Blues boss Paul Lambert says he’s “sick and tired” of the blame for Town’s current position being laid at owner Marcus Evans’s door.

Asked whether he was happy with his January budget at a time when Evans is getting a lot of flak from fans with the Blues bottom of the Championship, 10 points from safety, Lambert said: “If I ask you a question, how much as he invested in the time he's been here? Millions and millions and whatever it is.

“All the owner can do is give the manager the money to go and spend it. It’s up to the manager how he wants to spend it.

“Marcus has done that, he’s backed it, everything that he’s done, ever since I’ve been here, he’s been great. I’ve no problem with that at all.

“I think if you step back and you look at the bigger picture, he gave managers money to go and invest how they wanted to invest.

“You lose a lot of players, it’s up to a manager to go and invest how he wants to invest. You can’t lay the blame at Marcus Evans’s door, that’s for sure.

“I get sick and tired of hearing it because I know how the game works but you can’t, especially when the club spent eight or nine million in the summer.”

Meanwhile, he says MD Ian Milne’s departure at the end of the month, which was confirmed by the club earlier today, won’t really have much of an impact on the playing squad and staff with his role not one involved with the first team day in, day out.

“He’s been really nice we’ve come in here,” Lambert said. “I’ve only known him a short time and I’ve just dropped him a text. I knew last night but I just dropped him a text and I’m pretty sure he’ll get back to me. Football’s a strange game at times.

“He’s been really supportive since I’ve been in here, so good luck to him in his future roles.

“It doesn’t really affect ourselves. Ian’s been really supportive since we came in here. I’ve met him a few times and he’s been really nice, no problem there.

“Obviously Marcus has put his statement out. Marcus is looking like he’s going to be taking up a more hands-on role, which I think is music to everybody’s ears that you’re going to have the boss as such to lead the club because we need him, we need him to lead the club.

“I’m pretty sure that it’s not nice for Ian but the football club I think will have a driver at it and I think that’s what every club needs.”

Lambert dismissed the suggestion that further instability is the last thing the club needs at the present time, that it needs everybody pulling in the same direction.

“I think that’s what the owner’s doing,” Lambert countered. “If you read his statement you’ll see what his thinking is and the club will be driven forward by him, which I think is fantastic for everybody concerned. One singer, one song, as they say, and everybody follows suit and it’ll be a stronger club for it, I’ve got no doubt it’ll be a stronger club.”

Managers no longer run clubs from top to bottom as Sir Bobby Robson did in his day at Portman Road and many now have a large infrastructure around their boss with the continental approach of having a sporting director increasingly common but not a position which has an incumbent at Town.

“[Recently appointed general manager of football operations] Lee [O’Neill] helps me an awful lot, Lee’s been great since I’ve been here. People on the training ground have been fantastic.

“Lee’s been excellent, I’ve a good relationship with Marcus as well. Everybody pulls the same way, there’s never been any negativity or a cross word or anything like that up here since I’ve been in here. Everybody’s been really supportive that way."

He says he also liaises closely with Dave Bowman, whose job title is the director of football but whose role is essentially chief scout.

“I’m sick of talking to Dave!" Lambert joked. "There are times we can talk four or five times a day to try and help here, and that’s what I’m trying to do and we’ll continue to do that.

“Dave’s been great. The thing I’ve found is that everybody’s really supportive and as I said before it’s a great, great club, it really is. It just needs that little bit of help and we’ll try and sort out the things that I think are wrong.”

Asked whether Saturday’s embarrassing 1-0 FA Cup defeat away to League One Accrington worried him, he said: “The big factor for me was that I looked at a football thing and it had the five shocks in the FA Cup and Ipswich weren’t in it.

“So, was it a shock? No, it wasn’t. I said directly after the game that it wasn’t because that’s the way it was.

“We had so many lads who were playing in the lower leagues last season, so it’s not a shock. It just shows me the club needs rebuilding.

“The lads have been great, they need a little bit of time and help with it but we’ve got to sort it out, we’ve got to sort that side of it. Everybody recognises it. There are a lot of lads that were playing that level last year.”

Regarding his post-match comments, he added: “I was frustrated yes, because we had a lot of fans up there. The football doesn’t change, but we had a lot of fans up there and this club hasn’t progressed in an FA Cup tie for about nine years. It’s ludicrous, ridiculous that this club’s not been by that round.

“We had one or two forced [changes] but did it shock me? No, it never shocked me. That’s the reality of it. We had lads that have given us everything, they played in the lower leagues last season a lot of them, a lot of them have never played in this division.

“So, they were playing against lads that probably played against last year. This club should never be in the position that it’s in.”

Has the situation he inherited ultimately been worse than he expected when he took charge? “I think any job you go into whether it’s top, middle or bottom, every job’s a challenge. It’s a brilliant club this, it really is, and my job is to try and sort it out. And we will, we’ll sort this out.

“Sometimes you need to go through a little bit of pain before, but we’ll be a different team on Saturday.

“Results I can never predict but we’ll be ready for that, that’s for sure. And the fans have been brilliant, as I’ve said before, they’ve been great. But I think everybody recognises what’s happened here.”

He concedes that the five January signings funded by Evans need to hit the ground running, which isn’t always easy for players short of match fitness.

“We’ll try, that’s the difficulty of it, but we had to change something,” he reflected. “We had to look at another avenue to go down where we could get a bit of strength into the place, lads that knew the league, lads that know what Championship football is about.

“Collin Quaner’s done it at Premier League level as well, he’s done it at Championship level. Will Keane’s been around the block, he’s been at Man United for a long time, he’s got a great pedigree, so he knows the division as well, so I don’t have a problem there at all.

