Town boss Paul Cook admitted the Blues’ 2-1 defeat at Burton was disappointing as he felt his team had gained control of the game having dealt with the Brewers’ threat at the point that the penalty, which Lucas Akins converted, was conceded.

Asked what he made of the game, Town's first ever defeat to Burton, Cook said: “Just disappointing, isn’t it? We were just at a stage of the game, with the greatest respect to Burton, who were probably excellent at times in the first half, where we’d managed their threat, the threat was there no more.

“We’d moved up to the halfway line with the ball, our centre-halves were high up the pitch, we were dominating the game in terms of getting our flair players to open them up and get that winner.

“And [we made] individual mistakes, which we’re making, there’s no problem with that, we can’t keep making them.

“I’ll never blame penalty misses me, it’s football. But when Scotty [Fraser]’s putting the ball down it’s looking a great day for Ipswich and unfortunately we end up on the back end of a defeat and I don’t think we deserved it.”

When it was put to him it was a case of fine margins, he agreed: “It’s all it is. You saw Kyle Edwards coming off the bench what a good player he’s going to be for the club.

“You’ve got to stay with the positives. [George] Edmundson’s in the building, a centre-half, [Hayden] Coulson’s in the building, Chaplin has a little niggle, there are so many positives.

“We’re all down today. I thought our travelling support was terrific, great credit to them, they turned up in great numbers. It was a lovely day.

“Good luck to Burton, they’re a tough team to play against, they put you under pressure at all times, but we should have left with something today, that’s for sure.”

He says that his team should have looked to get the ball out of play in the build-up to the penalty.

“It’s football. What you can’t do, you can never kid supporters,” he continued. “If you’re a manager or a coach and you’re telling everyone the world’s going to be alright and they’re watching the world not be alright, you’re a bit delusional.

“Today we were at a point in the game where we couldn’t lose it. We were in control of the match. We’d managed their best spells, there’s no doubt about that and then little mistakes in possession where we get a little bit loose, we get a bit casual, we’re not set and all of sudden they counter-attack, it’s a penalty and we’re all out of position. That can’t happen and won’t happen.”

He says those mistakes will be ironed out as the team develops: “One hundred per cent. Even last week against Morecambe, we couldn’t lost the game at the point we gave the goal away.

“Today was the same, we’ve lost a game and drew a game, but with all due respect to Morecambe, we should have drawn both of them, Morecambe 1-1 or we win 2-1, today should have been 1-1.

“We’re in possession of the ball, if you stop the clip when we’ve got it, they have no one in our half and they score, by a misplaced pass. And we work hard on them in training. Those passes are simple. The decisions where we play and what the lads should be doing in possession.

“What happens sometimes, not when the game gets easy, that would be disrespectful to Burton, but we were high up the pitch, retaining possession and we’ve got to make sure we do it better.”

He added: “We just keep going, we’ve got such a long season, the highs and lows. We know we’ve got sustain winning football to win games. I’ve got every confidence that we’ll do that.

“I know what’s in the dressing room, I know what’s in the building, I know what the fitness levels have been.

“If you look at the goals we’ve conceded, especially the second ones, they’re both headers when we’ve got the ball, that has to stop.”

Cook took positives in particular from the way his team dealt with Burton in the first half: “We did well. Physically, our back four wasn’t the strongest today but we did well. They managed the moments in the game.

“We’re really disappointed with the goals, we’re disappointed that we haven’t scored more because we felt that on a lovely pitch that we would get chances. And we’ve just got to keep working away at it.”

Regarding the missed penalty, he added: “Scotty Fraser, I don’t think he missed one for the MK Dons, did he? No one misses deliberately. Like I said, just lick my wounds as a manager, compliments to our supporters, they travelled in great numbers, it was great to see.

“I think everyone would probably say that we did show some glimpses of what we’re hopefully be about, but we know what to get up and running quickly.”

Cook cited Kyle Edwards’s display from the bench as another positive: “As we keep signing players, we’ve had to put a new squad together. We’re really disappointed to travel home with no points because being a manager I’ve been around, I know that even if we draw today we’re two unbeaten. Everyone will write different scripts, that’s football, and it doesn’t bother me, I’ve been in it too long to know.

