Town boss Paul Lambert is not expecting to add to his squad before this evening’s 11pm deadline having targeted “proven” loan signings but with the deals to land them too costly.

The Blues have made only one addition this window, Preston’s Josh Earl having come in on loan as a direct replacement for Toto Nsiala who joined Bolton on a similar basis, and Lambert all but ruled out further new recruits being added to his squad before the January transfer window closes this evening.

Asked whether he is expecting a quiet day, Lambert said: “As I said to you the other day, we can’t go out and buy anybody. I’ve enquired about a few loans just to see if people can come in and help, but the money is incredible for some of them, so that won’t be feasible I don’t think, unless something pops up later on in the day.

“I’m never quite convinced with the January window because you get players that aren’t fit and it takes about a month to get them fit, or you get other people’s problems.

“The group of lads we’ve got at the minute have done brilliantly to get us into this position, so they deserve to stay with it.

“Sometimes you bring a few into your dressing room and it can actually disturb it. Then all of a sudden those guys go back and you don’t see them for the dust, so it’s not a window I’m a great fan of.”

On Monday keeper Bartosz Bialkowski joined Millwall on a permanent basis for a fee which is understood to be heavily based on appearance and achievement milestones rather than a significant initial fee.

Asked why the deal was done if it wasn’t going to give him cash to spend now, Lambert said: “It was the right thing for the club and the right thing for Bart.

“Finances dictate a helluva lot and how you interpret finances, whether it’s transfer fees or salaries or whatever it may be, it was right.

“Bart himself wanted to go as well, he’d been here for a few years and I knew the situation that when the money comes in we aren’t going to see it, so it’s fine.”

Lambert insists he has no problem with that: “Yes, it would be different if we’d sold Bart for £30 million then dear oh dear there’s no way, but it is what it is. There’s no point in asking why I can't get it when it’s not there.”

Last year Town had a busy January adding seven players, but with a number of them not getting up to speed until more than a month down the line. Was that in the back of his mind when it came to looking at January business this time around?

“Not really. I think last year we were trying everything to stay in the league,” he recalled.

“This year the guys have put themselves in a position where we’re in a real good place within touching distance of getting out of the league.

“They’re earnt the right because I trust them to do it. Last year was different, but you think we need a bit of help here to try and change something.

“I said before that when you bring a lot of people in it can disturb a lot of things, it can knock you off the rails but the guys that I brought in last year were all good guys, we were fortunate that way.

“But January is difficult because guys have not been playing as much football as they should have plus the finances can be huge.”

Given that Town are third in the table in with a very decent shout of pushing on for promotion, did he have conversations with owner Marcus Evans about adding from a position of strength?

“Marcus has been great, but the players I enquired about were too rich,” he said. “Or I could have gone for kids who are not any better than the kids [here] or they’re not ready to come into this environment. It’s not going to benefit us on that side.

“The ones I did go for were proven ones that I knew could maybe do it but the level of money was extreme, was massively extreme.

“There’s only two ways you can do it, you either get ones in that are not playing at their clubs and who could take three or four weeks to get fit or kids where it could be their first loan and you’re never quite sure what you’re getting from that side. It’s a really dangerous one.

“They’ve got to be ones who are going to help you, not necessarily better than what you’ve got, but ones that are going to help. I think the ones we did go for were slightly out of our range.”

Lambert says, having been unable to get the players he wanted, he was keen to avoid the temptation to make signings just for the sake of adding numbers to the squad.

“That’s it, there’s nothing out there,” he said. “The money’s high, there are Premier League ones that we’ve looked at and all of a sudden you find out that if you don’t play them there’s a massive bill attached to it and we’re not in a position to pay that.

“And we’re not in a position where we can say we can guarantee guys games. So if you don’t play them you get hit with a massive ‘fine’. That’s not healthy for anybody. It [makes them] too dear, too rich for us. The ones I wanted to look at were high.”

Town similarly employ that approach when they send their players out on loan with plenty of the Blues’ youngsters currently on spells in League Two or non-league.

Aside from Bialkowski, there have been no permanent exits with interest in Luke Woolfenden and Flynn Downes having come to nothing, for this window at least, barring a late unexpected offer which Lambert saus would have to be enormous.

