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Sears: Now We're Probably Looking at the Play-Offs
Thursday, 13th Feb 2020 16:02

Striker Freddie Sears admits the Blues are probably now looking at the play-offs rather than automatic promotion.

Town are currently seventh in League One without a win in their last four with leaders Rotherham seven points ahead of the Blues with a game in hand and second-placed Peterborough a point behind the Millers having played one match more than Town.

Sears, who was helping out with an adult disability football session to promote Community Trust Day on Saturday, was asked how he saw the promotion picture as things stand.

“Good question,” he reflected. “It’s mad how a week can change things. I think three or four games ago we were top of the league and if we’d have beaten Rotherham you probably would have thought that we were going to win this league hands down.

“But now we’re probably looking at the play-offs. Obviously we’d love to be in the automatic promotion places but we’ve got to start winning games.

“There’s no point in standing there saying what we want to do and what we don’t want to do, if you don’t win games you don’t deserve to be there. I think the play-offs are the aim and we’ll go from there.”

He added: “Before you know it it’ll be May and will we be looking back thinking ‘What a waste of a season’ or we’ll be thinking we’ve made the play-offs or even better than that, hopefully.

“I think we’ve got nine home games which are going to be massive. We’ve not really been great at home but if we can get something going, give the fans something to cheer about, I’m sure they’ll back us.


“And that’s the most important thing now, playing positively and we need results and we need them sooner rather than later.”

Since returning from the ACL injury he suffered at Norwich a year ago this month, Sears has made one Leasing.com Trophy start and six appearances from the bench in League One.

He admits the current wing-back system hasn’t helped his return, the 30-year-old having played on the left of a front three last season prior to his injury following Paul Lambert’s appointment.

“At the minute we’ve not got too many wingers so the system’s probably suited us in that way,” he said.

“But for me, I either want to play up front or a front three, right or left. It’s tough at the minute because Danny Rowe’s injured, there have been a few injuries and the wingers we had at the start of the season haven’t been able to play.

“It’s a different system, everyone seems to be getting used to it but we’ll see what happens on Saturday.”

Looking back to last season, Sears enjoyed a good spell after Lambert took over before picking up his injury in which he netted six times.

“It was the best I’ve played in a long time,” he recalled. “But I still think my best spell here was when I played up front in a two with Daryl Murphy. My best football, the most I’ve enjoyed football, to be honest.

“It is what it is, I’ll play anywhere but I’d like to play up front but at the minute I’m not seen there.”

Quizzed on where Lambert has said he’ll look to use him, Sears added: “I think I’ll be used up front but it’s tough at the minute, we’ve got Jacko, Nors, Keano as well.

“The thing that probably kills me is the flexibility where I can go out there and play and probably, and no disrespect to Keano or Nors, but they’re not going to be steaming up and down the wings. But wherever I’m asked to play, I’ll play and try and give the best I can for the team.”

Sears even ended up as a wing-back at Wimbledon the other night, although he says that’s not something he wants to repeat even if it was with a primarily attacking remit.

“I don’t want to be stuck there, to be honest,” he laughed. “It was more of an attacking sort of thing, there wasn’t too much defending, there was a little bit, but it was mainly to try and get the win. It wasn’t as bad as what it was. It is what it is and I’ll play wherever.”

Given Town’s recent lack of a cutting edge and his record of scoring under Lambert last season and also in League One with Colchester prior to joining Town, he must feel he will get a chance up front soon.

“It’s obviously down to the manager,” he said. “But the boys have done well this year, Nors has done well, Jacko’s done well, Keano’s done well, they’ve all scored goals.

“I’ve been out a long while, which is obviously the issue at the minute. I’m sure if I was fit and firing I’d be playing every week, and that’s no disrespect to anyone at the football club. I believe if I was in the form I was in last year, I’d be playing every game.

“It’s a different circumstance a little bit at the minute because if I was in the situation I was in last year and I wasn’t playing it would probably be a bit different where I wouldn’t be as happy. I’m not saying I’m happy at the minute but I understand the situation.”

Are the club management having to put the reins on him to an extent as he continues his recovery?

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It’s been a long time and now we need results, there’s no Leasing.com Trophy games like there were before where I probably would have played three or four of them and there would have been no complaints and I’d probably be up to speed. Now the games matter and I feel like I’m ready and only time will tell.”


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runningout added 16:05 - Feb 13
Playoffs!! No chance!
6

madmouse1959 added 16:07 - Feb 13
Oh give over.
2

MrTown added 16:08 - Feb 13
Play-offs, would be some miracle.

