Midfielder Cole Skuse says the Blues’ improved performance against leaders Coventry City illustrated that the players haven’t thrown in the towel despite Town falling to a 1-0 defeat.

Matty Godden netted the game’s only goal in the 16th minute to send the Sky Blues five points clear at the top of League One with the Blues now down in 10th, their lowest position since Boxing Day 1956.

Town were significantly better than they were during Tuesday’s loss to Fleetwood by the same scoreline even though they were unable able to turn that display into three points.

“I think everyone saw that today,” Skuse said. “Again, the fans came out in their thousands and at the end of the first half and at the end of the game they could see that the lads have not thrown the towel in by any stretch.

“I thought it was a positive performance against a good, well-organised side who are sitting top of the league for a reason.

“They’ve had one shot, one goal. I’ve just said to our media guys, I’m really struggling for words. It’s not as if I’m coming out trying to hide away from questions or anything like that, I’m struggling for words [as it's] a really tough one to take today because I think we played really well and maybe on another day it would have gone another way.”

Town were without three of their senior frontmen, Will Keane having joined James Norwood (recovering from his groin operation) and Kayden Jackson (serving the third game of his three-match ban) in the stands, and Skuse conceded that the Blues struggled up front in their absence.

“Yes, because you’re missing quality players,” the 33-year-old added. “But you’ve still got Freddie Sears, who has played in the Premier League. We’ve got Tyreece Simpson, Dobs [Armando Dobra], Bish [Teddy Bishop] can play in a forward position, Judgey [Alan Judge], an international. You’re not talking about players with no calibre. They’re, top, top players that are playing.

“And it is just that spell at the minute where we’re just not getting that rub. I think the lads up top today were very good. I thought Gwion [Edwards] had a great game, Judgey especially was very good.

“I’m not trying to hide away from anything, I’m not making up excuses, it’s a really tough one to swallow. It’s a tough one.”

Skuse admitted that it’s currently a very tough period for the Blues, who are bottom of a League One form table calculated over the last nine games having lost seven during that period, including the last four.

“After 12 games we were sitting top of the league. Everything looked rosy, we’ve gone on a bad spell and now we’re sitting in [the] position [we are],” he reflected.

“I’m not speaking just on behalf of the players, I speaking on behalf of fans, staff members, the club as a whole, no one wants to be in the position we’re in.

“But that doesn’t mean we’ve thrown the towel in by any stretch, we’ve still got a chunk of games to go and as you can see today it was a very spirited performance from everyone.

“We’ll be trying our utmost to finish the season as well as we can and who knows where it will take us.”

Skuse, who will be back in his home city next Saturday when the Blues face Bristol Rovers, says there was an in-depth post-mortem at Playford Road following the Fleetwood defeat.

“We’ve regrouped over the few days,” he said. “We’ve had meeting after meeting and if I could come in front of you now and pinpoint one thing that was going wrong, then we wouldn’t be in this position, that one issue would have been eradicated weeks, if not months ago.

“It’s not for the want of trying to find what’s going wrong, it’s just isn’t happening for us at the minute. Like I said, we’ve given a positive display, there were some great performances but it just wasn’t to be.”

The Blues’ vice-captain insists the squad will keep fighting for a play-off place during the final eight games with the top six now seven points away with the four sides above them having two matches in hand.

“We’re realists, we’re not in the position we want to be by any stretch, we wanted to be sitting top of the league, rosy like Coventry and our fans singing ‘We’re top of the league, we’re going up’,” Skuse continued ruefully.

“We’re not hiding away from anything, like I said, the lads who came out today didn’t shirk anything, they didn’t shirk the responsibility, they were brave, everyone got on the ball, everyone was trying to make things happen.

“Me, as a senior player, and the other senior players were drumming it into the lads throughout the week, it happens in football, you go through rough patches. You’ve got to take the rough with the smooth but you have to be bold, you have to be brave, you have to keep getting on the ball and trying to make things happen, and we will continue to do that.”

One of the few positives during the recent spell has been the impression made by 18-year-old youngsters Tyreece Simpson and Armando Dobra from the bench, while Brett McGavin, 20, made his league debut from the start against Fleetwood.

“It gives us a breath of fresh air,” Skuse added. “Brilliant for the lads because they’re great kids. They’re like sponges as well, they hang on every word, they’re looking to improve themselves.

“They train really hard, they train really well, so it’s brilliant for them to get their chance.

