Blues manager Paul Cook says that the uncertainty regarding the future is inevitably having an impact upon players at the present time.

It’s anticipated that all but a handful of the current squad will depart in a summer revolution at Portman Road as Cook looks to bring in a squad of his own funded by the club’s new owners.

Given the position many of the players find themselves in Cook is unwilling to talk about individuals, with the point illustrated when he was asked whether Dai Cornell might get a game in goal before the end of the season.

“Again guys, unfortunately for you, I just have to abstain from questions about personnel all the time,” he said.

“Behind the scenes, as you can imagine, it's tough at the minute. It's tough at the training ground.

“If you guys were in your workplace and you didn't know your future and you had your bosses on Zoom calls telling everyone about change every day, I'm sure you would be dead happy at work and 100 per cent at work.

“So at the minute I think the most important thing is we focus on the present, and that is getting immediate results for this club.

“We're a very, very proud club. I've only been here six weeks and I'm a proud manager. I take great pride in what I do. A great pride in travelling home and making people happy. At the minute, we're making people miserable, including myself.”

Has that uncertainty had an impact? “Of course, it is. You're not going to go 100 per cent for a manager who's not committing to you. Come on. These are young men with families, they have agents, they have all the speculation about kids in schools and will they have to move and then all of a sudden we're asking them to concentrate on us and give us everything they've got.

“It's my job to manage these players and that's what I've got to do. For you guys, I get the speculation, I do. I get the two of three years we've had since the relegation from the Championship where the sun hasn't shone a lot in Ipswich and on Portman Road and on the training ground.

“These continuous speculative Zoom calls will not do anyone any good anymore. So with great respect, whatever questions we can move on to that I can answer, which I don't think you've got many lads, by the way, what about the European Super League? Let's have a little look at that.”

Jokingly asked what his favourite film of all-time is, Cook laughed: “That's good for me. I'd love to go off-topic today!

“The mood isn't sombre miserable here. The weather has changed for the better and we're a going-forward club now, and with going-forward clubs, you take small steps to make big ones to change the landscape of what we're doing.

“At the minute, I'm having to hold the fort and I'm having to hold my lip a little bit on what I really feel and what I want to say.

“But that's just purely out of respect for people, and people have all got families, as I say, and they've all got feelings themselves so let's try and keep it as well as we can.”

Turning more to the ill-fated European Super League, of which the club he supports Liverpool were set to be members, Cook said: “Absolutely disgusted at my football club. Disgusted. I wouldn't have been going in Anfield again.

“My family have followed Liverpool since I was born. We have season tickets, we don't miss games and, speaking as a fan, they've treated fans with total disrespect and what I'm so pleased with is that fans have shown you can't treat supporters like that — not a chance.

“The famous one now, they’ve said for a period of time supporters don't pay their money. Imagine playing in Anfield every week with no supporters in the stadium. They can have as much money as they want, but they won't have the love of the city.”

Photo: TWTD

iaintaylorx added 11:31 - Apr 23 Some weird comments here... I don't understand why people are not rating Cook? Does anyone honestly expect any manager to get the best out of this squad? On paper, it might look good, but they've had it SO easy in recent years and no one has done anything about it. In my opinion, Cook is definitely the man to take this club forward. He desperately needs a transfer window to add quality and players than will be perfect for him. Yes, the results haven't been what we all wanted but in all honesty, did we deep down think we were good enough? Keep PC and back him as much as possible!!

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TractorRoyNo1 added 11:35 - Apr 23 Whatever happened to "playing for a new contract"
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borge added 11:46 - Apr 23 TractorRoy, I think when you have three or four playing for a new contract you might expect an upturn. When you have 30 odd it can do nothing positive for morale or performances....
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Michael101 added 11:52 - Apr 23 Iantay!orx, add quality yes seemed some but would a player at a mid table championship club what to come to a league one club? Think it might be a harder job than we all think.
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Michael101 added 11:54 - Apr 23 We need some doh barn predictive text.😡
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positivity added 12:37 - Apr 23 what is his favourite film though? avoiding the key question!
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Bleu added 12:40 - Apr 23 fabulous man management skills....
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BtreeBlueBlood added 12:57 - Apr 23 Playing for a contract!! hahahah we have seen that and then the player gets a contract and goes missing after that. If they haven't performed in the last year why now.?
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rgp1 added 13:43 - Apr 23 The man is deluded. He walks into the dressing room and sprays the walls with bullets and wonders why he has dead bodies.
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NthQldITFC added 14:17 - Apr 23 I think Cook is taking exactly the right approach here. This season has been dead for a week or two, and now he's really shaking the players up to see who is up for a major reset over the summer, and whose attitude means they need to go, regardless of ability. He's starting to dig out the deep roots of the rotten core of the club, ready for us to rise Phoenix-like next season. Bang on.

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Drifter3012 added 14:49 - Apr 23 I am still on the fence re Cook, but even though I feel that his team selection & subs have been poor I think it is important to give him at least a few months into 21/22. The current squad have obviously given up and couldn't care less about the football club or their careers it would seem. Maybe Jackson , Sears & Co truly believe they will easily get contracts in the summer elsewhere. I am not convinced of that but I don't care, they can be someone else's problem. We have to let Cook build a team, and then see what happens. If the new owners let him do that, & that is still an "if" after what has happened recently, and then the team fail then he will definitely have more questions to answer. I would still like to see him make some team changes over the last 4 games and perhaps give the likes of Nydam & Dobra more time on the pitch & possibly opportunities for Gibbs, Baggott & Simpson.

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PositivelyPortman added 15:04 - Apr 23 I honestly think that Simpson would do a good job. He's a very powerful young lad and from a rugby background, so it's unlikely that he'd get pushed around.
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FromIpswichToPhoenix added 18:51 - Apr 23 The kicker comment for me here is "these are young men with families". Then act like it. Showing up for work and giving a half-assed performance does not show that you care too much for your family's stability. Almost every player in this team is fighting for a contract right now but you wouldn't believe it. They should be fighting for their families. Do they think they'll leave Town and waltz into another lucrative contract where they get out more than they put in? How many of them will walk back into Championship teams or even League 1? This is going to be a hefty pay cut for many of them. If I knew my job was on the line, you can bet your ass I'd be giving 200% every single day so my family didn't have to stress about food on the table.

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Suffolkboy added 19:30 - Apr 23 He's got an almighty task in front of him ,and doesn't seem to have made things any easier with a very lack lustre set of performances in his tenure so far . It was always going to be a case of reserving judgement knowing a complete reassessment of the squad would happen with many contracts coming to an end – but it's harder still to look on and form any well based conclusions about PC because of a rotten set of results to date ., Much to await, lots to ponder ,many many questions to be answered ! COYB

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bluesman added 23:14 - Apr 23 So far Cook has been a disaster zone and he basically says he that's what wants to be. These are weird times.
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