Skipper Luke Chambers has saluted fans for their support this season and hopes they continue to back the team in their struggle to survive in the Championship.

The experienced defender looked back to Friday’s 2-1 home defeat by promotion-chasing West Bromwich Albion and ahead to Wednesday’s visit to Portman Road from a 14th-placed Bristol City side looking to avoid a fifth successive league defeat.

Chambers, who is Town’s only ever-present in the current campaign, said: “Fair play to the club for doing the promotion that they did for the Albion game.

“That certainly shows the fanbase is there — we just need to start picking up some wins to get them back in here regularly.

“Hopefully we have sent them away with a lot more encouragement than we have recently.

"I don’t think I’m telling a lie when I say the last three games have shown how far ahead we are compared to where we’ve been. That’s the positive we need to take from games.

“When we’re in the ascendancy, like we were at Reading and there were chances to score, we have to score more goals and be a bit more clinical. That’s in both boxes and it’s not just the forwards.”

The 33-year-old defender remains upbeat about Town’s chances of avoiding the drop into League One, especially with the upturn in performances since Paul Lambert took over as manager three games ago.

He added: “There are a lot of frustrations from supporters nowadays because we’re up against it massively.

“In the Championship there are budgets and things like that but you should be able to come to the game and enjoy it.

“I think they enjoyed it on Friday night, even though we’ve not won the game, and credit to the manager because he’s gone out of his way to meet with fans and try to bring about a bond that I think has been missing for quite a while now — possibly since our play-off season.

“There’s been a bit of negativity from all sides really but the way they’ve stayed with us since day one of the season has shown how much they want to get behind the team.

“It’s there to be seen and if you turn up to games like Friday you can see the fanbase is there.

“We really appreciate it and at the end we went over to say thank you to everyone who was still in the stadium.

“I think they will stay with us now because if we play like that it won’t be too long before it starts to turn.

“It’s our job to entertain and the manager has told us to play in a way where we all know exactly what our jobs are.

“We know that if someone doesn’t do something in particular they won’t be playing. That’s the frustration, because we need to turn that positive feeling into goals and wins.”

Meanwhile, Town's table-topping U23s are in action away against fourth-placed Millwall at the Lions' Calmont Road training ground this afternoon (KO 1.30pm).

Photo: TWTD

GFH added 06:11 - Nov 26 Onwards and upwards.
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lightingblue added 06:52 - Nov 26 I'm going to get shot down here. It was not 3 points. We are at the stage where we need points. Doesn't matter how we get them. If we lose our next game, things are serious. The teams above us are creeping away. Unfortunately you can't fluff it up. We are presently awful. Looking at the game on Friday there are only a couple of players that I'd keep. To be fair Lambert has his tied, he can only play with the cards his been dealt with.

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Cakeman added 06:56 - Nov 26 Well said skipper.
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Horseboy added 06:59 - Nov 26 Polishing a turd Chambers. The first half was utter rubbish.
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raycrawfordswig added 07:00 - Nov 26 Defence is all over the place
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christiand added 07:10 - Nov 26 I'm more optimist about us staying up with PL now in charge, but there is still plenty of work needed. Lets be honest, WBA didn't really get out of second gear on Friday and didn't need to to beat us either.
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JCBLUE added 07:15 - Nov 26 Huge improvement since PL arrived. Showed West Brom too much respect first half, but much better second half against a team that don't forget had just beaten Leeds 4-1. If we keep playing the PL way we will be fine, a few signings in January help too.
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SouperJim added 07:32 - Nov 26 Horseboy you can't polish a turd, but you can roll it in glitter.
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Suffolkboy added 07:46 - Nov 26 Eliminate the negative ,appreciate the positives AND let's all look up : there's a distinctly different mood around town ,so let's all try to support & enjoy ! For those who continue to condemn ,either the team , a player or the efforts , well don't bother to spoil ; were you ever a true supporter, and why not now ?We're in a dark place but PL & co bring hope and light ; it'll take time to drive out of the tunnel BUT there is a WAY and we can each and everyone help the push with vocal support ! Let's stop the knocking , there's been quite enough ! Up the Town

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cat added 07:56 - Nov 26 Little doubt there's a positive vibe around the club due to Lamberts arrival. It's one thing saying we need to take our chances but the main problems with the back 5, stupid goals conceded and the inability to play out from the back and keep possession are well up there. The best 2 players on Friday night were Penn and Chalobah who ain't ours. Will make the trip to Suffolk tomorrow in hope of that first home win. The only way is up.

3

Barty added 08:00 - Nov 26 Not to put too finer point on it we simply must win Wednesday night
3

PulhamBlue added 08:40 - Nov 26 Play as if it's 2 second halves. That first half on Friday was a massive step back.
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dirtydingusmagee added 08:54 - Nov 26 we didnt show much promise first half, but the second half did give cause for optimism, i will say though, that although there was a good attendance[for various reasons] , the fans were quiet, sure they got going later in game, but really we need to make far more noise , get the place rocking, even if things are not going too well, Paul Lambert is doing his bit we need to do ours.We havnt got a team of world beaters,and its going to be hard going till the end to avoid the drop,but the players need to have the crowd behind them throughout the game to give them some confidence. COYB.