“You just keep picking your points up as you go along and you’ll be OK. For us it was really disappointing, we should have been shaking hands at 1-1 and saying ‘Wasn’t it a fair result’.”

Regarding Louie Barry’s league debut, he said: “He’s just a young boy who’s got a bright future. It’s a tough place to come. He’s been given his debut today, Macauley Bonne’s played a couple of games now. We’re finding out the best permutations, who’ll play as a 10, who’ll play as a nine.

“We have got good options. Chaplin’s injured, which is a blow, Norwood’s injured, Wes Burns is injured, Sone Aluko’s injured, so we have got a few little niggles. The reality is we’ll just keep working away.”

Asked whether any of them have a chance of being involved at Cheltenham, he said: “I’m miserable tonight, as you can imagine, so we’ll just stay miserable for a bit before we look to Tuesday.”

Quizzed on whether Town are, as reported, set to sign Cameron Burgess from Accrington, Cook was keeping his cards close to his chest: “I don’t know anything about that at the minute. What did Arsene Wenger say? I didn’t see it!”

Is the centre-half a player he likes? “I’m not going to discuss that, we are strengthening. I’m not being disrespectful to any other clubs about potential signings, we’ll just keep doing our business as well as we can.”

Photo: TWTD

Wooly74 added 19:51 - Aug 14 Mib probably not as I didn't see an improvement 🤦‍♂️
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UhlenbeekDownTheWing added 19:57 - Aug 14 I think I have a different definition to ‘chance' than most. We create hardly any chances - we get the ball into promising areas, sometimes we have good delivery, but a chance is a player having a clear line of sight of goal, from inside the area, between the width of the posts, under limited pressure. A chance is not the ball dropping on the half volley 20 yards out with two players within 3 yards charging at you, or a cross that you can compete for against 2 CBS both of whom are taller than you. I really don't think we create many chances. And this shows up in the ‘shots on target' stat.

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Bluetoons added 20:23 - Aug 14 Give them time! It's new owners new manager and a new team.We still have places in the team to fill. If you look at the past two seasons, when Ipswich were top, ar the beginning the ones who won the league, were in the middle to begin with. Needs time for the team to gell! Be positive!
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Phil1969 added 20:27 - Aug 14 I like Mr Cook but increasingly I don't believe he knows what he is doing. We managed their threat????? Burton - we haven't ever lost to them, the only good thing coming out of Burton is Burton Ale ffs. Get a grip if as you have quoted we need 85 points plus to get automatic promotion then a couple of more losses to these type of teams and it's good night Irene when Sheffield Wed Sunderland Portsmouth Lincoln Wycombe Rotherham Charlton come along. I suspect a few burly Arizona police and fireman will carry you off never to be seen again!

4

dirtydingusmagee added 20:42 - Aug 14 new owners [thumbs up] new players,thumbs up , new manager plenty of talk , no change in results, same old [thumbs down] sorry Paul ,heard it before ,for years, sorry give us sign by way of a result ! or are you just another Paul ? every time its ''oh give him time,'' HOW LONG ? havnt seen anything at all by way results, friendlies cup or league, we have done NOTHING on the pitch since PC was appointed, OK ill get marked down by the '' real fans '' but give us a clue Paul when are you going to make a difference, havnt seen anything yet since you arrived , [just saying ]

7

64Towmman added 20:57 - Aug 14 Sack Cook and please get a decent manager in a.s.a.p before it gets worse
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markchips added 21:20 - Aug 14 Cook needs to play a settled side ASAP. Get Edmundsen ? Burgess and Coulson in and tell them they are first choice. The more I look at it The more I think all the old players need to go this window as are either permanently injured or useless on the pitch
0

Taricco_Fan added 21:36 - Aug 14 "Cook outers" after three games and a massive squad overhaul? Jesus, some of our 'fans' are beyond stupid.
4

Eddie1985 added 22:51 - Aug 14 Increasingly wondering whether his previous success was down to the combination of him and Richardson as assistant. I mean his previous record seems good but he's been poor for us rembering he had plenty if games last season and whatever anybody says it was not impossible to get a tune out of those players we were in touch with the playoffs when he took over. If it's still like this after 10 games the situation needs looking at seriously

