughout ; a whole raft of the current squad not good enough for this league. Jack Lancaster did more to try and win the game than anyone else and he was only on the pitch for a few minutes.
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brittaniaman added 10:57 - Nov 24 Lambert is on a Win, Win situation, IF we go down it will not be his fault because he can only work with what Hurst left him with, and IF we stay up he will be a Hero !!!!!! We can only hope it is the second part and he will be our Hero, and give him and the players a STONEHENGE RECEPTION !!1
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blues1 added 11:34 - Nov 24 Sorry Timmyh. Yes ur right, i forgot roberts. So ok 2 started . And even if u add Chalobah to that my point still stands. Majority of starting line up was players experienced at this level.
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Tampa_Florida_Blue added 16:20 - Nov 24 Last night was the first time I have seen us play live (on tv) this season, mainly due to I live in Florida. Apart from the fact that we are very light up front, the one thing which was glaringly obvious to me is, we need 2 central defenders, big strong guys. LC is prone to to many mistakes, and Pennington is flat footed most of the time, and so not ready for Championship football. One player I was shocked about was Spence. He mopped up several of our central defenders errors and was full of running. #COYB we can do this!

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PortmanTerrorist added 10:28 - Nov 25 SBR stand was more tentative than the start of the season, and whilst it is great having thousands of part-time supporters come in to the ground, they don't contribute the same as regulars. We need to keep playing football properly, hope some results come our way and then apply similar logic to season tickets rather than odd games.
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