Town chairman David Sheepshanks has made a statement regarding the future of the club ahead of Thursday's public meetings at the Corn Exchange. Sheepshanks will answer questions at the first meeting before the inaugural gathering of the proposed Supporters Trust. The meetings start at 7.30pm.

Sheepshanks outlines a new four-year plan to get the club back on track. Full statement:

Thursday's meeting will be an opportunity to address issues that confront us in open debate with club supporters. So much has been said and written over the last few weeks about administration, what went wrong and why and how, and more importantly what of the future, that I felt it was necessary to dispel some myths and set the record straight.

When a crisis befalls you in the way that is has to us, it is normal for everyone to want to know everything they can - and I'd feel similarly if I were not in this privileged position.

My style of management has always been to communicate openly and transparently and nothing has changed in that respect, however while in administration there are limits to what can be said. Equally, there are few businesses as much in the public spotlight as football and there is sensitive information to protect from competitors or potential vultures. That said, I am hoping for a frank and honest debate and I will do my best to answer whatever is asked.

As much as I want the reasons for our demise to be clear and open to inspection, what really concerns me much more is the future. New investment into the club is vital. We will need to raise considerably more than may realistically be forecast by the worthwhile Supporters Trust initiative, of which I am generally supportive.

Investor confidence and therefore the success of a major fundraising - will depend on a few key factors:

1. A robust Business Plan that is safe as well as workable.

2. Confidence in our (a) Football Management and (b) Business Management to deliver that plan.

3. Public Support

If we can deliver those - then this club will fly again. If we can't then the future prospects for the club will be undermined.

To answer these questions:
1. The Business Plan is nearly there. Negotiations with our financial backers has taken longer than possibly expected by any of us - but the end game has been to agree to a rescheduling of our finances that will work in these much more uncertain times in football today. This is fundamental as everyone who loves the game must be realistic about that poor state of health of the game in England and Europe as a whole.

Two factors are to our advantage, in that we are being forced to restructure earlier (many others will surely have to follow suit) and also that the Stadium facilities, Academy, Commercial Expertise and Infrastructure are all now in place, providing a much more solid foundation from which we re-launch the club from strength (much stronger than was the case when we started again back in 1995 with the then "five-year plan"). Going forward we now have a new four-year plan designed to reposition the club back in the Premiership as soon as possible - but its effectiveness depends on an ability to attract new investment.

2. On the field
Joe Royle is our leader and I fully believe that he has both the skills and the energy to build a promotion-winning team. That is what he came here for, to take us back and manage Ipswich Town in the Premiership. I could say a lot more about Joe but his actions are speaking louder than words in delivering a run of only two defeats in the last 20 games.

Off the field, the Management is correctly under the microscope, given what has happened. I have explained on many occasions what happened and why I think any club relegated when we were would have faced similar difficulties. There is no doubt that the cumulative effects of the market crash, ITV Digital and the 31 August transfer deadline have hurt us badly.

Could the existing management have avoided it - in my view, not without exceptional foresight, that in fairness was not really shown by any other club in the Premiership at the time either. Nobody in this game accurately predicted what was to happen. The benefit of hindsight is indeed a wonderful gift.

I believe that we have a first class management structure at the club and a responsible board who at all times have only sought to do the right thing and make the best decisions for Ipswich Town. What has happened has happened... I think we have been dealt a rotten hand but we can only get on and play the cards we have. The future of ITFC is all that matters now.

The directors continue to have the backing of the banks and potential investors and this support is crucial to our recovery. As we exit administration and new investors come into the club, I have no doubt that there will be additions to the board. Personally, I have already said that I will consider my position in the light of circumstances post-recovery but first we have to get there and I see that as my responsibility.

3. Public Support.
This is you. You have been absolutely phenomenal in your stoicism, your loyalty and your encouragement. We may all feel that we have been let down at times and we have been from what we could reasonably have expected from finishing fifth in the Premier League in May 2001.

Indeed I learned recently that no club has ever been relegated from fifth in the Premiership the previous season. But we know what happened and the question is whether we can do it again. Maybe not fifth again but I believe we can return to the Premiership and soon - but not without your support.

So I finish where I started - I have 'gone public' for all the reasons stated - but with one major objective: to move the debate into the future and to ask for everyone's support in moving the club forward again. If we can do that together, then investor confidence will be high and our solution that much stronger... and maybe quicker.

Photo: Action Images

Ipswich Town Polls