“Maybe not in the position that we’d want them to get their chance, as I said, we want to be sat top of the league and them coming in with the whole place buzzing, but it is what it is. We’re in the position we are now and they’ve got to take their chance.”

Photo: TWTD

alfromcol added 16:02 - Mar 8 Great post Wooly74, all spot on in my view. It is on the field where the problems are, not Evans, Lambert and uncle Tom Cobley and all.
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Bert added 16:07 - Mar 8 Whatever Skuse says would be trashed because too many regular posters on here attack the person not the issue. After Edwards, Skuse was our next best player yesterday in terms of passes made, blocking and consistency during the game. Ok that doesn't mean he has the quality we need to drive out from midfield but a team needs someone like Skuse preferably playing alongside two creative midfielders who can actually win a tackle, stay on their feet and play for 90 minutes. It's wrong to make Skuse the scapegoat for what regrettably is a bang average team.

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eddiespearitt03 added 16:36 - Mar 8 These player and manager comments just add insult to injury.The fans are now waiting for the announcement that a new manager is lined up. A new manager who will be expected to work in the same conditions. RELEASE the stranglehold some players have on this club. Skuse,Chambers and Sears should be off-loaded alongside another 5 players. THEN and only then can we start to build a better squad. It is now down to Evans to finally wake up and actually do something positive.

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Suffolkboy added 16:42 - Mar 8 Right from the beginning we've continued to exhibit the same sort of failings that have bedevilled ITFC for years,with only some exceptions ( & many will recall the enthusiastic contributions from Marshall ,Mathie , Bent ,Kukl,and Murphy & others before them too ) BUT we've lacked a midfield scoring contributor for years and years ; we've also not found the physical specimens to bolster our squad ! Football has changed quite a lot it seems : the loan system did enable successful imports , but no longer .Older players have now been far too well rewarded at the higher levels and see no profit in playing down the leagues ( retire , go into punditry or commentary ?) and so any effort to find influential mid fielders or commanding centre backs is a frustrating and problematic exercise ! On field we've a number who shouldn't be in our squad, don't contribute consistently , don't look the part ,don't seem to understand the game , positioning and have not acquired any sense of hunger or possess a calculating ounce of incision and determination ; hence not enough goals ,not enough real penetration and little vision . Many of those brought here by Hurst were simply not up to the task : that's not their fault but has lumbered ITFC completely with an uphill struggle to reform the base for the future ! This is NOT Paul Lambert's fault ,but a fait accompli he has the unenviable task to put right ! Let's gat off his back ; become much better assessors of the skills , technique ,commitment ,general ability and drive of those on the pitch ! CS does not deserve the unacceptable emotional drivel too frequently written on this site ,which carries the negative to unbelievable extremes ; weARE supposed to be supporters through thick and thin !! It's also high time the EADT revolved to become positive ,but I suppose it's ingrained to pick on the critical and emphasise the weaknesses rather than look intelligently to analyse , even occasionally ,the reality and predicament which will take time to escape from ! So COYB , there's many who will still believe and support OUR football club !

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dirtydingusmagee added 17:30 - Mar 8 said same toward end of last season ,but still got relegated because they were like lambs to the slaughter , no fight no guts, and no pride. Just rolled over and were sorry for themselves. Needed crowd to get behind them ! They have had more support this season than for a long time , and thats made no difference ..........oh hang on ,it has , its put team under pressure to do well, BLOODY JOKE . Yes you are trying , VERY TRYING .

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afcfee added 17:49 - Mar 8 Absolute joke and they're talking about extending his contract massive kick in the teeth of the fans only way he could carry on playing for us if we got relegated and same this season he is happy we didn't go up no doubt, that's the exact problem and probably why we flopped in playoffs championship few years ago, we have no desire just pass it has beens.
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therein61 added 17:53 - Mar 8 Suffolkboy, I agree with 90% of your post and after supporting the Town for 60 years have seen a feast of football more often then not, since moving to the west country i have a round trip of over 400 miles to see the boys(away games are easier to get to) i therefore consider myself a true supporter my views are mine i only comment if i actually see a game(unlike some) and say it as i have seen it, i respect other posters views and will up click if i agree with their comments otherwise i leave well alone as serial down marking only causes antagonism and is pointless unless backed constructively which it never is, i have never been so low as a Town fan as i am now(but as Cat said it's part of the life of a football fan) but i want to see the club on the up again before i am too old to do the journey.