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GiveusaWave added 09:03 - Nov 26 I know it's difficult being an ITFC fan right now...but maybe if we look at this as a mini-league between now and the end of the season then it might be achievable. Forget WBA, Leeds, Derby, Norwich etc....important thing is the results of the teams around us. 12 Birmingham 18 5 9 4 25 24 1 24 13 Stoke 18 5 8 5 21 22 -1 23 14 Bristol City 18 6 4 8 20 21 -1 22 15 Brentford 18 5 6 7 28 25 3 21 16 PNE. 18 5 6 7 30 31 -1 21 17 Wigan 18 6 3 9 19 26 -7 21 18 Sheff Wed 18 5 5 8 22 32 -10 20 19 Rotherham 18 4 7 7 16 25 -9 19 20 Reading 18 4 5 9 24 29 -5 17 21 Millwall 18 4 5 9 23 30 -7 17 22 Bolton 18 4 5 9 12 24 -12 17 23 Hull 18 4 4 10 16 26 -10 16 24 Ipswich 18 1 8 9 15 30 -15 11 Every time we play one of these teams...it's a 6-pointer in my view. I'm also going to be keeping an eye out for all these teams results. I don't care if a huge gap opens up between the top and bottom clubs...what I do care about is us getting ourselves out of this mess starting with a crucial 6 pointer in our next game... We can do this...but the wins need to start now. It would be good to see us off bottom spot by Xmas and in contention for 21st place....

8

marco007 added 09:41 - Nov 26 Small green shoots but still a long way off from having any real confidence that we can move upwards. The issue for me is that however optimistic our new boss is, he has inherited an awful squad of players. We have full backs that cannot defend, a captain that leads well but is not very good, no creativity in midfield and strikers lookink like they will struggle to score goals. This leads to a summary of a defence that always looks likely to concede and an attack that (barring gifts like WBA) looks unlikely to pose too many problems. Yes Roberts runs about and tried but he lacks so much quality at this level. The only positives are our youngesters and I though Lankaster was bright when he came on.

6

Ravanelly added 10:07 - Nov 26 No, not for me. For the first time I left totally resigned to relegation this season. Don't get me wrong, I have total belief in PL and hope we stick with him whatever, but for me we're just far too far behind the rest of the championship and there is no quick fix.
0

raycrawfordswig added 11:03 - Nov 26 Can't keep giving teams 2 goal lead.
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TonyHumesIpswich added 11:08 - Nov 26 I am resigned to relegation but do have faith that PL was the correct appointment. I can't see how this squad can even make up the six point deficit, let alone more. The big question is what we do in January. Do we bring in those strikers or save the money for a promotion push from League 1? The latter would be the most sensible course of action, but let us see what happens in the next few games. Right now, this squad will struggle to make an impact in League 1. Lose a few players and we will find ourselves in mid table dreaming of when we played the likes of Villa and Derby County. We have a League 1 team, not a challenging championship squad.

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brittaniaman added 11:53 - Nov 26 Mr. Paul Wurst has got a lot to answer for ? The demolition of the first team ?? and replacing them with players he thought were good ?? mind you his sidekick Doig did not help matters with the players he inherited from the previous manager. But it is all in the past now, and we have got to look forward to getting out of this Damn hole,. So COME ON YOU BLUES and we all must sing from the same hymn sheet in Future.

1

herfie added 12:11 - Nov 26 Chambo rightly tapping in to our sheer delight at what PL has achieved since arrival, and trying to generate optimism that improved performances will produce the results needed to ensure our C'ship status. No question that - as last Friday's attendance and overwhelming support showed - he's pushing at an open door; despite our very precarious position, I think we need hope and belief to defeat pessimism and the Private Fraser mentality. Naive, perhaps - but it ain't over ‘till it's over, and there's still a lot of football to be played. COYB!

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Daleyitfc added 12:12 - Nov 26 That Paul Wurst is certainly a brat ...
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littlestoneblue added 13:19 - Nov 26 Lets just see if our owner keeps to his word and allows PL a 10 Million war chest to buy at least 4 players, need someone stronger than Chambo, FACT Knudsen blows hot and cold, bring back Mings ??? but saying all that we need an established CF who knows where the back of the net is, what we have in the reserves can be brought on for next season, if theres no action from ME and PL does not bring anyone in, its Relegation to Div 1 for sure, I think PL is starting to find what his best line selection is, like Downes, Dozzel, Bishop, Lankester, etc, But if ME does not back PL up its the owner we need to ship out, oh and do not play Spence he's awful

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Gcon added 15:43 - Nov 26 The desire is back. The quality is lacking, though.
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forevertown added 18:28 - Nov 26 How many teams have been 6 points outside of the play offs and got promotion? We still have more than enough time to make the points up. How about 2 loan signings of mings and Wickham (Don't know how far he is away from 1st team football at the min but read a couple weeks ago he has been training for a while) to replace the loans that will be sent back in Jan along with some permanent signings?

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IpswichT62OldBoy added 18:52 - Nov 26 Of interest, or not, the goalkeeper was man of the match for 10 of the the first 16 games. Under PL , Sears Pennington and Edwards
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