Boss Paul Cook has allayed any uncertainty there might have been about his position stating that he will be part of Ipswich Town’s future.

Cook himself appeared to suggest his job might potentially be in jeopardy following last week’s dreary 0-0 home draw with AFC Wimbledon when he said: “I think we’re soft, I think we lack character and we lack big players and I hope and I pray that I’m the one that can change that.”

He added: “The way my team’s playing at the minute I’ll be out of work again very soon.”

Asked about those comments and whether he envisages any scenario where he wouldn’t be in charge at Portman Road going into next season, Cook responded: “If you just go back, the way the team performed in the first half at Portman Road last Saturday would get any manager the sack.

“Let’s get my words clear. That team does not reflect me, the staff, the supporters in any shape or form.

“Going into the summer we’re very, very comfortable in the fact that I will be part of Ipswich Town’s future.”

The Blues’ new owners have spoken positively about Cook since they came in with chairman Mike O’Leary saying that he was their number one choice for the job.

Cook says that was good to hear, but knows the reality of life in his job and knows that change has to take place if he’s to stay in the Portman Road hotseat

“I’m a football manager, at the end of the day I know the rules of football, 100 per cent I know the rules of football,” he said.

“One of the sad things about football today is that we now judge people and managers on a game-to-game basis, and that’s the way the world’s gone. That’s football today.

“The reality for us going forward, managers know that if you’re not successful the reality is that the clamour for change comes very, very quickly.

“If you look back historically at my three clubs that I’ve been at, Chesterfield, Wigan and Portsmouth, I have managed to win three league titles at the three clubs. So the reality is I’ve had three jobs and I’ve been successful.

“If I was to carry on with the group of people I have here, I have no doubt they will get me sacked quite quickly.

“So the reality of my conversation is that I will not put up with that group of people and the changes will come very quickly. So if we could just clear that up.”

Quizzed on what he feels the atmosphere would be like at Portman Road were fans able to attend games, Cook said: “You can only speak so much about misery and I can only say so many miserable things. At the minute I don’t like us and we’re not very good.

“I watch other teams, I was at Crewe-Charlton the other night. Crewe were excellent, Crewe were better than Charlton on the night and sometimes what big clubs carry, they carry the name, and I’m not being disrespectful to Charlton by the way, please don’t take it like that, but you carry the name.

“And within carrying the name, you don’t have the personnel on the pitch can do the name of the club justice. That’s a perfect example of Ipswich today.

“We finished 11th last season, so we’ve been relegated, we’ve been 11th in League One and we’re probably in and around 10th or 11th in League One this season.

“My record as a manager [here] is not great, is nowhere near good enough. But the hope that I carry is the fact that I know what I want, I knew what I wanted in the past, I get people in that I want to get in and I get the calibre of player in and character of player. Something that we lack at this club, we lack character, 100 per cent we lack it.

“So I can only speak so much about negative stuff. You’ve got me back to being negative, so we’re all happy with the interview, aren’t we?”

Photo: Matchday Images

bobbyramsey added 11:10 - Apr 29 And there you go, that told 'em!
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Bluearmy_81 added 11:10 - Apr 29 Good. With a fresh, decent, quality, committed squad that isn't haunted by years of malaise and failure he will do very well for ITFC
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Pencilpete added 11:22 - Apr 29 This is the very point i make to people who say Cook is part of the problem. Cook has won leagues at 3 other clubs so he clearly wasn't part of the problem at those clubs whereas these players played badly for Hurst, badly for Lambert and now badly for Cook ..... i don't think we need to bring in Colombo to see the common denominator The reality is Cook has come in with high standards, seen the players arn't upto it, challenged them to step up and show what they can do and as a group over a period of 10-12 games under him have shown that they are simply incapable of doing it so hes told them they are out on their ears in the summer.

