Manager Paul Cook has paid tribute to Blues co-owner Brett Johnson for his passion and enthusiasm following his first visit to Portman Road for last week’s 2-1 victory over Fleetwood, which the Town boss believes his side deserved for their second-half display.

Johnson, 51, was the first of the Three Lions element of the Gamechanger 20 ownership to make his way over the Atlantic ahead of last week’s match, meeting Cook and his players on Friday before watching the game from the directors’ box and making his delight at Bersant Celina’s last-gasp winner very evident.

“What a good guy, what a good fella,” Cook said. “So passionate, so enthusiastic about the club and what we’re trying to do, what we’re trying to achieve.

“To embrace the game like he did on the Saturday and to carry that message back to the States for all the other owners was absolutely amazing, it was like a perfect weekend.

“Hopefully there’ll be plenty more of them, hopefully he enjoyed the experience of not just the matchday feel but the preparation, the club itself, the town, the community and most importantly the atmosphere at the end of that game when we’d won. it was very, very special.”

Reflecting on the match against the Cod Army, Cook continued: “I know you guys have to debate all the what-ifs and the scenarios. For me as a manager, I just keep going. Our second half performance last week warranted that we won the game, that’s the brutal truth.

“We had enough moments in the game in the second half. I thought in the first half it was a competitively not great game, if you like. What we’ll say is that we were flat but we don’t really respect the fact that Fleetwood were good.

“In the second half we took control of the game, we got in great situations and you’ve got to put your chances away, that’s football.

“So if we don’t win the game, for me, the reality is that the games are taking shape how you’d expect them to and want them to. Those final touches are just the icing on the cake, they’re moments.

“At 1-0 or 2-1, the opposition are always in the game and for us it’s just repetition, it’s just belief, it’s just working and working and working so that those moments will present themselves again, and what will we do when those moments come around?

“For us, putting your chances away in any game is so important, highlighted by the Portsmouth game when the chances came, we put them away and it ends up what people would deem a comfortable win. Portsmouth was anything but comfortable, but the result deemed it that.

“For us it’s just keep going, keep working hard. I know the supporters are looking at league tables and following results, how far we’ve dropped off if we draw, what a win would do, I get all that. But for me, it’s a long journey and you keep working away and you keep going.”

He added: “I think the brutal facts are that we do seem to score enough goals and unfortunately, whether people like it or not, we do seem to concede some.

“But if you look at the Cambridge and the Fleetwood games, we don’t really come under pressure for long spells, do we? So maybe concentration and maybe decision-making plays a big part.

“As I say, we just keep working away. In football today, the result will a lot of the time mask or override what has actually gone on in the game, that’s just the way football is now.

“Everyone keeps saying it’s a results business, that’s what the word on the street is. But us managers and coaches think more long term. I believe that performances are a lot more important because when you get your performances right, the results will naturally follow.”

Photos: Matchday Images

BotesdaleBlue added 14:37 - Oct 29 Some sensible comments from Cook and I agree with his sentiments overall. I do think he seems now to recognise more fully, that we, the fans, together with the media in all it's forms, do debate the matches and outcomes at length and have every right to do so. I didn't much like his comments and open criticism of a week ago, about the fact that matches are over analysed and dissected by supporters and the media. Although factually true, we surely have the right to do so (without going OTT like some), as it only shows the passions of the ordinary supporter, whether we attend matches or not. I think with these latest comments from Cook shows he is now back on track.

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Bluearmy_81 added 19:01 - Oct 29 A quote sometimes heard on these comments from others just prior to April 21, "Thank God we've got Evans..." 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
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