General manager of football operations Lee O’Neill says manager Paul Lambert’s new contract which runs until 2025 gives the club stability upon which it can build over the next few seasons.

Lambert, 50, put pen to paper on a four-year extension to his current terms on New Year’s Day ahead of the 1-1 draw at Wycombe.

“It’s great for the football club to have that stability and look to build upon that over the years to come,” O’Neill told BBC Radio Suffolk after the match at Adams Park.

Asked whether he understood why some supporters had reacted to the news negatively, he added: “Of course, you can see from the fans’ point of view and [in the context of] performances in some of the last 10 or so games where we haven’t won.

“They want us to win games as quickly as possible, get points on the board and get up to the top end of the league and get promoted as quickly as possible.

“I get that and understand that but we feel at the moment it’s definitely the right decision for the football club to have stability to look at building over the next six, 12, 18, 24 months.

“And that puts things to rest on a number of issues that were addressed and for a club it now allows us to build for the future.”

O’Neill confirmed that talks had been ongoing for a while and that the move wasn’t in response to Lambert’s comments after the 0-0 draw with Gillingham on Boxing Day when he appeared to call his future into question.

“Absolutely not, these conversations between Paul and Marcus have been going on for quite a while,” he continued.

“He loves the town, loves the area and wants to settle down here, which is great and you hate to use the words ‘longer-term project’ in a way, but it’s plan to build for the future and that allows us to do that.”

O’Neill says owner Evans is frustrated by recent results but is looking at the club’s situation longer term.

“These conversations have gone on for quite a while. He gets as disappointed as we all do when we don’t win a game of football,” he said.

“It’s frustrating when that happens, but don’t take your eye off the bigger picture, which is something we’re talking about and the relationship that Paul and Marcus have is very good and very strong and we’re looking to build for the future.”

Looking ahead to Saturday’s Leasing.com Trophy tie at Exeter, O’Neill says he’d love a final appearance as much as anyone.

“We’d all love a trip to Wembley, myself included,” he said. “I think it would be great for the club, great for the town to have a number of people at Wembley for a day out, and not just a day out but to try and win something, which would be great for the club.

“We’re only a few games from that so we are approaching it like a game that we want to win and take seriously.

“Who knows, we’re three games away, we’ll hope, and I’d very much like to be at Wembley with the rest of the town supporting them at Wembley.”

Photo: TWTD

pennblue added 15:04 - Jan 3 Agreed. This job, was a build from scratch job, and you can't do that in 1 year. PL needs 3 or 4 transfer windows before we can really call it his team.
2

ITFCsince73 added 15:06 - Jan 3 I like Lambo, but if results don't improve quick, this could prove expensive for our club. PH was only at the club a matter of weeks, but walked away with a rumoured 500k. It will cost millions to remove Lambo.
5

itfcjoe added 15:09 - Jan 3 Stability needs to be earned not given
8

cat added 15:20 - Jan 3 I'm all for stability but as far as the rebuilding goes, we've been trying to get that one off the ground since 2001. Good news (not) for all the Evans lovers “ O'Neill says owner Evans is frustrated by recent results but is looking at the club's situation longer term”
6

Wacko added 15:37 - Jan 3 No Lee, we havent played well for around 20 games, aka the entire season. Scraping a 2-1 win over Wimbledon does not warrant a contract extension
6

Dolphinblue added 16:30 - Jan 3 Not the right decision....a GREAT decision!
-3

TimmyH added 16:46 - Jan 3 Strange timing...if all goes pear shape and we don't make the play-offs (which I expect to) it could all turn sour very quickly for Lambert. Imperative we get promotion this season, remember when Burley got the sack only a little way through his first attempt to get us back in the Premiership?...we had 'stability' under McCarthy under a lengthy contract, where did that lead us? boredom.

7

ChrisR added 16:55 - Jan 3 We need someone more progressive soon , certainly before 5 years are up ! And also he could start by being less downbeat in interviews , and showing some leadership !
-1

Dolphinblue added 17:00 - Jan 3 The upbeat, Great leader Lambert will be a great success! Coyb
-3

Carberry added 17:15 - Jan 3 Penn, PR Paul could have as many transfer windows as you like but it wouldn't make any difference because there's no money. It's a mental decision to give him 5 years, look at his record, he won't take us anywhere. Evans knows very little about running a football club and I would suggest neither does O'Neill, there's some kind of strategy going on here and its nothing to do with making us great again. Evans wants out and he's planning for a sale, maybe the 5 year contract is Lambert's reward for buying in to the spndthrift philosophy and he gets a nice pay off when the new owners turn up. There's more to all this than meets the eye.

