Blues CEO and chairman Mark Ashton says the club will be spend around £1 million on a new PA system to finally resolve the ongoing issues.

Ashton cited the club’s PA as a problem soon after taking charge at Portman Road in June 2021 but despite significant work has continued to be a regular complaint from supporters.

“It’s been a frustration for quite a while,” he admitted while touring the stadium with TownTV. “Part of the problem is that the stadium is old and parts of the stadium are even older, and that leaves us with challenges.

“For example, the cabling around the stadium for the PA system is a problem. We’ve invested in new speakers, we’ve changed speakers, we’ve changed numerous things and we just can’t get it working properly.

“So, the reality is we are going to have to put in a complete new Tannoy system. That has to be a summer project because the cherrypickers have to be on the pitch and you can’t do that mid-season.

“We’re going to have to put in a whole new system that then part of that system could be taken out as and when we change the Cobbold Stand and replaced into the new facilities.

“It’s going to be circa £1 million to do that, it’s not a cheap project, but it links into atmosphere and communication with our supporters.

“The majority of the fans are fantastic. You can imagine the wide range of emails I get. Some fans say the Tannoy system's OK, some fans will say it’s too loud, some fans will say it’s not loud enough. And I think that’s a challenge, it depends where you are in the stadium.

“The only way to solve it is to bring in a new system but, be no illusion, we’re going to make the place loud. We’re not going to invest and have this as a quiet little stadium. No, it’s going to be noisy and fans, I’m sure, will get behind that.”

Photo: TownTV