Town boss Paul Lambert insists that the Blues have as good a chance of staying up as everybody else in the relegation dogfight.

The Blues remain bottom, seven points plus goal difference from safety with only 18 games left to play.

As things stand, they appear to be in a four-team fight to grab 21st with current occupants Rotherham and Reading and Bolton who join them in the bottom three, although other teams could still become drawn into the battle.

“Every bit as good as everybody else there,” Lambert said when asked what he feels are the chances of Town staying up.

“We’re in the fight, I think there are 54 points to play for, so we're in the fight, we’ve got a great atmosphere behind us, everybody’s on board with it. That’s why I have the belief, because everybody’s onside.

“The crowd’s with it, the fans are right behind it, the players have been great that way, it’s just a matter of trying to get some wins.”

Town travel to his former club Aston Villa on Saturday having won just once on the road this season and having conceded at least two goals in each of their last 13 league games this season (all bar the first trip to Rotherham where they lost 1-0), while failing to find the net in the last five.

Asked whether the away form was a significant concern as the Blues try to avoid the drop, Lambert said Town’s results have to improve wherever they’re playing.

“The away form and the home form, it’s been pretty similar,” he reflected. “If things were a bed of roses here I wouldn’t be sitting talking to you.

“You try and rectify that the best you can, we’ve tried a short-term fix, but it’s not just the away form it’s the home form as well that has to be better. That gives you a better chance, your home form.

“But we won’t change our style, we’ll go and try and play good football, we’ll go and try and win.

"I think the fans enjoy watching us play, what we need to do is finish the good work off and that’s why I brought in the lads that I did to see if they can finish off that good work.”

He believes his side ought to be more potent up front given his January additions: “Definitely, I think that will happen. All that’s missing from our game are finishing touches to it and that’s why I brought in Collin Quaner, Alan Judge and Will Keane, Simon Dawkins is there as well. We're a lot stronger in that area of the pitch.

“Even Kayden Jackson isn’t out of it and Ellis Harrison is not out of it. We’ve just got lads in to give them a hand.”

"

Photo: TWTD

ITFCsince73 added 18:24 - Jan 24 Minimum 4 points from next 2 games required. This really is last chance salon.
2

Mark added 18:44 - Jan 24 We need a shock win at Villa to kick start our season. Bolton play Reading next week and they won't both lose.
5

Pecker added 19:20 - Jan 24 We need a miracle and I am afraid I don't believe in them. I still hope, but I no longer believe.
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muccletonjoe added 19:48 - Jan 24 I will bet a whole packet of coconut rings , that we don't even get a point from the next 5 games.
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TimmyH added 20:19 - Jan 24 But the problem is the way it's looking we have a 1 in 4 chance of surviving looking at the mini league which is developing at the bottom currently, those odds generally aren't good.
1

BlueandTruesince82 added 20:47 - Jan 24 We are done, embrace it and feel the weight lift, hope that 6 months of playing under Lambert results in cohesion next season. Thats all I have to cling to
3

Terry_Nutkins added 23:24 - Jan 24 Timmy i really don't think we have a 1 in 4 chance. One of those 4 has a 7 point head start (well had a 10 point head start). Our form is also poor in terms of results. The ship is turnimg but its going to have to dock and re-fuel in L1. Crucially i think we have a good man to finish the journey.
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Northstandveteran added 08:57 - Jan 25 We need to make up seven points to join the elite mini league of Rotherham, Reading and Bolton. And that ain't gonna happen. Trying to catch Rotherham 😂 Never a sentence I'd ever imagined I'd ever have to read.
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JewellintheTown added 13:39 - Jan 25 Dear God! If we'd have had most of you lot fighting in either of the World wars, we'd all be speaking German now! If this is the Great Escape, some of you would be the ones who said there's no point in trying to escape as it's inevitable you'd only get captured again or killed! We're Ipswich Town - we've beaten worse odds so get behind the boys and keep pessimistic thoughts on hold until there's no mathematical way we can possibly stay up. A few wins and some bottom teams results go our way and we're in the scrap again. You expect our players to scrap and bleed blue blood for us but most of you sound like you have given up the fight already! Who are they giving their all for? Buck yourselves up!

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ITFCsince73 added 19:31 - Jan 25 The players never got going to give up.
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