3

rfretwell added 17:24 - Jan 3 PL critics, top recruitment is 9/10ths of the job and PL has shown he has a good eye for new players on a modest budget - e.g. KVY, Norwood, Keane & Judge. Injuries have hampered progress but we are gradually turning the corner in time for the second half of the season.
7

Gforce added 17:33 - Jan 3 Carberry,highly unlikely,but I hope you're right !
-2

blues1 added 17:36 - Jan 3 Timmy h. Think all fans would agree the timing was strange. Ur point about burley tho is strange too. He was sacked because we were actually heading towards a 2nd successive relegation under him.
0

Ipswichbusiness added 17:38 - Jan 3 We all like the idea of stability and I suspect that Paul Lambert will turn out to be a good manager for us. However, I still don't see why he had to be signed up now to a long-term deal when he still had 18 months on his existing one. Why couldn't it wait until March or April? Everyone will have a much better idea where they stand then.
3

BlueInBerks added 17:49 - Jan 3 Although I don't profess to know the detail, this 'project' is not a million miles away from Sir Bob's reign where it took a couple of seasons to build up a head of steam with the right players in the right positions
2

dieselmorris added 17:53 - Jan 3 don't want trip to wembley been there fa cup final, charity shield ,play off final arsenal v liverpool 1971,various england games. just want us back in championship with some decent funding for the club, not the crap fans have had to put up with the last fifteen years.
2

Lathers added 18:24 - Jan 3 What a load of BS. A 5 year contract doesn't mean stability. Lambert could resign tomorrow or he could be sacked tomorrow. It just means he gets a bigger payout when/if he gets sacked. Reward Lambert for progress on the pitch, not on the numbers that he's helped bring back in to the stadium - which will start to drop sharply if he doesn't start to make some progress on the pitch!

6

tractorboybig added 18:33 - Jan 3 So evans has employed a mouth piece to complement motor mouth , he knows how easy it is to control the easily led. Lambert is a worse choice than Mccarthy (yes that is possible ) MM did the job he was employed to do and motor mouth is doing the same.
0

TimmyH added 18:56 - Jan 3 my point blues1...didn't give him much time considering what he had achieved, which was in October I believe (time to turn things around), the club had more ambition then but didn't have the huge debt then either. This stability thing I don't get considering his 26% win record since PL being here, give a big contract upfront Lamberts got it made win, draw or lose for doing what?

2

tractorboybig added 19:07 - Jan 3 so long term stability is here in div one then?
2

jas0999 added 20:03 - Jan 3 It's a rash and baffling decision, showing yet more naivety from those that run the club. PL has a lot to prove and can't really walk away as he won't get another job easily. With eighteen months left on his previous deal, to give him an extension of such a length now - when on an abysmal run of form - is a poor decision.
3

ITFCsince73 added 20:43 - Jan 3 I think you can guarantee with your life Lambo won't be walking away anytime soon. 5 year contracts for managers is rare. Possibly in the top 5 earners outside the Premier league. No one would pay the compensation to take him. Luckily we have a owner worth a billion, who can afford to sack him and pay him off. As has been the case with 4 managers so far. There is no funds for January reinforcements, as money put aside in case Lambo is sacked.. We are ITFC, it's how we roll....it's how we carry on.

0

monkeymagic added 21:05 - Jan 3 If the 5 year contract is genuinely to build stability in the context of a long term project, why wasn't this offered when Lambert was appointed? If the answer to that is because he had to prove himself first, please can someone tell me what he”s done in the last 14 months that has convinced Evans he is the special one? The only possible explanation is attendances, which were already on the rise under Hurst anyway, such was the optimism after McCarthy : and if we don't get promoted, I wouldn't bank on 20k consistently turning up at FPR next season.

5

warktheline added 21:14 - Jan 3 What a lie! Talks have been ongoing for a while, but Lambert had a rant only a few days ago🤦‍♂️😂....embarrassing ! Lambert has been pulled into line and in return rewarded a massive contract! Lambert the turn coat, will he manage to keep his wee Scottish temper under wraps and continue to pick up a handsome penny, or will working within parameters get the better of him!😂🤣

0

BeattiesBackPocket added 22:09 - Jan 3 So the 5 year/point plan we started 10 years back is going to be starting now then or every season?🤔
3

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls