Please log in or register. Registered visitors get fewer ads.
Burns: Supporters Need to Stick With Us
Thursday, 16th Sep 2021 11:09

Wes Burns has urged Town fans to stick behind the team and ease the pressure on boss Paul Cook that has steadily grown following the team’s failure to win any of their opening eight league and cup games this season.

Asked about the fact that some supporters are already calling for Cook’s dismissal, Burns said: “I think it’s very unfair at this stage. I know a lot of them are asking how long it should take for a team to gel but how long is a piece of string?

“He’s got a lot of ideas on how he wants us to play and there’s only so much you can teach during the week in which you are preparing for a game.

“There’s only so much you can do each day in training without burning the players out and frazzling minds with too much information. I would say the supporters need to stick with us and I believe times will change.

“The gelling process is still in the making and with the calibre of player we have here it is probably one of the best squads that I’ve ever been a part of and I think it’s probably one of the best squads that League One has ever seen. We’ve got to make sure the fans stick with us and don’t turn on us too quickly.”

Burns is of the view that once midfielder Samy Morsy has served the remaining two games of the three-game ban he incurred with former club Middlesbrough, and Dijon loanee Bersant Celina has reached peak fitness, Town will carry greater attacking threat and be more sound defensively.

He has witnessed their impact in training and added: “Samy has that leadership vibe about him and we saw it straight away. He literally trains exactly how he plays and it can rub some people up the wrong way with his challenges and the way he can kick people. But that’s just how he is and that’s what he has been brought in to do.

“I don’t care if he trains like that and I don’t even care if he kicks me because I know he’ll do exactly the same to the opposition on a Saturday when he is ready to play after his suspension. He comes from a place where he is so eager to push this team forward.

“I have no doubt that when Samy is allowed to come into the squad and he’s fully fit he will have a lot to offer — and it’s the same with Celina as well.

“I don’t think I’ve seen Bersant give the ball away in training since he’s been here and he’s going to add so much more in terms of firepower to the front line when he is in the side.”

Burns is delighted to be an Ipswich Town player and to have been reunited with the club’s new chief executive, Mark Ashton, who has been at the forefront of the massive rebuilding exercise since he started his role at the beginning of June.

Burns said: “I worked before with Mark at Oxford, when I was on loan there, and going further back to when I was a permanent signing at Bristol City.

“What he built at Bristol City is quite evident for everybody to see — the stadium, the new training ground and the amount of players, plus the calibre of players, who were coming in.

“With speaking to my family and my agent we knew the sort of project that the manager and Mark were proposing right from the start.

“It wasn’t smoke without fire and was definitely going to happen. They were very clear from day one that they were going to bring in an entirely new squad of players, upwards of 15 of them. I never believed it wouldn’t happen and saw it as a case of just waiting for the players to be signed.”

Finally, Burns admitted he still harbours hope of playing for Wales in next year’s World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Qatar in December. “Playing international football is definitely something in the back of my mind,” he said.

“If I am playing well and the team is doing well it can only help. Lee Evans is here as well and he will also be pushing for a spot.

“If we turn this start round and go on to win promotion, meaning we will be playing in the Championship next season, and there’s the World Cup coming up next year, it would be a massive achievement for me and I think I speak for Lee as well.

“If we can build a case for getting into the World Cup squad, that would be the ultimate, the cherry on the cake if you like.”


Photo: Matchday Images



Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.



legoman added 11:17 - Sep 16
Fantastic!
0

raycrawfordswig added 11:24 - Sep 16
Cook is putting pressure on himself
1

Suffolkboy added 11:26 - Sep 16
Biggest word ,and the most important here is ‘IF' ! – he hits the nail on the head realising growing impatience and dissatisfaction with everything ITFC on the pitch and seemingly endless repetitions by PC ,now pleading for yet more understanding !
Time is nearly up , we've seen no product yet ,and I don't understand the apparent difficulty in getting new ideas into the heads of trained and experienced professional footballers – unless they're not accustomed to using intelligence ?
COYB
1

Monkey_Blue added 11:29 - Sep 16
“Player in backing manager under pressure shocker” you could do a mash up of all such interviews
And not tell the difference. Perhaps we should read recent forest player interviews? Saved them from relegation mainly with someone else's squad and has had a similar start to this season as us yet CH is out the door and no one is shocked.
It's as much as a clique as the new signing interview “as soon as I spoke to the manager and heard his plans I knew this was the right club”
3

DinDjarin added 11:29 - Sep 16
They had 2 weeks to prepare for the Bolton game and that went well.