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brazil1982 added 11:25 - Apr 29 Hints that he will get the funds too.
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Suffolkboy added 11:25 - Apr 29 Savvy , but can't or won't admit why HE has been unable to produce AT ALL at ITFC : why has he not been able to coax , encourage , man manage and introduce any system of playing pattern to overcome,to any extent, the lack of goals ? His actual record is touching dismal , and he has thus far ,without naming names, dealt in the generalities WE can all discern AND laid the blame & cause squarely on the shoulders of the players. They are , or are supposed to be at his ‘command ‘ – whatever we may hope for the EVIDENCE is palpably thin ! Verdict ? Skating on thin ice ! Come on Paul C , make actions speak louder than words ,PLEASE , it's unconvincing so far !Past glories count for absolutely nothing . COYB

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BcarefulwhatUWish4 added 11:26 - Apr 29 Good. Onwards and upwards.
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Texaco73 added 11:33 - Apr 29 My patience is in short supply. We have witnessed the demise of the standards throughout the club and a string of managers who have failed to motivate and move the club forward. I'm not giving any leeway. 'Giving time to build' or 'players to gel' is utter nonsense and a way of excusing underperformance. They should be professional players with desire, ability to adjust and work at their best off the bat, keep themselves fit and be focused on winning. I'm done with waiting and being patient to see the club rise again. Get players in, they perform or they are out. Same for Cook. There are no room for passengers.

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KernewekBlue added 12:14 - Apr 29 I, too, can see that Paul Cook has had little effect on turning the tide of abysmal results on the field. In fact, the results, with the current playing staff at his disposal, have been decidedly abject at best... worse than Paul Lambert managed. It is important to note though, this is not his team, not his choice of player. He can see with half an eye what we all already know. This is a very, VERY poor team that he has inherited, the same dismal characters with no guts and no clue, that have trotted through games and merely gone through the motions for several seasons now. This current squad has proven, time and again, that they're not up to it. Pencilpete hit the nail on the head in his comment above. The players we have at the moment have failed to perform for years now, under different managers who enjoyed successful spells elsewhere. These so-called players and the clueless former owner are the ones who should shoulder the bulk of the blame for our slow death in recent times. Evans has now, thankfully, retired back into the shadows, where he can have no real input on how the club gets run going forward. That's one piece of the jigsaw that needed to be put in place before any success could be achieved. The other, most important piece, will be transfers in and out of the club this summer. Suffolkboy, Texaco73 and others who are losing patience with Paul Cook already, are quite rightly entitled to their views and I respect that but, I think we need not judge the man on a few games, at the end of what has been another awful season of failure, with apathetic players who have shown they have no fight in them whatsoever, no desire to win or perform for the shirt and who deserve to never represent this club again. Let's judge Paul Cook on what he does with his own team, starting with a clean slate next season and with a little bit of optimism that he has an opportunity to get us firing with the right system and the right people filling the right spaces. I can't wait until this season is done and look forward to seeing the rebuilding process of this once great club spring into action. Onwards and upwards! COYB

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Kickingblock added 12:39 - Apr 29 KernewekBlue: Going through the motions? I'd happily pay ifollow a tenner to see the squad treading water down the local sewage works!
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JewellintheTown added 13:05 - Apr 29 Agree with Cook. Can't polish a turd. Turds need flushing. Hopefully then we can see what's left are worth keeping.
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Marinersnose added 13:54 - Apr 29 The fans could name those players who have been responsible for the demise of Ipswich Town over the past four seasons. Players earning too much money and who are comfortable getting what they want. No winning mentality and no desire for promotion as they are comfortable. An ex town star said exactly that to me that Ipswich is a lovely club with no nasty players. I'm of t(e opinion that good players get pretty nasty when they're not winning football matches. I think many will be looking for other jobs as professional clubs won't be interested in such dross. Give Cook a chance to bring in his tea and get rid of Hurst Lambert and McCarthys men and see where we go. I thought Crewe were one of the best teams to visit PR this season so reading between the lines Cook May well look there for some recruits

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PortmanTerrorist added 11:44 - Apr 30 Genuinely think PC was a good appointment for ME, but for our new owners....not so sure. His black book is full of League 1 & 2 players not Championship and higher. His demeanor is at odds with the calm, professional demeanor, esp in the media, of the Managers the owners have employed in their other football ventures. The owners can insist all the like about how they wanted PC but I firmly believe that if we are not at the top from the get-go next season, then expect a change of manager....maybe sooner if new recruits do not gel and there is discord pre-season after all the vitriol he has thrown at the current group of whom at least half will still be around.

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