Boss Paul Lambert says everyone at the club needs a break before returning for what he says is a big pre-season in late June. The Blues end their calamitous 2018/19 campaign when they host Leeds United at Portman Road on Sunday.

“It’s a big one in terms of getting everyone together,” he said when asked about the significance of pre-season, which will begin towards the end of June.

“I think that’s important. I think the lads need a break, I think the whole football club needs a holiday, and we just have to have a break and work it out from there.”

Town’s lacklustre overall campaign and particularly the manner in which the season has ended with successive defeats in the last three games has led to some fans expressing their concerns regarding next season's prospects in League One.

"It’s been all season, I’d have been worried from August, that’s the bottom line," Lambert responded when asked whether they should be worried ahead of the new campaign.

“I’ve told you before, for me a football season starts in August and if you don’t come out of the blocks, there’s not that good feeling.

“It’s a good thing the fans are there, the season tickets have gone brilliantly which is extraordinary considering the season the club’s had.

"It’s been unbelievable, more than they got last year, so it’s an extraordinary thing that and it shows you how powerful the fanbase Is here."

Looking back to when he took charge in late October, does he believe the 31 games which were left were never going to give him enough time to save Town’s season?

“You’re never sure, but ultimately you are where you are, we haven’t been good enough, that’s the bottom line,” he said.

“But again, I think the season starts in August and if you haven’t been good enough over 46 games, there’s no other way to dress it up. Over the whole course of the season it’s not been good enough.”

He added: “The performances have been really good in a lot of the games, I think the last few games haven’t been the standards we’ve had because relegation set in.

“But there were a lot of draws where I thought we played really well and got no reward, and you think, ‘OK, we can't do anything about that’.

“If we had a bit more composure in front of goal we would have been scoring more goals which equally puts more pressure on the back lads and vice versa it becomes a culmination of everyone together.

“But we’ve played well in a lot of games without getting the break, the tempo was great, the energy was great, the desire was great, everything was great about it apart from getting the wins. The draws certainly hampered us.”

He says the players will be given their instructions outlining what’s expected of them while they’re away from the club in the summer.

“Yes, they’ll be given all that, they’ll know things like that,” he said. “They’ll be ready, they’ll know everything that’s going on, when to report, what’s going to happen from thereon in.”

Last summer Paul Hurst said that he felt that the friendlies which had been organised prior to his predecessor Mick McCarthy’s exit weren’t challenging enough.

Asked for his thoughts on pre-season friendlies, Lambert said: “I’m not too fussed either way. I doesn’t matter what happens in pre-season games, it’s what happens on the first day of the season, that’s when you have to be ready and you have to prepare really, really well in their training and the way we want to play and what we want to do with the ball.

“But more importantly what you want to do without it as well, that’s really important - how we go and get it back and how quickly we can get it back, that’s going to be vital to us.

“We have to have that desire in our game to be really fast and I think that’s a component we must have.

“The games are to get you fit and to get you in the way of playing and get endurance, all those sorts of thing but they won’t really matter until that first ball is kicked on the first day of the season.

“For me, I can see both arguments to it. I’ve been involved in pre-seasons where we’ve probably lost most games and then started the season absolutely flying and vice versa, won most games and then ended up losing your first two or three and think you never saw that coming. That just comes with experience, you get to work that out.”

Photo: TWTD

MrTown added 16:19 - May 3 They'll be alright in their 7 star Dubai hotels, and beach front Barbados hotels. The b*stards should be dropped off in Llandudno for a week and that's their lot.
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surgery added 17:34 - May 3 No, they need their P45's
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marco007 added 18:08 - May 3 Unfortunately due to relegation some breaks will be permanent ones 😥 Feel sorry for the staff
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marco007 added 19:00 - May 3 Unfortunately due to relegation some breaks will be permanent ones 😥 Feel sorry for the staff
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raycrawfordswig added 09:13 - May 4 On the Beach since August.
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midastouch added 11:06 - May 4 We may as well have taken a 10 year break under Evans, been downhill pretty much all the way since he let Magic go after beating Norwich and replaced him with the Dark Lord! Apart from our flirtation with Play Offs under McCarthy (that season was fantastic up to Xmas, very mediocre thereafter). So in about 10 years we've had one excellent half a season and not really that much else to shout about, oh and the run to the League Cup semi. That's your lot! The football was a lot prettier under Magilton too, but any team that finishes 7th is usually deemed as a bit of a failure as it's agonisingly close to the Play Offs. But compare the football we played under Jim to what we play now and it's a world apart!

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Suffolkboy added 15:57 - May 4 History relates and retells the story of the road we've travelled to where we are now : but that's what it is HISTORY ! We must absorb intelligently the lessons learned ,and to be learned AND determinedly move forward and onwards and UPWARDS ! Pointing fingers will achieve sweet nothing now , but it's obvious mistakes were made ,too many good and talented players moved out ,including goal scorers ; goals give you something to defend as well as gaining points and not only were we almost totally deficient in that area ,but those brought in were and are not up to the task ! For years our mid field has lacked punch , creativity and a physical presence ,so unless such weaknesses are remedied challenges do and will remain . But PL appears a very sound ,characterful intelligent man of some charm so let's get behind him again and see The Town flourish ,play attractive footy and actually find a way to put the ball in the opposition net ( often ) ! COYB

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