These guys have been playing football since they were 8 yrs old and probably at academies with good coaches so should be adaptable to play any system / formation.

At the moment they look clueless.
9

dirtydingusmagee added 11:36 - Sep 16
all very well asking for fans to stick with them and take pressure off Cook, but we have been, the support was there ,but we are now lower than at any time and the fans NEED to see the team/club heading in right direction. We have had to put up with crap and failure for over a decade, we were given fresh hope ,the fans returned ,and look at the state of affairs now. SORRY Wes ,dont blame the fans.
7

multiplescoregasms added 11:48 - Sep 16
He lost me when he said the word 'gel'. I never want to hear that word again.
8

Lloyds added 11:58 - Sep 16
I agree with him… we need to support the players and manager, I know that sounds tough.
The three League defeats… I don't think we were outplayed by Burton or Cheltenham… a little naive and a bit unlucky but yes heads dropped at home versus a very good Bolton team.
We can turn this around but the team need us fully behind them…. No point booing as we are affecting the players that are playing well ie. Bonne, Burns, Edwards, Coulson etc.
We need to build confidence not decimate it.
17

Oldboy added 12:12 - Sep 16
You need to give us something to stick to. Bored and frustrated with years of talk. Just win football matches.
4

TimmyH added 12:24 - Sep 16
They are really all banging the same drum!...you won't hear a peep from them at the end of the season if we're nowhere near the play-offs.
5

bluewarrior added 12:27 - Sep 16
What was it that Ashton said? Stick together, we all need each other. Fans are entitled to their opinions but there's no excuse for not getting behind the team on the pitch. Cook isn't going anywhere. I've seen very few managers that are as committed to delivering success at this football club and deserves our backing.
7

trncbluearmy added 12:28 - Sep 16
Not easy being optimistic with our history over the past decade plus

20000 on a Saturday try but it would be nice to get something back from our team, we want to be patient but just a little sign of progress would be helpful
9

BlueBlood90 added 12:41 - Sep 16
Cook gets a minimum of four more games for me. After 10 league games we shouldn't be anywhere near the bottom three if we have aspirations of being promoted.

I do believe Cook no longer has a leg to stand on when saying we need time to gel though after making wholesale changes for cup games which could've been used to get players fitter and to build relationships on the pitch.

I also think it's evident that he really misses his old assistant and coaching team.
5

JewellintheTown added 12:59 - Sep 16
We're called "Supporters" for a reason. About time some on here stop the whining & start showing support. That doesn't mean you agree, it just means you want us to succeed.
10

KernewekBlue added 13:18 - Sep 16
Some things that have been said are spot on, from both sides of the argument.

Yes, we do all need to pull together and give the players as much support as possible, to help drive them on to get that elusive first win of the season.

Everyone knows this is a results-driven game where, if you hit the ground running, the fans can help to carry the team forward on the crest of a wave in the pursuit of glory. Being off the pace at the start of a season and suffering a bit of bad luck in a few games can see the fans turn on the manager pretty quickly. This is the situation here at the moment.

I'm not a Paul Cook fan per se and I do wonder if there might be someone better suited to the job in hand, but I AM a Town fan and I desperately want him to turn this around, for all our sakes. At the moment, he's in charge of the team and I can only support the ongoing work being done to make us a successful club once more.

It is true, however, that the results have been well below what was expected, both at the end of last season and especially at the start of this new campaign. Consequently, that has invited, understandably, all the criticism and negativity aimed toward the manager.