“There’s certainly no way [they’re going] unless someone came in with an incredible amount of money, there’s no way those two guys are going,” he said regarding the two highly-rated youngsters.

Ultimately, Lambert is confident the squad he has can get the job of getting back into the Championship done.

“Absolutely, it’s got us in the position it’s got us in,” he said. “As I said before, I don’t think many people would have expected us to be where we are because of the disappointment of last year.

“It’s dead difficult where a team gets relegated to be in that position, it doesn’t matter what club you’re at.

“My old club Stoke, that’s got a wealthy ownership there, a really good ownership and they’ve found it unbelievably tough. They’ve found themselves nowhere near a play-off place.

“Things like that can happen. But what the guys have done has been absolutely brilliant to turn it around. We’ve never really been outside the top six all season, we’ve always been up there and we’re still in it.”

Photo: TWTD

r2d2 added 13:07 - Jan 31 Evans is richer now than he was when he took over the club. The club is in its worst position for 65 years. Still people suck up to this slimy little business man. No money?! The man is loaded. This is a disgrace. Our club is a joke because of this man. Tax dodging incompetent loser of an owner.
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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 13:09 - Jan 31 Prebbs, cos as I thought you're talking made up rubbish
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Dolphinblue added 13:18 - Jan 31 I think the squad is good enough to achieve promotion as it is...get behind the boys till end of season and then, when promoted will be the time for shouting for new players COYB!
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JewellintheTown added 13:19 - Jan 31 “The group of lads we've got at the minute have done brilliantly to get us into this position, so they deserve to stay with it." - Lambert. Some might argue that it should read “The group of lads we've got at the minute have done rubbish to have gotten us into this position in the first place, so they deserve to get us out it." All in the perspective.
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yarmoblue added 13:28 - Jan 31 After reading a lot of them comments you realize there are a lot of people who dont have a clue about running a business
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SamsDad added 13:29 - Jan 31 Prebbs, I say this with absolutely no research whatsoever on my part, but how many of those loan players that you mention, would you like to see in an Ipswich shirt? And beornioblue, I really badly want to see us smash them tomorrow, but must win it is not. Must win with no context as you state implies that if we do not win, we cannot achieve our goals for this season. Must win if we want to be back in the top two tomorrow night, yes, but can we still get promotion if we don't win tomorrow? If we win every game until the end of the season apart from tomorrow, how many points will we win the league by?

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Northstandveteran added 14:06 - Jan 31 Agreed Dolphin. We already have a bigger than average squad in this division. Many of our squad have championship experience. Promotion rests on the shoulders of our manager with his new five year contract. As the season progresses, those around us with smaller squads will start to drop down the table. I think that we will finish in the top two. But I do feel that it will be because of other clubs failures opposed to us having a great team.

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rabbit added 14:06 - Jan 31 I cannot believe the extraordinary level of nonsense that some people on here write, how they survive and contribute in the Country I simply have no idea. To paraphrase what one poster in particular has said, he is of the opinion that because of the ITFC losses Marcus Evans has doubled his wealth. Oh and for good measure when ITFC sell a player he personally trousers the fee. For me it is a shame that Paul Lambert has not been able to secure any more than one signing. Its a shame ITFC are in the third tier and not challenging at the top of the Premier League as are numerous other clubs, winning cups and titles,promotion and relegation is the excitement of the game.

