Boss Paul Cook has complimented Town supporters for remaining behind his team during the Blues’ tough start to the season, saying it’s something from which they should take pride.

"Despite high expectations after the squad was rebuilt over the summer, Town’s early-season form was underwhelming but latterly has been very much on the up, culminating in Tuesday’s superb come-from-behind 4-1 win at Wycombe Wanderers.

“I think the biggest compliment that I can pay our supporters is that we haven’t had a great start to the season, yet at no point has that transmitted to the players,” Cook said.

“And I think that should be the biggest, proudest thing Ipswich Town fans take from the start of our season.

“In most clubs now, and I’ve managed for quite a long time, fear, negativity transmits from terraces on to the pitch and it affects the players.

“Anything that we’ve done wrong this season has been totally self-inflicted and nothing to do with our supporters.

“Our supporters have been amazing and it was great the other night for the players to feel that energy when scoring in the away end and seeing what it does to supporters.

“We had a glimpse of it at Portsmouth, the energy the fans give us and how we carried the result home.

“To turn up like we did at Wycombe, we’ve gone to Wycombe and Portsmouth and won, Plymouth’s just part of that journey. You lose - it’s football.

“The biggest thing for me is the supporters supporting the team when they most need them. We most needed our supporters in the early stages of this season and they’ve been there to a man for us.

“So we’re aware of it, we’re knowledgable about it, we want to make sure that we send them home like we did the other night where they go into work the next morning after travelling and paying a lot of money absolutely delighted and looking forward to the next game.”

He added: “My biggest thing that I’m enjoying at the minute is seeing the connection between the players and the supporters.

“I think it’s absolutely huge. When we come home and look back at some of the stuff and what we do and analyse the game, we see the goal celebrations and how much it means to the players and, more importantly, how much it means to the supporters.

“So the reality of it is that it means the world to us all and that’s what I love about fans, and that’s my biggest compliment to Ipswich fans.

“We’ve had a really poor start to our season. The last 10 games haven’t been so bad, we’ve been doing OK, but the first six were really, really disappointing, but at no stage has that transmitted.

“And that’s why I feel the reaction after Plymouth should be a positive one if we can because we’ve seen at Portsmouth and we’ve seen at Wycombe now in two weeks what players can do.

“So the reality is we are getting stronger, without a shadow of a doubt. And we’re learning as we go along. But our support has been so consistent and strong that they deserve success, and we’re lucky enough to have the privilege and honour to try and deliver that for them.

Cook says it’s important for the momentum both on the field and on the terraces to be maintained tomorrow.

“Just win,” he said. “The other week we were talking about whether we can win two games on the bounce for the first time. Just win.

“The reality is when you win everyone bounces around so much happier, the feeling it brings to the community, you’re only seeing the supporters’ faces at the end of games.

“You know what it means, you come out and hear them singing and dancing and that for us is inspiring.

“For Ipswich Town, we’ll probably have about 15,000 fans in the stadium tomorrow and I wouldn’t imagine to guess, and I don’t want to be clever, the previous rounds at Ipswich Town have probably been eight, nine or 10,000. The reason why the fans are turning out is because of the optimism and we’ve got to drive that on.”

Photo: Matchday Images

pennblue added 11:58 - Nov 5 Sunderland away, Wigan away, we ARE needed, make no mistake about it. We need to take what we had at Portsmouth and Wycombe to those two grounds as well. Cancel your weddings, cancel the birthday parties, postpone the christenings, this is the moment we have been waiting for, the tide has turned.
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Europablue added 12:35 - Nov 5 The Plymouth game and the Wycombe game were quite similar, the big difference was that against Wycombe we took our chances at key moments, whereas Plymouth took theirs against us.
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BlueRuin69 added 12:38 - Nov 5 Fantastic! Coyb!
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IpswichT62OldBoy added 12:51 - Nov 5 Yes, it's all happening.
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BotesdaleBlue added 14:22 - Nov 5 In all my fifty years of supporting Town I have never heard a manager go on about supporters nearly as much as Cook has. And that is a fantastic thing to hear and it seems to me, we are responding, sending our love back to the team and Cook (mostly) big time. The connection he talks about, between the players and supporters is not a soundbite, it is real, tangible, and unlike anything I have seen for many years. Long may all this continue and build still further! I may be getting carried away a little, but I don't think so. I believe we are staring to see something very special, slowly unfold at our beloved Club, after 20 years of sad decline.