But we are the hunters now remember, we've been told this will favour us.
6

MrTown added 16:08 - Feb 13
Everyone says the right things, but no one does it on the pitch.
17

Edmundo added 16:10 - Feb 13
He's got to be given a chance up top otherwise it's a waste. Jackson and Norwood are misfiring and both probably need to just get back to training (shooting practice mostly), Keane and Sears could be a great duo. It can't get any worse in terms of our goals to games ratio.
7

hoppy added 16:13 - Feb 13
“But the boys have done well this year, Nors has done well, Jacko's done well, Keano's done well, they've all scored goals."

At the start of the season, maybe... but 1 goal in the last 4 games, and that being a penalty, doesn't suggest they've been undroppable and no chance for Sears to do any better...
7

therein61 added 16:17 - Feb 13
Flippin hell who are they going to roll out next spouting the bleeding obvious!! i bet they won't ask Butch for an honest assessment they would all need tin hats on!!
7

Barty added 16:17 - Feb 13
Players need to up their game considerably to achieve this but lets hope we get 3 points on Saturday to get some optimism back.
6

therein61 added 16:19 - Feb 13
Make that the haunted "mr town"
0

BuckieBlue added 16:20 - Feb 13
I'm torn by his comment 'probably play-offs.' On the one hand our number of home games, plus the fact others' form could dip, mean 2nd place isn't out of it yet but on the other hand talk in the squad of play offs might mean they are prepared for the battle which those games would be. But as you other posters are saying we need to improve now, otherwise neither will happen. I always feel once you're in the pressure of the last 10 games, it's extra difficult to get into form.
3

r2d2 added 16:23 - Feb 13
All these players saying the right thing. But none of them seem to be able to actually play the game they keep trying to convince us of. 5 years, Evans you muppet.
7

NotSure added 16:38 - Feb 13
Next Season: We're looking at Mid-table
Season After: I think we can stay up.
Season After: League 2 will be good for this club!
8

tomitfc added 16:42 - Feb 13
Considering we were top of the league 4 games ago, the situation is an absolute joke.
14

brittaniaman added 16:45 - Feb 13
It is Taking too long to get some kind of Form back on the Pitch ???? (get the wheels back on)
If Lambo instead of the Talk the Talk could do the Walk the Walk we might be able get in to some sort of Gear and I don't mean Reverse gear ? Over to you Lambo and Forward !!
0

Pecker added 16:50 - Feb 13
That is disappointing. I would have thought that with the amount of games left, he would be more confident, especially in public.
3

Bluesquid added 16:50 - Feb 13
Playoffs? Nah, doubt it, that would mean a few extra weeks. The players are probably already thinking of their holidays - i mean they're playing like they're on holiday now.
5

alfromcol added 17:27 - Feb 13
Obviously Sears not happy with the situation. As near as he can get to making a complaint about where he is being asked to play.
5

jas0999 added 17:31 - Feb 13
The situation is beyond a joke. If we don't go up automatically (which we won't) then PL and Evans will have failed. The worst case, back up option should be promotion via the playoffs, but with this dire run of form it's debatable whether we will make those, let alone win at Wembley.
3

Linkboy13 added 18:23 - Feb 13
I'm probably in the minority but one of most disappointing things this season has been the progress of our youngsters who i think on the whole are very over rated and if half decent should be able to do it in this league. There seems to be a common theme with our young players they all appear to be very light weight and lacking physically and probably judged too small by the larger clubs so end up at clubs like Ipswich.
2

tractorboybig added 18:26 - Feb 13
quite right. with dippo in charge we will be looking at the play offs,,from about 10 positions below
1

blueboy1981 added 18:44 - Feb 13
Like I've said, Lambert is incapable.
Forget the play offs even, it isn't going to happen.
Reality is :- Where is a 100% improvement coming from to even achieve that ?
Relegated last season, except for the excellent start whilst teams sussed out we had no Plan B to change a game - we would be struggling to avoid another relegation from this cr#p level of football.
The season is OVER once again
1

Buryblue78 added 18:48 - Feb 13
Looking at the remaining fixtures they are all winnable on paper
They all talk the talk
Can they walk the walk
Recent history would suggest they won't
We must have the worst possession to goals ratio of all time
I doubt they've got the bottle to even have a real go at it
I'd love to be proved wrong though
1

Lathers added 18:54 - Feb 13
5 wins in the league since November should be enough evidence to tell us we aren't even going to even make the play offs. It pains me to say it, but I honestly can't see us getting more than 2 points (at best) from the Burton and Oxford home games.
2

blueboy1981 added 19:07 - Feb 13
..... read between the lines, just like several other players Sears is p#ssed off with Lambert too - his non productive tactics, far too late or not at all substitutions, and formations.
Lambert is what he is, and whilst with us we'll be what we are. Nothing more - as other previous Clubs found out.
All is far from happy in the camp for sure - most players won't be too impressed getting continuous praise for negative results.
1

blueboy1981 added 19:15 - Feb 13
100% improvement from NOW - otherwise Lambert has to walk, or Evans do the necessary, and foot the bill that he stupidly walked into.
1


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