Town boss Paul Cook said his team will need a little bit of time to gel following their 2-1 defeat at Cheltenham.

Reflecting on the result the Blues manager said: “It’s just so disappointing, isn’t it? I think for our supporters, who travelled in great numbers again.

“I would suggest we started the game really well, we looked a really dangerous side and unfortunately we end up defending our 18-yard box for too many throw-ins.

“Two bounces of the ball go against us, one for Macauley [Bonne] to put us 2-0 up, the other a bit of a disappointing goal, if you like.

“Then all of a sudden we’re back on the end of another two goals against. I think, as you know, all good teams are built on solidity and unfortunately for us at the minute, we’re not as solid as we’d like to be, and that’s for sure.”

Is that going to take time? “I understand everyone’s questions, I’ve been around football all my life, I understand the fans’ expectancy, everyone’s expectancy.

“We’ve had Tom Carroll making his debut, we’ve had big [Cameron] Burgess making his debut, we’ve Hayden Coulson on the bench for the first time, we’ve got lads injured, we’re not making excuses.

“The reality is we need a little bit of time to gel, a little bit of time to get everyone together, but we also should be doing better than we are with the players that we have available. There’s a little bit of both tinged in there.”

Does he see signs that the first win of the season is coming? “I think we’ve played three games, haven’t we? When Macauley chips it over the lad’s head and he’s in on goal with no goalie at 1-0 up, I think even you might think it’s coming!

“As a manager, I try to be as calm as I can because it’s easy after the game, especially the way football is, we’re Ipswich Town, everyone will go the extra yard to beat us, I get that.

“For our lads now, the last thing we need is me shouting and screaming at them because I feel pressure. I don’t feel pressure. I feel pressure to get the team to perform to the ability that I can, I feel pressure then to get the players on the pitch that we’ve signed, the Chaplins, the Edmundsons and the like, Coulsons.

“We’ve got a lot of good players who haven’t even played yet. The reality is we’re searching for that first win, I get that. Hopefully it can come on Saturday.”

Asked what he says to fans who might be getting a little bit edgy, he said: “I get it, I 100 per cent get it for Ipswich Town fans.

“I think when, as a manager, and again everyone will always have their opinions, and I respect everyone’s opinions, when you have the changes at the club that we’ve had, if people think we’re just going to get up and running and everyone will click, Cameron Burgess has only just met Woolfy. We’re asking them to then go and play together.

“Vaz [Vaclav Hladky] has never met Burgess and we’re asking them to then go and play against a team that put you under pressure, so a little bit of sanity must prevail, whilst we’re very, very disappointed, of course we are.”

Cook had praise for Kyle Edwards, who was hugely impressive in the first half and felt the former West Brom man wasn’t given the ball enough after the break.

“Outstanding. He’s going to be a fantastic player for the club, I think you can see why we courted him for so long,” he said.

“Great credit to our owners again for pursuing such a quality player. And again, it’s integrating him quickly.

“We’ve got to get him the ball, I think it’s quite clear for everyone in the stadium to see the quality the lad possesses, and for some reason we stopped getting him the ball.

“As I say, I don’t understand that, but it’s something that we’ll go back and we’ll analyse and look at.”

Cook was also pleased with Burgess’s debut, the centre-half having signed from Accrington Stanley on Sunday.

“I thought he was outstanding,” he said. “Again, you’re talking about lads who travelled on the bus yesterday, they haven’t even been in the building.

“We’ve got to just be careful that we’ve put such a good squad together, which is given, the reality, we expect to win every game.

“We’ve also got to factor in how hard the opposition want to beat us. Tonight probably 1100, 1200 Ipswich Town fans travelled, all after work, fantastic support and it makes a cup-tie atmosphere. We’ve got to build our lads to be resilient to see these games out.”

Quizzed on whether the signing of Tom Carroll, the Blues’ 16th of the summer, will be the end of his recruitment drive, he responded: “Again, you never know, you never know in football. We’ll just see what it brings.

“You’ve got to have a little bit of manners when you get beat, and I always try to. I’m deeply hurt as you can imagine, especially after being 1-0 up and it’s looking good. Unfortunately, it hasn’t gone our way, and as I say we just keep working hard.”

Is he happy to go into the season with the squad as it is? “You know yourself, it’s football, it’s a long season, you need all your players fit and available.

