Boss Paul Lambert hit back at Norwich manager Daniel Farke’s accusation that some of his staff showed a lack of class after the Blues’ 3-0 defeat in a bad-tempered derby at Carrow Road in which Lambert himself was red-carded along with Norwich’s head of performance Chris Domogalla.

After reflecting on the game, Farke, who blanked Blues assistant boss Stuart Taylor when he offered his hand at the final whistle, was critical of the manner in which the Town staff took the loss.

“Ipswich have so many great lads,” he said. “They have many, many big personalities and characters on the pitch trying to fight until the end — also the coaching staff.

“Like I said I’m full of respect for Paul and his working career. I got the feeling 95 per cent of Ipswich [took the defeat] really, really well.

“There were one or two guys. You can lose the game but you have to show class and quality and style. I was a bit annoyed of how they handled it.

“Of course, try everything on the pitch to get under our skin but respect human beings and the words you choose. There are also children around and there are more important things in life than football.

“A big compliment to how the staff and many of their players handled the situation because it was a difficult game for them. I could totally understand if they are nervous.

“But some of their staff who were not so much in the spotlight, my feeling was they wanted to use today as their big stage to prove something.

“My feeling was you can lose games but show some quality, show some style, show some class. This club, Ipswich, has a big history and 95 per cent of the people involved there do this.”

Told of Farke’s comments, Lambert was clearly unimpressed: “Take defeat with class? Is that what he said? I’ve never known a team to take defeat the right way.

“As I said before, we’re no shrinking violets, I’ll go with anybody when we’re playing. We have to try and win.

“I don’t think you can turn round and say that. He doesn’t know the lads. If the boot was on the other foot, maybe because things are going his way, are going Norwich’s way.

“I don’t think he should be commenting on my own staff. I don’t think he should be doing that.

“Whether he talks well of me or not, it doesn’t matter. The Borussia Dortmund connection doesn’t matter. I certainly won’t have him talking about my own staff, especially saying ‘lack of class’.

“Were those his words, ‘a lack of class?’. I’d certainly not put up with that, no. Look at his own staff first before commenting on everybody else.”

Asked what provoked him in the melee which led to his red card, Lambert said it was down to a member of the Norwich staff understood to be Norwich assistant head coach Edmund Riemer rather than Domogalla, who was also sent to the stands, entering the Town technical area.

“You know me, I'm not going to stand there and watch players run 30 yards to get people booked.

“And I’m certainly not going to let somebody come in our technical area, I don’t even know who it was, I never even saw who it was.

“But I’m not letting him come into [the technical area to] provoke us, that’s for sure.

"So I stand my ground with it. Do I regret it? No I don’t. I’m certainly not going to have that, that’s for sure.”

Asked if he thought people should be talking about the match rather than the clashes between the players and staff during the game, he added: “That’s football. Me coming back here, the normal stuff. This club was in League One when I was here. Short memories.”

Lambert said he gave his teamtalk whether he was permitted to or otherwise - “Well, I went in there anyway!” - no long accompanied by the policeman who had steered him away from the altercation in the technical area.

“I forgot about him! I was in the dressing room at half-time, obviously I couldn’t be in the dugout in the second half or on the pitch in the second half, but I could do the half-time,” he added.

Did the policeman, Suffolk Constabulary's football officer, explain why he had become involved? “It was steward who was actually trying to put his hands on [me] sort of thing and I objected to that.

“The police guy was great, I don’t have a problem with the police guy. He tried to make sure I was OK. The police guy was fine, he was just trying to disperse it and that sort of thing.

“As I said before, I won’t stand back there and let somebody come from their technical area who I don’t even know. I certainly won’t have that.”

Quizzed on whether he understood why he was being shown the red card, Lambert said: “The referee sent off the wrong guy for them, it wasn’t that guy that I was arguing with, it wasn’t him, it was the other lad.

“He might have diffused it or calmed it down when he showed the red card. I don’t have a problem with the red card.

“I thought the referee had not a bad game, a difficult game to referee I would imagine. He might have diffused it in other ways, but I don’t have a problem with the red card. But I think he’s got to look at the other guy.”

Farke said he didn't watch the clash which led to the red cards for Lambert and Domogalla.

“I turned around I wasn’t interested because it was too obvious that they tried to put out concentration away," he said.

"I don’t know what happened but the result was that one of my staff and Paul Lambert had to watch the game from the stands. It’s not my topic this.”

He added: “I’m full of respect for Paul Lambert, he’s still a hero in Germany and he achieved so much with promotion with this club and I’m full of respect.

“I’m not sure if it was that bad. My feeling is that my fitness coach was sent off, I think that was a mistake because he was just sitting on the bench. I’m not sure what the referee and the officials have [seen] at that moment.”

Photo: TWTD

midastouch added 12:58 - Feb 11 Those chants at Lambert could backfire roytheboy as needless to say he's going to be motivated even more now than ever to get us back for some revenge! Things can change quickly in football. Next season we might be 2 leagues apart, the season after we might be playing in the same league again. The margins in football are so tight. Before the derby last season at Norwich a lot of Norwich fans wanted Farke out, now they are all converts. And you do wonder if he would of been sacked had they not of got their equaliser in the dying seconds. But I like your post, very rational. You have to respect how well they've done after coming to our place and looking pretty rubbish, it's one hell of a transformation. Happy to give them credit for that at least. But they did seem to be diving around and trying to get the ref to cave in (fair play to the ref as well for keeping a lid on what must of been a hard game to referee) and a team that is top of the league playing nice stuff shouldn't need to do that. Not all of our players were angels as well but I never like to see players trying to get other players cards or sent off.

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Steelmonkey added 22:24 - Feb 11 Deceiving the ref to gain fouls and the advantage is now part of today's game, another point that is missing in our make up. Not that I'm saying I approve of that sort of thing, it happens every game against us, and it's got to be something that is worked on by teams, they don't just throw themselves about ad-lib. Another part of the game that needs to be worked on for us to compete. We are just too honest for today's game.

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bobble added 03:45 - Feb 12 yawn.....this nonsense is sideshow to whats important
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