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O'Neill: Evans Backing Lambert 100 Per Cent
Tuesday, 31st Dec 2019 09:44

Town general manager of football operations Lee O’Neill says owner Marcus Evans continues to back manager Paul Lambert 100 per cent despite the current run of disappointing form.

The Blues have failed to win any of their last seven League One matches and are down to fourth in the table, out of the automatic promotion places for the first time since August.

In all competitions they are without a win over 90 minutes in their last 10 matches and speaking after the 0-0 home draw with Gillingham on Boxing Day Lambert appeared to call his future into question.

But O'Neill says he and Evans are still firmly behind the 50-year-old, who took charge of the club just over 14 months ago.

“We knew there would be challenges along the way and we are going through a tough period at the moment,” O’Neill told iFollow Ipswich.

“The last 10 games or so, we know we can do better and we have to do better. Everyone is aware of that.

“We had a really good start to the season and that has put us in a good position and now we have to kick on over the second half of the season.

“We all know our objective. That has not changed since the start of the season and Marcus, myself, the whole club are behind Paul and his staff in trying to achieve that.

“Paul has 100 per cent backing from Marcus. We are all in this together and we are pulling in the same direction. We are going through a tough time but we will stick together.

“This is a long-term project here, perhaps different from what Paul had at the last two or three clubs he’s been at.

“We sat down in the summer and spoke about what we all wanted to achieve. There has been a lot of communication between us and it will remain that way.

“We all want the same thing - promotion for Ipswich Town - hopefully this season but also to put foundations in place on and off the pitch to move the club forward.

“No one said it was going to be easy and yes we are going through a testing time but I reiterate, we are all in this together and we will continue to support Paul and his staff to give us the best possible chance of getting where we want to be, short term and long term.”


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ElephantintheRoom added 09:49 - Dec 31
Perhaps Lee could 100% support the idea of playing the same team two games running
3

RegencyBlue added 09:55 - Dec 31
Lamberts having a few dodgy weeks.

Evans has had a dodgy decade as far as ITFC is concerned!
8

bobble added 09:55 - Dec 31
a fast fading 3rd division team with a curse upon it is hardly going to attract the best and brightest managers from outside so burley/butcher are in like flynn....
-3

itfctim added 09:55 - Dec 31
Hopefully this season!....are they that deluded to think that it gets easier, the longer you are down here? With the squad and wage bill, automatic promotion is absolutely imperative THIS SEASON. Anything less spells disaster. We have no divine right, but anything less is down to bad management and unambitious ownership. Full stop.
8

warwickblue added 10:01 - Dec 31
Possibly this is encouraging news... but I really feel so confused about things both on and off the pitch at the club that I'm not sure. Hope that 2020 will see us back on the right track but, as always, it's hard to build any form of expectation after the last few seasons.
3

hoppy added 10:02 - Dec 31
Does 100% backing include further significant investment in the transfer market this window?
7

jas0999 added 10:02 - Dec 31
We need to gain promotion this season. Anything else would be a complete failure. Off loading some of our current squad in January (I.e. the players we don't want) will be very tough. We do however need a creative spark in the midfield and a CB though.
13

blue75 added 10:03 - Dec 31
People moan about Evans but we are still 4th! Yes we're not playing well but do we really want to become one of those clubs struggle for a few games then sack the manager? Evans is right to stick with Lambert sack him now we stay in this division keep him & let him try to get us up he's the only one that can do it. It's not like we're 4th from bottom & no team has any god given right to win the league time a few of our fans realised that!
8

dirtydingusmagee added 10:06 - Dec 31
Blue75 still 4th ! we were top with games in hand,we are heading the wrong way again .
9

WhoisJimmyJuan added 10:11 - Dec 31
Dirtydingusmagee: spot on. After 10 matches without a win fans have EVERY right to complain. And to be fair there is no chorus of Lambo Out. Yet.
4

TractorRoyNo1 added 10:14 - Dec 31
He would say that, wouldn't he. Anything less would be argued as constructive dismissal and they know Lamberts lawyers took Nodge to the cleaners.
1

Woodbridgian added 10:30 - Dec 31
The dreaded backing of the Chairman
3

juniorblue added 10:33 - Dec 31
Has anyone actually directly asked PL if he continues to believe that his squad rotation works? Apologies if I have missed something, but all I am reading is 'we are going through a difficult spell' without acknowledging what the majority of fans believe is the problem.
2

