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Lambert: Until It's Mathematically Impossible You Never Give In
Saturday, 2nd Mar 2019 18:23

Boss Paul Lambert insists that until it's mathematically impossible no one is giving up on the fight against the drop despite the defeat to Reading extending the gap to safety to 12 points but admits staying up will be really hard with only 11 matches remaining.

“I thought the two goals were really poor,” he said reflecting on the game. “I thought we never dealt with them at all.

“In the first half, we had a great chance towards the end, Nolan, who I thought Nolan had a really good game, had a great chance but didn’t take it. One-nil down at half-time, as I said from a really poor goal.

“I thought in the second half we did everything we could to score, but the second goal was a really, really poor goal.

“We missed too many big chances. We’d a lot of chances and the goalkeeper’s made some good saves, we had some bad misses and I think that’s been the story of the whole time, in both boxes are crucial to you.”

Does he feel that following today’s loss and the distance to safety avoiding the drop into League One for the first time in 62 years is now too much of an ask?

“Time’s not on our side that’s for sure but until it’s mathematically impossible you never give in,”

“Your job is you’ve got to try and win games. It’s going to be really hard, really a lot of work, but you never give in, we’ve got too many fans that come and support us.

“We had incredible support behind us again and you feel for them. They’ve been absolutely brilliant since we’ve been in here.

“It’s not a normal situation, like I say every week, the way the supporters turn up and get behind us.


“The thing that annoys me is that we’re playing well, but both boxes, you’ve got to be more clinical than we are.”

Lambert says the double change at half-time, Cole Skuse and Gwion Edwards for Trevoh Chalobah and James Bree, Toto Nsiala having replaced the injured James Collins prior to the break, was more to do with the personnel than the back three system employed in the first half.

“What I did when I lost James Collins, it was a blow and I put Toto on,” he explained. “I thought Gwion with his legs and his energy on that side [would make an impression], so it wasn’t anything to do with the system, I wanted to change the personnel.

“Trevoh Chalobah was struggling with his thigh and for me Cole Skuse is a better midfielder in a three, and that’s why I changed.

“I thought Cole did really well, I thought Gwion made a big impact when he came on and I thought Toto had a good game, I thought he did well.”

Regarding Collins’s injury, he added: “I don’t know the extent of it, with the calf, I’m not sure how severe. We’ll have to assess him on Monday and see how he is.

“It wasn’t the hamstring [which had kept him out of the previous five games]. I’m not sure [whether it was the challenge earlier on]. I just saw him down there and I asked him, we just need to see how he is on Monday.”

Town, who lost striker Will Keane for six weeks with a hamstring injury during the Wigan match last week, continue to pick up injuries on an almost weekly basis and Lambert says he’s never known a situation where so many players are sidelined with long-term serious problems.

“I think I said on Thursday, Wardy a cruciate, Freddie a cruciate, young Ben Morris a cruciate, Ben Folami achilles, Tom Adeyemi’s been out for the best part of 15 months or whatever it is, Emyr Huws the same,” he listed.

“It’s an incredible long-term injury list to have. I don’t think I’ve been involved in a club where there have been as many long-term injuries, maybe one guy but not half a dozen.

“But you have to get through it, you have to get through these situations and hopefully you get pre-season where you can get everybody back fit.”

Given his lack of strikers, Lambert employed Teddy Bishop playing off Collin Quaner in the first half, although the midfielder struggled to make an impact until after the system switch,

“I think the kid’s got an incredible energy and is an incredible ball carrier,” he said. “I think the great thing about Bishop at the minute is that he’s training every day, he doesn’t miss training, now he’s starting to play game after game. I couldn’t play him last week because of his illness.

“But I think he’s going to be really good and I think Bish is a player that sometimes you have to give freedom to go and play because he’s very good at it and even today in the second half I thought he had a good game.”

The game was widely viewed as one Town had to win if they were going to have any chance of avoiding the drop. Asked how the mood in the dressing room is, he added: “It’s what you’d expect really. As I said, the two goals were really poor. Reading never really had many chances but they had their chances.

“The two goals were poor, really, really poor. We should have stopped the goals, the goals should never have occurred.