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cat added 20:18 - Mar 8 Whilst I agree Skuse was nowhere near our worst player yesterday (i also noted that he was pressing the opposition hard in their own half towards the end!) I had him behind Edwards and Dozzell. But you have to look at the bigger picture here, bit like the more vocal Marcus Evans disgruntled fan club are! We are a club in serious decline. This seasons failings IMO have been down to underperforming players and some horrendous tactically inept decisions which have created the ‘mother' of all blips. A frustrating, lightweight and embarrassing way to finish a campaign (AGAIN ) and that's why we need change.

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steve7881 added 21:19 - Mar 8 Perhaps in one of your meeting Cole you might discuss getting more players to attack the box/get into the box. You be the holding midfielder, tell the others to get in the BOX when we attack. BOX BOX BOX
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Carberry added 21:20 - Mar 8 Suffolkboy, the problem is when people see through the PR and can see the lies and the duplicity things become toxic. We, the customers, have been conned by PR Paul into believing every thing is fine, 'we just need a little bit of help, we're a big club because I wouldn't be here otherwise'. Everyone now knows that isn't true and all the cries of let's get behind the boys won't make a scrap of difference because the truth is we just aren't good enough and the club is dysfunctional and in freefall. Just being positive doesn't get us anywhere, what are the EADT meant to do? Say everything's fine? Many of us still believe, you suggest, in what exactly - the tooth fairy? And at no time has it been less of OUR club, if it was the owner would engage with us. Oh and one more thing, as 'therein61' put it so elegantly, don't regularly mark people down because they have a different opinion to you.

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Doctor_Earman added 21:59 - Mar 8 The standards and expectations at this club just get lower and lower after every passing game. First it was ''we can make top 2''. Then it became ''we can still make play-offs''. Now it's ''well at least we didn't throw the towel in''. Soon you'll hear players and management saying ''we should have enough to stay up''.
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KiwiBlue2 added 22:20 - Mar 8 Very well put Doctor Earman ......... we need a heart transplant just to see the season out with some small degree of hope...... Perhaps I could add a final comment to your witty list "phew that was a close one, the point from the draw was just enough to stay up....."
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Lightningboy added 11:11 - Mar 9 Please move this guy on in the summer - the absolute face of failure at ITFC for the last 5 years.
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Tractorboy58 added 13:02 - Mar 9 I didn't realise just how bad Lambert's win record is over last few appointments...including this one ...does seem to be PR Paul and not much else..beginning to finally change my mind and think we need a new man in at the helm and a drastic cull of the likes of Skuse and Chambers and build around our younger players..IF we can hang on to them !
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Bergholtblue added 14:53 - Mar 9 Midas........ I largely agree with what you are saying, but he trouble is, as you stated, Belgium accepted that they would not qualify for the next two tournaments. Would the fans, particularly the ones on this site, except 3 years in League 1, til we can build a team to go up and compete in the Championship. I think not. The more I read here the more I feel that some supporters want ME to put his hand in his pocket and buy us out of trouble. He tried it with Keane and got his fingers burnt, he wont do it again. What if, Evans announces tomorrow that he has sacked Lambert and all the players over 25 years old, has appointed Keiron Dyer as manager assisted by Butcher, Burley and Nash with the emphasis on re-building from scratch with our youth players, but may have to accept that we may have to drop down to L2, will fans go for that? I think not?

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portmanteau added 15:22 - Mar 9 There were so many "brilliants" in Skuse's comments I suspect they were written by the Manager.
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ChrisFelix added 18:16 - Mar 9 I suspect Lamberts record is the worst of all our managers (Hurst excluded) & thst includes Milburn. Im also puzzled why with our striker shortage, Roberts was ever allowed to go on loan & play for Gillingham
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madmouse1959 added 00:18 - Mar 10 What is more depressing is the fact that Evans remains mostly anonymous and O,Neill (the spokesman) dare not try to kid the supporters with his PR lyrics. We are where we are because of a very poor club owner who has watched this club struggle year after year. Nearly every supporter has the opinion that League Two will be our next destination as the decline under Evans carries on. Any good player will find it hard to shine playing alongside the same players who constantly let the team & fans down. signing KV Young was the only highlight this season. Build a team around KVY,Morris,Dobra,Simpson,Woolfy and maybe a few others. Dump the rubbish and RECRUIT.

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runningout added 19:39 - Mar 10 our soft and embarrassing exit from the Championship still weighs heavily on a lot of us. Too many players that were responsible for lack of obvious know how are still throwing shame about the place.
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