“The reality for us is that we’ve had a massive overhaul in players, we’ve got a few injuries. They’re not excuses, they’re just statements of fact, they’re not excuses to why we haven’t won tonight or we haven’t won at Burton.

“The big moments are not going our way at the minute and we must make them go our way.”

Currently sidelined are Toto Nsiala, James Norwood, Conor Chaplin (all hamstring), Sone Aluko and Will Burns. Asked whether any of those are serious long-term issues, Cook said: “No, no, no. The injuries aren’t an excuse for the performance tonight.

“I thought our performance at times was OK. And you guys watch it. Sometimes we have a lot of possession without any penetration and unfortunately when teams sit low against you and counter-attack, it’s a lot more difficult than people think.

“We gave a goal away against Morecambe, against Burton, where people have not really been in the ascendancy in the game but they’ve scored.

“Tonight after 60 minutes, we looked very comfortable in the game and we end up losing 2-1. That’s the learning curve.”

Cheltenham manager Michael Duff was pleased with his side's performance and victory over one of the division's bigger clubs.

“It's just a win, but a good win against a big team obviously,” he told Gloucestershire Live. “The second part of the first half and in the second half we were excellent.

“We were more aggressive and got on the front foot. We asked the back three to be a little bit braver and the wing-backs to go really narrow because they caused us problems in the first 20 minutes with their shape, a sort of box in the middle of the pitch and we couldn't quite seem to land on it.

“Ultimately, the performances, the desire, the togetherness, we had to ride our luck - their chance at 1-0 is probably a big one in the game now, looking at that.

“We looked a threat and it was a really good performance. Hopefully the supporters will see that and they came along with it as well. Hopefully we'll have a few more of those days.”

Photo: TWTD

Linkboy13 added 07:41 - Aug 18 Yes i know we need time to gel. What i dont get is the lack of motivation when someone puts on a Town shirt this has got nothing to do with gelling and has been going on for years at Ipswich. Teams like Man city, Liverpool and Chelsea don't win trophies without working very hard. Until we start working hard for each other we are not going to gel as a team.
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DifferentGravy added 07:47 - Aug 18 Thought Edwards and Burgess played very well. Woolfy was better, Pigott has a nice touch and Bonne worked his socks off. We were quite comfortable in the first half. Marcus Stewart mentioned about going up the hill in the second half....and we looked like it. A distinct lack of width that caused us to continually go backwards. A lack of crosses and a lack of chances created. Cheltenham didnt created much at all but undone us with the long throw. The first goal we switched off completely. Throughout the second half we did not play high tempo or close down at all and their full backs and wide men had ample time. If you play 2 up top and a luxury player in behind then you cant expect the other 3 midfielders to cover all the remaining ground. If you play with two up top then dont just keep banging it over the top (second half), try playing to feet, one -twos. If you play a luxury player....whom has had an excellent first half......give him the ball to feet! Plan B required

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Nobbysnuts added 07:47 - Aug 18 Jesus christ he actually said it again.......muppet....
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Telford_Blue added 07:48 - Aug 18 Having watched the match. What I don't get is how when you have Evans, edwards, Fraser, Harper in midfield. All who can play, is that in the second half it was : pass the ball along the back line, regular use of the keeper, keep doing this until they pressured us then lump it down a channel, nearly always by passing these and hoping that piggot and bonne will win the header which they seldom did and then there was no one from the midfield picking up the defensive header or if our two did win it, the knock down. We would not have scores in the second half had we been there now. We never matched Cheltenham in the middle of the park and whilst we were pretty at the back we invited the pressure. Having said that the home fans were silent until they scored. Not a murmur. It was so bizarre. It also looked as if Cheltenham were absolutely prepared to ‘rough us up' a bit, take the booking and then rotate so a different player was on rough up duty We must know that teams are going to scrap and make life uncomfortable. The substitutions also baffled me except Carrol who looked like he wanted the ball but only got 5 mins. Jackson and Barry when we are lumping it forward??? Piggot and Bonne didn't win it so those two have no chance. I like Paul cook I think he's honest and he will get it right but even three games in it isn't Sunderland Portsmouth and Wycombe we have lost to. It's Burton and Cheltenham. Two fine clubs but neither with close to our history size or fan base.

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Dissboyitfc added 07:49 - Aug 18 Does calling for Cook's head really help the situation after just 3 games? Of course it doesnt! I was as disappointed as anyone and i didnt want to post straight after the game as i was upset and would comment with the wrong emotions flowing. For me and i said this at the tail end of last season, the time to judge is after 10 games, some have judged after the first and it seems are loving the i told you so mentality they can continue to apply to our poor start1 Negativity never contributes to positive outcomes, never has done and never will! Whilst i share the pain of the last 20 years ( now off to Norwich BTW) i will be supporting the manager and the team whislt expecting much better results. which will come and if they dont Cook will go.

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martin587 added 08:03 - Aug 18 Look I was at the game last night and yes we did play very well in patches.The signs of a really good side are there to be seen and it will take time.We just have to all be patient remember”Rome wasn't built in a day”.Mistakes are being made due to a lack of understanding.For those who criticize I say please be patient as we all want one thing.Give them time remember this is a marathon with 43 games to play and a lot of points to be won.Heads up lads it will soon be Saturday.😊😊

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braveblue added 08:07 - Aug 18 We need to have patience. Only three games in. Show some support.
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bedsitfc added 08:11 - Aug 18 Last season's squad wasn't bad BUT we did need additions. We had technically good players but needed workers around them to balance the team. We now have got rid of all of them and replaced with workers so now we need some technical players to give balance.
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Bazza8564 added 08:16 - Aug 18 Didnt turn up second half and got out fought. I dont doubt it will come but the two home games coming up have become very very imortant
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Blue_In_Boston added 08:28 - Aug 18 Morecambe, Burton Albion & now Cheltenham Town - seen my local non-league side Boston United beat them all. Never thought there would be a day when Ipswich played them in the league, never mind be unable to beat them. Living in a constant football nightmare - someone please make it stop.
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ringwoodblue added 08:28 - Aug 18 I know it's early days but we have brought in players with very good credentials and stats and as soon as they start playing for Ipswich, all those positives seem to go out of the window. - Hladky - 22 clean sheets for Salford last season (none this season so far) - Pigott - 20 goals for Wimbledon last season (none this season so far) - Fraser - Best No 10 in League 1 last season (not being played in the no 10 position by Cook) It is Cook's job to get the best out of his players but old team and new, he can't seem to achieve it. We now have some very good players and I think it will come good eventually but I'm not sure if Cook will be our manager when it does.

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BangaloreBlues added 08:30 - Aug 18 From a manager's perspective, England was always "the impossible job". Now Gareth's nailed that one, I think it's ITFC! :-)
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Blue_In_Boston added 08:31 - Aug 18 Lots of talk about players with good credentials, talent, potential. We get beat week in week out by teams who just have more desire. Simply not good enough. If they don't have the heart or fight in this league not a chance of us getting out of it.
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IpswichToon added 08:48 - Aug 18 Blackpool started last season with 4 points in 8 games. Yet they finished as the strongest team in the league. At the end of the day, if we're going to be losing games, at least we're not giving those points away to the clubs that we'll likely be fighting at the top end of the table. 3 games in. No need to panic yet.
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Gr33ngr455 added 08:51 - Aug 18 He needs to sort out the defence as they leak too many goals. Last season we may not have scored many but at least we had clean sheets.... Also playing with one up front does not work. He needs to play with two up front and play players in their correct position. We are playing teams we should beat when we play the better team they will destroy us. He needs to stop making excuses and sort it out ASAP.

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Fat_Boy_Tim added 08:52 - Aug 18 If you want originality then read some books but if you want to hear from the manager after a few similar matches the of course he's going to say similar things. The team do need time to gel (why would it not?) when was the last time you saw 16 new, 1st team signings? Several of the signings haven't had a chance to train with each other yet and we are still in the Saturday/Tuesday cycle so training days will be limited. The squad is good now, the performances have been promising and so much more exciting than last season. If PC was into making excuses (which I don't think he is, he's just saying why things happen) he could have pointed out that the penalty that was saved against Burton should have been taken again because the Burton players were were almost level with him when he hit it and then they defended the rebound. He could also have pointed out that the Ref yesterday allowed Cheltenham to to make a huge performance out of every throw-in. Giving them time to bring all of the defenders up, wander over to pick up his red towel, dry the ball for 20 seconds, then stand 15 yards away from where the ball went out before throwing it. I've still got a lot of patience to give and have no expectations for the next month at least. I think most Ipswich fans feel the same way but of course there are some people who shout and rant. That's fine but if they are fans then they know that if we lose the next three and then start winning regularly they will start to believe and get behind the manager.