As I see it, the reality of the situation is this... we are, effectively, a brand new team, one of the pre-season favourites for promotion, trying desperately to find its feet in a tough League One, where every other team wants to raise their game to beat you. Ally to that the on-field struggle to play the system our manager wants to employ, one or two critical, individual mistakes in each game so far and a few moments of bad luck thrown in for good measure and you have the recipe for hardship.

We are in dire need of a result that will inject a bit of positivity into our squad. Too many more results like we've already seen this season and we're in danger of adopting that losing mentality we all know only too well.

The pressure Cook must be feeling at the moment can't be healthy for him or the team and I'm sure he's as desperate as us to secure the first 3 pointer and to push on from there.

Love him or hate him (or anything in between), we need to give as much vocal support to the cause as we can at the moment to save our season!

COYB
7

tempzzzz added 13:19 - Sep 16
@lloyds - I tried supporting the players that had done well on Saturday by clapping Macaulay Bonne as he came over to the North Stand after the game. I got abused and threatened by a fellow supporter a couple of rows in front who didn't agree with me clapping anyone!
1

Bazza8564 added 13:23 - Sep 16
Well said Jewell!
Two days before a big game Saturday and we have our job to do, let the board and the CEO manage the business.
Too many armchair quarterbacks on here for my liking.
Ive heard so much whingeing i'm depressed, I love my club and will supoort it til I die. Some people obviously think it isnt having an impact on the players and the manager and making it worse, dream on!
Let the professionals do their job and concentrate on doingyours, and sing louder and louder at Lincoln on Saturday, if you are a true fan and going. If not, then keep your negative crap to yourself it wont help us climb the league.
6

grinch added 13:39 - Sep 16
I think the support going to games in the vast numbers shows that supporters care about the club. If you have a bad meal at a resteraunt you don't go again Town supporters are still turning up in fantastic numbers to all league games so please don't tell us to keep behind you we have bigger crowds than dome Premier league teams if the manager and team showed they same commitment as the supporters then we would be 3rd from bottom of Div 1. Just concentrate on your day job with your gaffer and the messiah morsey and start winning games so that long suffering fans who turn out each week have something to be proud of again
5

grinch added 13:40 - Sep 16
not be 3rd
0

legoman added 14:13 - Sep 16
I would not want to go into battle with our booo fans, they would turn around, run away and come back when we are winning and claim their part in the victory.
1

arc added 14:36 - Sep 16
"One of the best squads that I've ever been a part of and I think it's probably one of the best squads that League One has ever seen." Ugh. Complacency. We have achieved nothing and just lost 5—2 at home. There's no "best" anything here.
3

PortmanTerrorist added 15:20 - Sep 16
The support has been amazing this season. PC has mismanaged that to the point of some booing. I don't and wouldn't, but the level of tactical failure has been breathtaking so far.....even after seeing our recent other managers.

PC can't be this bad, the players can't be this bad, but if this carries on then we all will have to consider otherwise whatever public statements they come out with.
6

dirtydingusmagee added 16:18 - Sep 16
Bluewarrior , with respect, there is a difference between being committed and being capable .
2

Bert added 19:23 - Sep 16
Burns has been terrific as have a handful of the other new players. I agree we have a strong squad and I expect all the players to back the manager and themselves. What Burns does not understand is that we have had years of the players asking the fans to keep supporting them so after the wonderful changes made at the club and the hope we had been given, is it not fair to expect the players to keep us happy ? In truth I think we will succeed but not until Cook has shown he can change and adapt his preferred playing style and system.
1

ringwoodblue added 19:48 - Sep 16
Can't take these player interviews seriously I'm afraid. They can say what they like and put all the positive spin they want on our current plight but it doesn't mean anything.

The only thing that matters are results, moving up the table and giving us fans something to cheer about for a change.
2


You need to login in order to post your comments

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls

About Us Contact Us Terms & Conditions Privacy Cookies Advertising
© TWTD 1995-2024