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Kirbmeister added 14:07 - Jan 31 So easy to spend someone else's money.
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Carberry added 14:10 - Jan 31 rabbit, you found relegation exciting did you? You're just the kind of customer Evans is looking for.
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runningout added 14:13 - Jan 31 Hope I'm wrong but after the years of hurt I reckon Mr Evans might be happy with 3rd in league 1. Good teams strengthen even when form is great.
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prebbs007 added 14:14 - Jan 31 Dozzells_Bobblehat you stick your head in the sand if you want ! you can check the figures on https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-sunday-times-rich-list and the debt of ITFC is in public documents..... unless those are also "talking made up rubbish" Idiot
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tractorollson added 14:15 - Jan 31 Im more happier no one has left eg Wolfy and Downes than come in. We have the ability in players we just need consistency and that comes from above, managing. coyb!
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SamsDad added 14:34 - Jan 31 Prebbs The ITFC debt is increasing...…. Who is the money owed to?
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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 14:42 - Jan 31 Prebbs I know we are in debt . Everyone knows that . That's about the only accurate thing you stated . You don't like Evans, that's fine . Just don't state things you have no proof of .
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runningout added 14:46 - Jan 31 think we realise FFP is a factor so doesn't matter how well off our owner is. If we don't improve our squad we are in league 1 or 2 for quite a few years yet. There is a way and you don't need a halfwit like me to tell you.
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Saxonblue74 added 14:58 - Jan 31 Prebbs007, so what IS Evan's personal gain? I really don't see the need for signings in this window, we have the tools for the job, just need to know how to use them!
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prebbs007 added 14:59 - Jan 31 Dozzells_Bobblehat https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-sunday-times-rich-list STILL FACTS !!!!! SamsDad The debt is owed to Evans. so what ? it doesn't therefore disappear
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prebbs007 added 15:08 - Jan 31 Saxonblue74 If he pays less tax is he not personally wealthier ? You may not see the need for signings that's your opinion and i respect it. If we had signed "better" players when were top of the championship would we have gone up ? no one knows for sure. We did it under Burley and it reaped the rewards. I hope im wrong but i don't feel this team will be in the top 2 and the playoffs are a lottery, i think we can improve the team but it's totally your right to disagree. What no one can dispute is that pretty much every other team in the title race is "improving" their squad in their opinion, yet all the players we have asked about are too expensive. I hope this means we were after very good players rather than unable to get the same players other teams have got in. Evans has more money than any owner in the division and masses more than most, but he chooses not to spend it on players for our club !

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Michael101 added 15:14 - Jan 31 When people keep buying tickets Evans will sit on his backside taking the money.time to force his hand stop buying .if come april/May nobody has brought a season ticket then perhaps it might force his hand??
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SamsDad added 15:23 - Jan 31 Prebbs. So you do know then, Saxon has already tried to tell you, he is not gaining. Even if he is offsetting tax in his other companies, you cant do it unless you lose the money in the first place. Even then you only get 20% back, and even then if they are doing it by the book he is repaying the saved tax back to ITFC. Now I don't know they are doing it right, but I want to believe they are. Everybody is always going to want the owner to do more, no matter what club you follow, but to say he is gaining financially from the club is just plain inaccurate. Still waiting for you to identify the loan players loaned to other clubs that you want at ITFC...….

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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 15:39 - Jan 31 Prebbs that link doesn't work so not sure what it shows but you really aren't listening are you
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prebbs007 added 15:50 - Jan 31 SamsDad i would have taken Lewis Gibson, James Husband, David Stockdale, Glenn Whealan, Jamal Blackman, George Thorne, Bailey Wright All better than we have in my opinion... its a game of opinions of course. I also want to believe things are being done correctly at the club, but i find that very difficult when poorer clubs get business done but we always seem to be broke !

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prebbs007 added 15:53 - Jan 31 Dozzells_Bobblehat ?? i'm not listening ? OMG what an idiot FACTS are FACTS his wealth has increased by over £400m in 10 years while our club has plummeted and it's debt has risen. If he really wanted to invest in our club he could put in much much more but chooses not to !
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d77sgw added 16:19 - Jan 31 Prebbs007. No you really aren't listening. No-one is disputing the fact his wealth has increased. No-one is disputing the fact that we have plummeted down the league, and our debt has risen. But one does not cause the other - its the classic confusion of correlation and causation. Except in this case the fact the debt has increased, just goes to prove that he is not 'trousering the transfer fees'. If you want FACTS just look at the 2019 accounts - we made a profit on fees,but the debt (the cost to Evans personally of owning the club) went up. Look I'm no fan of his ownership - we've clearly gone backwards in the past decade, and it bloody hurts. I sit opposite a scummer at work. But oppose him because he has shown bad judgement in manager appts, and in timing his investment - don't suggest he is somehow doing this for financial gain, because that is illogical and there are no facts to back this up.

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