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OldTractor added 08:55 - Aug 18 If we knew beforehand we were going to get bombarded by long throw ins from Tozer ( 7 goals assists last season) then why didn't we play Holy who is head and shoulders above everyone else and could simply catch the ball or at least punch it away - and secondly why did we not put one of our players to stand very near to the touch line and jump when Tozer threw the ball in - to put him off a bit and get in his face ? Basics to me.

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Billysherlockblue added 09:04 - Aug 18 Mr cook. I like what yee are doing with the clib. But we did not play Cheltenham well system wise. Subs and type of system got worse. Jackson against their center halves. For goodness sake. Get an assistant manger asap for 2nd opinion and system changes. Super blues forever 💙
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Drifter3012 added 09:22 - Aug 18 Too angry to comment last night. To be beaten by Cheltenham is simply embarrassing. Cook is right in saying some of these players need time with each other, that is clear but still the quality of the players we have should be able to create more chances. I have calmed down now and looking at the bigger picture I still hope we can start putting together some wins soon. However back in May I said I would give Cook 10 games into the new season. We are 4 in now. If things don't change soon, I will be seriously questioning his ability as others are already.

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fifeblue added 09:28 - Aug 18 Mr Cook, the "The Reality is " that you totally mismanaged the team in this match. Ipswich were on top in the first half and should have been 3-0 up (the Bonne miss and Pigott's inability to shoot with his left foot). It was obvious what the Cheltenham coach said at half-time - mark Edwards out of the game and get plenty of balls into the Ipswich box. But you did nothing to counter that. It should have been obvious what Cheltenham would do. Thye probably played as well as they could but their plan worked and sadly, you did not have a plan to counteract what was staring everyone in the ground in the face. You may have "been around football for a long time" but so have many of the fans and, frankly, it is inexcusable that you were unable to see plainly what was happening immediately the second half began. Well played Cheltenham and well done to the amazing body of Ipswich fans who made the long trip to support the team. They deserve better. Much better. It is SIMPLY NOT GOOD ENOUGH, Mr Cook.

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Billysherlockblue added 09:36 - Aug 18 Id like to add one more point. Im not judging mr cook on last seasons results because our players were not good enough and downed tools. Im not happy with him with his use of subs and system changes. I think he needs a no 2 to discuss with. Mr cook deserves more time but his decisions and system and the way we set up last night was not good enough in my opinion especially after 1st 20 mins. He is a good manager and person but needs a bit of help. So come on guys work hard for EACH OTHER and sort out the silly mistakes and stop going backwards towards our own goal . Super blues forever 💙

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DavoIPB added 09:58 - Aug 18 If you all actually listen to the interview Paul Cook was very honest. He said it wasn't good enough, he acknowledged we didn't get the ball to Edwards enough in the second half. He acknowledged that we needed to be more solid in defence and score more goals and he acknowledged that, that was down to him as a manager. Can't be fairer than that!
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ChrisFelix added 10:29 - Aug 18 I'm as disappointed as anyone. But looking back to to arguably our most successful season ever, 60 years ago we started with a home draw & 2 away defeats.
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SickParrot added 10:54 - Aug 18 With so many new players it will take time for them to knit together as a team but PC should be able to identify problems and give corrective instructions during games. If he is unable to do that perhaps it was unwise to sign so many players in one window? One point from 3 games against unfancied teams is a very bad start given that the owners are targetting promotion this season. We need to gel soon or the clubs at the top will get too far ahead to catch.

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TimmyH added 11:34 - Aug 18 Defence needs to be a lot better...for Championship/Premiership sides those Jonas Knudsen long throws should be bread and butter for central defenders to head clear. Positives like the look of Harper and Edwards in particular...I fancy you'll see Cook do some rotations in his starting 11 in the coming weeks until he finds his desired starters. What's happened to Norwood? he should be ahead of the terrible Jackson in the pecking order.

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