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Eddie1985 added 17:11 - Nov 5 Paul, just get us promoted, that's the beginning, middle and end of it. Emotion and feelings are great but you are currently lower in the league than you should be and the only currency that gets you to legend status is promotion, top 2,achieve that and the whole of Suffolk will be wearing a Paul Cook t shirt!!! Get it done man I'm desparate to be proved wrong, pls pls COYB

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not_a_witty_name added 17:16 - Nov 5 At Burton and Cheltenham there were boos at full-time but they seemed to be few and far between. The team didn't really come and see the fans afterwards as I guess they didn't know how it would be received. At Accrington neither us fans nor the players seemed to have much zip in them which had a negative affect on both but there wasn't a boo to be heard even if it was the worst performance this season. Wycombe, blimey, it was incredible. The fans lifted the team and the team lifted the fans. As Paul Cook said, we sucked the ball into the net in the second half, we were the 12th man. See you all at Sunderland COYB

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pennblue added 17:29 - Nov 5 Eddie1985 you are missing the point. It is not JUST Paul Cook's job to get us promoted, EVERYONE has to play their part. The supporters, the players, the physio's, the recruitment, the coaches, the manager (of course), the CEO, the Chairman, Peter Reid, the owners, and this Schulz chap who I hope will be very happy at how the project is going, and the overall positivity at the club right now.

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jonnysuave added 19:22 - Nov 5 Lucky he didn't come in here then.
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have_a_word_with_him added 23:53 - Nov 5 This guy genuinely believes it, it's great to hear. I really like the players he's brought in, with Ashton making it happen of course, who give me confidence in a desire to both connect with fans and win. There is not a single player I miss from last year, and the character in this dressing room is just a world apart from what we've had for such a long time.

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harlingblue added 05:44 - Nov 6 The club is starting to go up a notch. The backers of our club seem genuine and the people brought in likewise. Paul Cook and the players that he has known as good players have been brought to our club, the support is there, the love for our club is back...onwards and upwards.
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Grimsbyblue added 08:19 - Nov 6 He is so right, I remember losing a play off game at Portman Road where the crowd were so nervous you could Feel the tension and it transmitted itself to the players. I also remember the opposite, a boxing day game against blackburn, when they had a team and we went one nil down. We COULD have got nervous but didn't, from the kick off we roared them on and went on to win. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE hold your nerve and keep cheering them on and this team CAN deliver

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Bazza8564 added 09:06 - Nov 6 Ive been supporting the Town for 50 years and i feel more engaged with my club at this moment than ever before, and i love it! This era with the new ownership and leadership team has completely reinvigorated me, and I wonder how many other fans who had fallen out of love with football over the last 20-25 years will be attracted back. If we can get 20,000 gates now, we should be aiming at 25,000 by the end of the season (hopefully with well thought through contact programs with dormant fans and sensible offers). Realistically, with an expanded stadium and the following we have, maybe we could get back to 30-35,000 within 5 years. I hope so, the potential is there and we have the talent on the board now to unlock it given time. This is only the beginning.....

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Eddie1985 added 11:37 - Nov 6 Penn blue I'm not missing the point, in the end the buck stops with the manager, he selected all the players the backroom team, he got Peter Reid in. The owners and Mark Ashton have done everything they can and backed him unconditionally. It's up to him now as manager now to achieve our aim which has to be promotion, when I work for my boss landscaping the client will in the end hold my manager/boss responsible, even if its his workers who made the error, he's in charge and ultimately responsible.... I think it may be you who is missing the point.... Anyway let's hope we get where we need to be and wish him all the luck in the world

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Telford_Blue added 11:58 - Nov 6 I can only agree with what has been posted. I live 165 miles away from Portman Road and I am now doing everything I can to get to games (sadly not all of them). I haven't felt like this since Burley was at the helm. I want to watch the football we now are playing and these are still early days. Whilst I have attended games under every manager since (bar Hurst) they were not with the excitement I now have had rekindled in me. I always look at the fixtures and think I don't fancy points from that etc but now I actually think others will not look forward to facing us. Yes there will be bumps in the road and today could be one of them but I am buzzing about ITFC at the mo and long may that continue (even if the price of fuel etc says differently!!) COYB!

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