5

bobble added 23:03 - Aug 14 alls thats missing is the bit about how he has played for massive clubs in germany
3

bluesman added 23:13 - Aug 14 Why do we have to read every word the manager utters? They must get so fed up with it…
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NITFC added 23:33 - Aug 14 The pressure is certainly on already. Last year he publicly criticized all of the players and told them all to go. Then bought loads of new ones. So its important to prove that they are better than we had before Time will tell but if we don't win the next couple of matches we could be more than 10 points adrift and, whoever you are, it will mean playing really well for a lot of games to catch that up

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Westy added 23:35 - Aug 14 If we had dealt with their threat why were Burton attacking in our box ?
1

peaky69 added 01:14 - Aug 15 Cook may not want to criticise players but I will. Lee Evans needs to lift his game. Been involved in both early goals we gave away. Woolfenden is not up to it. Too slow on the ball and passing over rated.
1

istanblue added 01:50 - Aug 15 First EVER defeat to the mighty Burton Albion. Paul Cook and co. literally breaking records out here.
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shakytown added 06:48 - Aug 15 Same rubbish. Different manager, different team, same mistakes and same awful result.
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telpajak added 07:27 - Aug 15 Don't know what game pc was watching! I thought we were dismal! Reminded me of MM days of hit up field and hope. Yes understand time to gel but don't paper over the massive cracks!
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herfie added 09:29 - Aug 15 But they managed our threat better, and won. Yes, there are signs of improvement; but errors in concentration, leadership and on field judgements are costing us in games of fine margins. And there's the challenge - to have any realistic chance of promotion, we have to become good enough to avoid becoming victims of ‘fine margin' games. A challenge - notwithstanding money, new players, management etc - that remains exactly that - a huge task. And time is no friend!

2

ringwoodblue added 09:39 - Aug 15 markchips - I agree but due to our awful injury record Cook won't be able to play a settled team so we need players of equal quality to cover these injuries. 5 inuries have been sustained in three games. That's really worrying. Why is Cook playing Fraser out of his preferred no.10 position when we have suitable wide players available now?
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KernewekBlue added 09:48 - Aug 15 Three games into a new season... THREE GAMES... and the moaning monkeys are already clambering over each other to be the first one on someone's back! Give it a bleeding rest you lot! Do you think your negative comments will help our club succeed in the next fixture? Are you trying to help bolster our NEW team's confidence for the games ahead? Honestly, I don't think there's another club in the country that has to put up with the moaning and groaning I read on here, no matter what the storyline is. TWTD may need to change it's name to The Manic Depressive Club. If, at the end of the season, there has been a dramatic slump in our fortunes, we've played worse and less entertaining football than we did under Evans' tenure, created less chances, had less shots on target, scored less goals and we get relegated to League Two, then I'll agree with you. Until such time, let the club do it's work, support the process and see what transpires. As has been said many, many times, a total rebuild of the club will take time and effort and WON'T be a quick fix... it'll take time and patience but keep the faith and it will happen. Three games in and we get to read all this negative drivel? Get a grip!!!

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Bert added 10:11 - Aug 15 Why do all Ipswich managers talk at length with constant repetition ? Do they not get media training ? Cook seems an honest likeable guy but in my book, less talk is best because more talk and flannel simply feeds the negativity.
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muhrensleftfoot added 10:32 - Aug 15 I understand the negativity on here. There's been nothing to cheer about on the pitch for years. Not a great start to the season, but I'll reserve my judgment on Cook until Xmas at least.
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IpswichT62OldBoy added 11:01 - Aug 15 We were in a dreadful state, and getting worse. There have been massive changes, which were needed, and consequently we have real grounds for optimism for the first time I'm years. Let's decide at the end of the season.
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Pilgrimblue added 13:16 - Aug 15 Can't help thinking that we (or rather ME) missed a trick in failing to sign Warburton. It would have avoided all the pain of 3 Pauls Still we are where we are so for Club's sake hope Cook is the right guy but not convinced.
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