“A long ball for the first goal and the second goal there was never any danger, we had two-v-one at the back and we never dealt with it.”

Is it going to be hard to lift the team after that result? “You’re going to have that downbeat feeling when you lose a game, it’s normal.

“But you can’t let it manifest or it just progresses and progresses through and brings everybody down.

“As I said before, you try and analyse it for one day and you’ve got to let it go at certain times because you can’t keep beating people and being downbeat all the time, it just manifests.

“It’ll hurt no doubt, it’ll hurt for a couple of days but you get them back in next week and go again.”


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jong75 added 18:36 - Mar 2
PR lamberts achievements so far at itfc.
Talks a good game.
Paid for fans to travel to blackburn.
Got sent off vs norwich.
Plays better football than the last 2 dark lords.
Gets same rubbish results.
He is not the messiah, he is a very naughty boy.
8

Chris_Knights added 18:40 - Mar 2
Couldn't agree more Jong 75 ... Lambert and the Evans PR machine talk the talk but don't walk the walk .... results haven't improved .. simple .
2

H1960 added 18:41 - Mar 2
Mathematically possible but realistically impossible, in the words of private Fraser
WERE DOOMED
5

TimmyH added 18:52 - Mar 2
Copy and paste from last weekend - 'it is impossible if you can't win games, keep being positive Paul but that will only get you so far.
0

jas0999 added 18:54 - Mar 2
We are not good enough. The squad is poor. We have too many loans. It shows.

Realistically we are down. Plan for next season, starting with playing our players.
18

oldtimer3 added 18:56 - Mar 2
Why Mr Lambert knowing its a must win game play only one up front leaving one of your best strikers on the bench, The crowd today have been short changed yet again due to very poor team selections. Three centre halfs and a full back (Bree) playing out of position no wonder we where one down at half time. Chambers and Collins far too slow and should not have been selected together.
5

carlo88 added 18:57 - Mar 2
I suppose it's a measure of where we are that most are still lauding an ex-Norwich manager who's come in and won 2 out of twenty games.
11

Len_Brennan added 19:02 - Mar 2
jong75: You may be accurate in what you say, but it's a bit unfair. Walking into the situation he did does give greater perspective. It hasn't worked, we are going down & his points/wins ratio is not good ... however, I have seen & heard enough in him to make me fairly sure that had we appointed him at the time of Hurst, we wouldn't be facing relegation, our football would be of a decent quality & we'd be confident about progress over the coming seasons. As It is, I think he'll get us back up quick enough too.
6

muccletonjoe added 19:05 - Mar 2
I understand why so many supporters desperately want this guy to be our saviour and turn everything around. But the stark reality is ; there is no sign whatsoever of him even making a start on that.
4

jong75 added 19:10 - Mar 2
Len brennan

I take your point, poison chalice etc, but there has been no upturn in results whatsoever. I feel that we as fans have bought into lamberts positive pr with very little to back it up on the pitch. Why on earth play 1 up front today. I am not looking forward to next season, with the reduced budgets i think we could be league 1 for a long time.
3

BaaBaaBlue added 19:10 - Mar 2
If we were winning the odd game I'd still have a little fight in me.. but sadly, it's over.. I'm genuinely not bothered by dropping down.. (short term of course) but this really is an extended opportunity of the highest order to get rid of the loan players, shape up for next season with as many young, hungry players that have the potential to turn into a league 1 winning side.. let's admit the inevitable, and crack the hell on with it.. re building our team and doing it as quickly as possible is key to the next 5 years
3

blueherts added 19:13 - Mar 2
In order that we stay up Paul, which frankly,I think will help no one, you are in a must win game have 5 defenders on the pitch your are 1 nil down and instead of bringing a striker on you keep 5 at the back .then replace chalobah with skuse. You inherited a mess but presume you are drawing a decent wage with all your crew to put up a fight . Today was poor . Chambers was exposed time and again against a bang average team . You beat rotherham just and wigan . Bought us Quaner ? Judge is decent .
We have some great young players so must keep judge make him captain and start dropping the dead weight that has helped shape this mess we are in skuse and chambers . Captain ? Not worth a place in the team imo

