Blues boss Paul Lambert has dismissed suggestions that the Blues have hit a bump in the road, despite having won just one of their last nine matches over 90 minutes in all competitions, and has criticised the levels of negativity which he believes are incredible.

Town won eight of their first 11 League One matches to hit the top of the table but have now been victorious in only two of their last seven in the league and are second, four points behind Wycombe, albeit with a game in hand on the Chairboys. They currently sit 11th in the form table over the last six games.

Asked why the wins have dried up, Lambert said: “Number one — we don’t have a divine right to win games because we’re a big club.

“The club was in an incredibly not good condition when we came in, and it’s come on a hell of a long way.

“What’s heightened it is the crowd coming back, everything coming back and the club in a really good place whether I’m here or not this football club is bigger than anybody.

“The fans make it, without a doubt the fans make the club because of the size of it. You were getting 12 or 13,000 in here, and I told you before it was like a morgue.

“Now, it’s totally different. You’re getting 20,000 into the football club, there’s been unbelievably great strides, but we’re a country mile from where we want to get to, but at least we’ve given something to the supporters which I said would happen.

“We’ll have our ups and downs and you need the support, there’s not a game without them.

“So you need the support to be really vibrant the way they’ve been through thick and thin, and that’s normal.

“You’ll have bits where you do go up and down but as long as they stay with that and stick with it, and I said before the community engages with the club great if you go back to 12 and 13,000 when it was like a morgue absolutely bored stiff, no atmosphere, no nothing.

“It’s a totally different ball game now. It doesn’t matter if they can see a that says let’s have a go at this, but we’ve not got a divine right to win games.

"Sunderland had a hard time with it last year, Sheffield United were in this division for six years, Leeds United were in it, Nottingham Forest have been in it.

“It’s tough. It’s really, really tough. We don’t have a divine right to win this league. We have to earn it. And to change the mentality from what it was last year to now has been incredible the way the lads have done it."

Lambert said in the summer that there would be bumps in the road at times this season but despite the lack of recent victories he insists the current situation isn’t one.

“No, we’ve lost two league games, we’ve lost two,” he added. “Two league games we’ve lost, we drew the last few, we’re sitting second a few points off it with a game in hand.

“I can’t believe the negativity here, it’s incredible. I’d love to have seen it when it wasn’t going well. I really would have.

“Honestly, I’d love to have seen it because dear oh dear when you have negativity and you have negative people around the place or negativity it isn’t going to work, it needs positivity the place. And the football club has lost two games.”

Lambert wants the fans to turn up at Portman Road showing that positivity, making noise and their presence felt.

“I said to the lads the people coming have been brilliant, they’ve been a major catalyst with everything,” he said.

“Why pay £30 a ticket and come in and sit on your arse absolutely doing nothing, just moan and criticise? I would rather be at home having your missus nagging the tits off you than watch a game of football [like that].

“That’s what I would do, so why come to the game and pay that money? Why do you do it, to sit and criticise somebody for 90 minutes?

“It’s not my type. I’d rather not be involved in that. I’d rather leave. Come and support the team, regardless of what happens, if you’re paying money go and enjoy yourself, Whether you have flares in the stadiums, if you have flags or if you want to jump about.

“I’ve said that before, I’ve seen it in Germany and I’ve been involved in it and I’d rather that happen than people come and sit there not getting excited.”

Photo: TWTD

ITFCsince73 added 20:06 - Dec 13 Just days now till Xmas. We have earned 2 points every league game played so far. What do people want? What did people expect? This is a million miles from where I see things last summer. If you would have said back then, where we would be now.....you would have been certified insane by each and every town supporter. A comfortable win V BR no doubt.
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Daleyitfc added 20:07 - Dec 13 He'd rather leave than face justifiable criticism ? F*ck off then
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Linkboy13 added 20:13 - Dec 13 Im afraid negativity happens at all clubs when the manager not sure what he is doing that's the reality. Dropping points wouldn't be so bad if we looked like scoring things would be far more positive. Lambert joined us after his last two jobs didn't go too well. This could be why he is using the rotation system trying to keep everyone happy and not losing the dressing room.

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BlueInBerks added 21:14 - Dec 13 See I reckon it's like this. PL has a long term plan on how to get us up, but he can't come out and say that as it's not a good pre/post-match soundbite. But he must defend himself when individual games are poor, without discussing longer-term actions. His plan will involve getting shot of some of the underperformers (in January?), bringing one or two new faces in and looking forward to the likes of Bishop, Sears & co returning. He knew the stakes at the beginning, he could see what he had to work with. After all, it's not like this is the first time he's been in this position.

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Carberry added 22:23 - Dec 13 It doesn't take much for the mask to slip does it? Even in the same press conference he says how great the fans are and then pulls no punches in his visceral criticism of them. It doesn't take much to send him off the rails - how dare a journalist question what his playing philosophy is, how dare another point out our run of non winning games. And he keeps talking about not being here...be careful what you wish for Paul.

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r2d2 added 09:22 - Dec 14 As fans we have had nothing to get get excited about for 17 or 18 years now. Its utter frustration from a lot of fans, lm sure of that, me included. Lamberts rotation policy really isnt helping. Some of these so called quality players just arnt too, simple as that.
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