“Hopefully Cole Skuse will be back, Emyr Huws will be back, so we’re starting to get lads back in, and we look a bigger side.”

Photo: TWTD

soclopath added 23:23 - Jan 10 Elephantintheroom, just to inform you don't bring the two new stands into the equation of money wasted,remember the company went into liquidation and the stands where only partially paid for.Millions where outstanding on that debt.
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Michael101 added 23:40 - Jan 10 We may not like evans,but at the end of the day it's his money and up to him how he spends it.if I had any money i would send a third on loose women and fast cars a third on drinking and gambling and the last third i would just waste
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Beattiesballbag added 00:35 - Jan 11 Given that the Cobbolds didn't put any large sums of money into the club it was obviously their choice of manager that brought success to this club. Given that Sheepshanks only took money out of the club obviously his choice of manager is what brought our brief flirt back at the top table. Given that ME cleared up Sheepshanks financial mess & has continued to keep the club afloat with what, 7 million a year ? It's fair to say it's his choice of manager that has failed to lift the club back up. Hopefully he's finally got it right as the manager is more important than the money. Sure money makes a difference but without the right man in charge you might as well pour it down the drain.

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rugbytomc added 08:59 - Jan 11 Everyone is entitled to their opinion and we all on here have one. Me personally - we don't ever hear from Evans so we don't have a clue what he's really thinking or has planned for the club or what he really wants to do or wants to happen or if he cares. We can speculate of course - you can spin it against him (lack of re-investment, employing imbeciles like Milne to tell us nothing all so he can sit miles away and say nothing) or you can spin it for him (on paper his managerial decisions - other than Jewell - all made sense at the time they all just failed him). But the truth is we don't really know. we aren't privy to how he made his fortune (legally?) or how much he really has or how much he has put into the club and how much return he's got back etc etc. And i think that's why we're all so frustrated - we just don't know because he doesn't communicate with us.

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Warky81 added 09:30 - Jan 11 The vast majority on here need to grow up. Without ME we would be bankrupt at best in administration or worst non existent. It's not easy finding a mug who is happy to throw away millions of pounds each year, and saying its a ruse to offset profits from his other business interest ins nonsense. No business man wants to lose money. Yes he takes some blame but so do useless managers like Keane Jewel & Hurst who are all cuprable of wasting money on rubbish. The other party to blame is the director of football who obviously isn't a football man or he wouldn't have sanctioned 10 new signings this summer. The last party that has to take some of the blame is us as supporters, whete numbers have dwindled because we wanted Mick out well we all achieved that at what price?

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stewartm added 10:11 - Jan 11 Politics is a very filthy game, I bet if you did not get the players you wanted PL then your comments would be slightly different. Still credit to ME for at least trying to give Ipswich and PL a chance!
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rugbytomc added 10:35 - Jan 11 Warky - do you have some knowledge of his accounts that the rest of us don't? If so, please could you explain how he makes all of his money and exactly where all of it goes? No? didn't think so. So you have just as much knowledge of his finances as the people who say he is offsetting profits etc blah blah blah - put that one to bed.
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blueboy1981 added 13:44 - Jan 11 Totally agree with you PAUL LAMBERT - the critics have no idea of what goes on, suffer from tunnel vision, never see the bigger picture (and couldn't if they tried) therefore have to be treated with the disdain they deserve. Like I previously said, they wouldn't be satisfied if we signed Messi, and would find something to bitch about in doing so. Such people will be the ultimate demise of our famous Club at this rate - NOT the Owner, or Manager. Just like Sheep - follow the loudest, not the most sensible - seen it all before, and here it is again unfortunately.

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blueboy1981 added 13:52 - Jan 11 CRITICS, CRITICS, CRITICS - let's hope you'll ALL be happy when we haven't a CLUB at all. You're certainly heading us that way - believe me ...... !!! And it will be down to you lot. TimmyH ...... Challenge ? - prove to me that Evans has refused ANY Manager funds to buy players ...... ??? Complete fabrication on yours, and others part. More than prepared to change my opinion if / when you provide the proof.

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blueboy1981 added 13:56 - Jan 11 If all the CRITICS are such good businessmen, wealth should not be a problem - then I suggest you step forward and BUY THE CLUB - otherwise tongue in cheek is the preferred advice.
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maninashed added 15:31 - Jan 11 I bought shares when the club when into liquidation. I also attended the meeting when David Sheepshanks announced that Marcus Evans was willing to buy the club. The vote from shareholders was unanimous for the deal. If it had not gone ahead I doubt the club would exist today. Many on this site may not like it but the truth of the matter is that Marcus Evans saved the club.

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oldbluey added 20:29 - Jan 11 Elephantintheroom is spot on with his comments regarding Sheepshanks.
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sotd78 added 10:11 - Jan 12 I'm sick and tired of the lack of understanding. Sure Evans underpins the club financially but clearly by nowhere near enough. The ethos of disconnect with fans is his directive. Selling out to a gambling outfit is his directive. Lack of investment is his directive. Evans bought the external debt of about 32 million. What he paid for that debt to be cleared from Norwich Union we won't ever know. Everything else is now internal debt owed to his company. For a few years he took a commercial interest payment with one hand whilst adding to the debt with the other. What stopped him from issuing more shares in the club....he would have had to buy 85% of them himself of course. But at least 15 % could have come from other parties. What prevented him from reducing his own stake by selling part of the club assuming he could attract an investor. Where's the growth plan. Or if not that where's his exit plan. Stagnation is what we've been treated to. So yes blame Evans.

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