midastouch added 10:37 - Dec 31
@jas0999 agree we do need more creativity. The defence hadn't been too much of a problem overall until last match where it was badly exposed. I would much rather see Dobra or El Mizouni (or better still both) playing than the likes of Judge or Edwards who I have just about run out of patience with! Remember that flick Edwards did against Blackburn in our first match last season? Where has that player gone? I'm hoping Sears can help chip in with some vital goals as Norwood and Jackson have been struggling lately. But he had a serious injury and it could take a while to see him getting back among the goals. Such a shame as he was looking much more like the old Freddie we had when we first signed him off Colchester, before he got badly injured against Norwich. I think Dobra / El Mizouni could be the answer to creativity problems. I also think Ben Morris is well worth a look in the first team and I wouldn't mind seeing Folami more involved too. If Jackson and Norwood were free scoring then fair enough but lately they haven't been and they need to know they aren't nailed on starters unless they start to find the net. Keane has been frustrating a lot this season too although to be fair he did score a decent goal against Lincoln which was about the only good thing we can take from that disaster! But none of our strikers are doing as well as I had hoped so far this season, I would of hope at least one of them would of been competing for top goal scorer in this division but that hasn't been the case.
If we don't go up this season we should consider chopping out a lot of the dead wood. Some of these players are on a much higher wage than the average for this division I assume. If they fall short this season time to get rid and look to replace them with hungrier players from this league who proved they were up to the challenge at smaller teams. I'm sure we could tempt some of these players if we made a bid and offered to increase their wages accordingly. Judge has been hopeless. I think Brentford (who are very astute in the transfer market) knew he was past his best and hence they got rid. I was hoping for big things from Judge this season but I hold my hand up and say he's just not delivered. Norwood hasn't been as good as I was hoping either. He's missed too many easy chances he should of buried. To be fair he did have to have groin surgery but nonetheless, I was still expecting more. I still think Norwood could come good for us though but Judge is skating on thin ice and while hindsight is a wonderful thing it might of been a blessing in disguise to have let him gone to QPR (although I wasn't thinking it at the time).
8

ArnieM added 10:44 - Dec 31
Right , Evans is backing Lambert. Good. Now let's get this done .
4

NorthLondonBlue2 added 10:46 - Dec 31
A heavy defeat at Wycombe would probably seal Lambert's fate.

Mystifying why he refuses to stick with a winning team. The players must be bewildered; they play well, they're rotated. Even the goalkeeper, the bedrock of any team can't change one game to the next. Being deselected must be a massive blow to any player.

But after Magilton, Keane, Jewell, McCarthy and Lambert, the one constant is Evans and an ever-downward spiral.

As they say, you do the maths.
1

Carberry added 10:59 - Dec 31
What great news. The absent owner gets O'Neill to spout the usual guff and we are meant to swallow it. There's no mystery here, the manager wants money to strengthen the squad and there isn't any, our saviour, the academy is not producing players who can walk straight into the team and make us a winning side. Anyone who is half decent will be sold to service the losses and PR Paul can see the writing on the wall. It's a car crash.
4

ITFCsince73 added 11:06 - Dec 31
As a general rule. A teams slump/collapse alongside an owners backing. Normally results in the sack not long after.
I've no problem with Lambo.
But 2 defeats in the next 2 games could see us mid table.
And Lambo sacked.
1

martin587 added 11:12 - Dec 31
I don't care what anybody says there must be trouble somewhere within the team or management.ok we are forth with a game in hand BUT we should be top with the squad we have.I keep saying this but it's true.Rotation is NOT the answer.The team changes between each match are just ridiculous. Players must be getting fed up with it.Just get your best team and STICK with it.Its as simple as that and put Holy back in goal he is ours.😡
4

martin587 added 11:18 - Dec 31
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL YOU POSTERS AND LETS HOPE 2020 BRINGS US PROMOTION.🍷
4

ITFCsince73 added 11:19 - Dec 31
A lot is made of the rotation policy.
Looking at the bigger picture.
The normal matchday 18 contains 9 players that aren't upto the required standard.
On that basis it must be a challenge to unearth a best 11.
Not starting the season, and keeping to a Woolf Wilson centre back pairing was a mistake.
A run of 10 or 15 games contnueous, would by now have given us the divisions best.
Even on the very rare occasion they have played together they have looked the future.
Unfortunately we continue with the past.
A dismal past and present.
1

brittaniaman added 11:35 - Dec 31
We keep hearing of this game in hand, but of the top 8 we are only a game in hand with 3 of them ?
So a win at Wycombe is a absolute MUST WIN no ifs or buts, mainly for the sake of us Fans and a Boost for Lambert to bring Confidence back in the team. so COYBs
0

carlo88 added 11:36 - Dec 31
Should shake up the dressing roof if nothing else, maybe a few of them were 'hoping' for a new manager and it was affecting their performance.
-1

runningout added 11:41 - Dec 31
Some of the squad we love don't cut the mustard at the mo. Not many taking responsibility and improvement is limited to younger members of so called TEAM
-1

BeattiesBackPocket added 11:52 - Dec 31
@midastouch you can't blame Norwood and Jackson they've been starved of any real creativity or ammunition so both have to try cone deep or go out wide which again isn't how either play you need Norwood being that pain in the whatsit on the shoulder of the defenders. We could have messi up front but without any service we won't score.
2


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