Build for div one and i think we will be ok. But need to start making big decisions now
4

Len_Brennan added 19:15 - Mar 2
Jong75 : I don't think he fancies Jackson & probably thought Bishop, Judge, Nolan & then Edwards were a better goal threat off Quaner, rightly or wrongly.
2

BlueHarmony added 19:16 - Mar 2
They'res soooo much talent in our U-23s but I can't see us hanging on to any of them once the vultures circle.
The only players we're likely to hang on to are the old stalwarts (Skuse & Chambers) & the Hurst recruits that have failed at Championship level. It's a f*cking nightmare scenario
1

Carberry added 19:24 - Mar 2
Er I don't think you mean 'manifests' Mr Lambert, you mean 'festers'. But don't worry about that because you English has been really really good, you've given it everything we could have asked for, it just needs a little bit of help.
0

Mark added 19:31 - Mar 2
We were obviously down weeks ago, but if we continue to play good football the fans have hope for next season in League One and will stay on side for Lambert's summer rebuilding job.

I was angry about the two half-time substitutions though, using all our subs and having to keep fingers crossed for 45 minutes that we didn't get an injury to go town to ten men!
2

bluemike1969 added 19:54 - Mar 2
You along with the last two fools have no clue how to turn this club around. At the end of the season do the decent thing and admit you couldn't do it and go. The loans will go and hopefully Chumpbers, Excuse and knudsen will follow. Pathetic, shameful and clueless..... And that's from the manager down!!!!!
-8

bluemike1969 added 19:56 - Mar 2
And no one is giving up on the fight? My god man..... What planet are you on, you are a total joke!
-6

davidsuperg added 20:07 - Mar 2
My wife just came up with a good idea. For the last few home games make ticket promotion games and get the crowds in to show support and I know the season ticket holders won't like it but for those that renew give them 25% off next year. We need our fans now more than ever.
3

blueboy1981 added 20:12 - Mar 2
....... of course you have to say it Paul, but you can bemuse some of the people, some pf the time - but not all of the people all of the time.

League 1 - it is next season. Third tier Football.

Prepare now - and don't hang onto false hope.
2

tractorollson added 20:13 - Mar 2
You havent offered anything different to PH really apart from morale and a few publicity moments but ultimately you havent delivered, is PL the right choice for next season, I have my doubts personally
-1

blueboy1981 added 20:15 - Mar 2
Believe me - even League 1 is a huge step up from Under 23 competition.

You could all be in for a shock - in advocating the step up of all the Under 23's.
8

Bert added 20:19 - Mar 2
Despondent yes, upset yes but no point in blaming Lambert. We were doomed when Evans listened to supporters, appoint a young manager from the lower leagues they said. That was a huge mistake. Hurst was out of his depth when we lost 2-0 to Braintree. We all thought Lambert could turn it round but the damage had been done . Waghorn and co looked at Hurst and said no way.
With a long term injury list and no luck whatsoever this season we were destined for league one. Evans may not have invested like some owners but he pulled us away from liquidation. Lambert may have overdone the PR but I have faith in him and his team to rebuild and make a go of it next season. Relegation hurts but with the right pricing policy why can't we emulate what Norwich did and keep the support. There are choices to be made.






9

heathen66 added 20:20 - Mar 2
By the team selection and the substitutions I think you gave up TODAY.
Found a system played well with 4-1-2-1-2, but changed it to fit in Chambers last week and now Collins this week.
2 up top works, so to only play Quaner (who btw does not look like scoring at all) isolated on his own and a 5 man defence.
The back 3 were all over the place (again) but then had the chance to change it, but almost McCarthy like stubbornly refused to.
Another wasted sub in Skuse when we needed someone to change the game.
Jackson should have been on for Collins and then Edwards for a defender.
If you are playing a back 4 then Bree is the best option at RB.

Your own admission this was a must win game, but did not really try to win it until it was too late
5

bluemike1969 added 20:29 - Mar 2
And will any manager here have the b**ls to tell Chambers he's crap and b**ger off to non league football where you may fit in
4


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