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Hurst: Cup Competitions Will Be Taken Seriously
Thursday, 19th Jul 2018 11:01

Blues boss Paul Hurst says cup competitions will be taken seriously during his time in charge at Portman Road.

Speaking in a wide-ranging interview on Mark Murphy’s BBC Radio Suffolk breakfast show this morning, which can be heard in full here, Hurst said his record with his previous sides should be taken as an indication of his approach, Shrewsbury having been losing finalists in the Checkatrade Trophy last season.

Fans were hugely critical of former boss Mick McCarthy’s attitude towards the cups with the Blues not winning a single FA Cup tie during his five and a half years in charge, while he was widely criticised for making 11 changes and fielding what was almost wholly a second string side for the September 2015 League Cup game at Manchester United.

Town’s last FA Cup victory was the 2-1 third round win at Blackpool back in January 2010 during Roy Keane’s time as manager.

“I think my history at other clubs suggests that I do take cup competitions seriously and I don’t see anything changing,” Hurst said.

“People talk about the Championship being this relentless league and yes it is, but at the same time my club last year played 62 games, perhaps more than any other club in the country.

“I think that suggests how I feel about things and I’d like to get as far in the cup competitions as possible.”

He added: “I think you can go a long way. There have been enough teams in recent years that have perhaps surprised some people. With a lot of clubs perhaps not taking the competitions as seriously, I see it as an opportunity.

“Again, I can’t promise it, we’ve got Exeter [in the Carabao Cup], for instance, they’ll be doing everything they can to do everything they can to cause an upset. A nice short journey for us, but we will be going there trying to win the game.”

However, that doesn’t mean he might not tweak his starting XIs for cup games: “I’m not going to promise that the team won’t be changed because what I want is to try and have a team which is capable of changing.

“I think gone are the days where too many players play 50 games, 55 games or whatever. But at the same time every time I put a team out on the football pitch it will be very much with the thought that they can win that game of football.

“That’s what I’ll be looking to do. I don’t like losing games, I didn’t like losing at Braintree as much as results don’t matter in pre-season in some respects. I was glad we didn’t lose any points, but I wasn’t happy about it.

“If you heard any interviews or comments you probably understood that. I don’t like losing.”

The South Yorkshireman says he already feels at home at Portman Road and in Suffolk: “I’m settling in very well, I feel very welcomed from everyone at the football club and the area, if I’m honest, everyone I’ve come into contact with and it does feel like I’ve been here a lot longer than I have. In a good way, I better add that!”


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robmonkey007 added 11:08 - Jul 19
Why???? Be better to nob these cups off so we can perform better in the league! Be much happier to push for a play off place rather than end up lower end of table but managed to reach fourth round of the FA cup.
I know I'll take abuse......but happy to as league is important for us!
-21

essextractorboy93 added 11:19 - Jul 19
Refreshing to hear his attitude towards the cup competitions. Would take a season of transition, finish mid table and have a cup run. Cup form can sometimes help league form and ignite a season.
7

TractorCam added 11:20 - Jul 19
Funnily enough Rob it isn't just one or the other, maybe just maybe we want to do well in both? How about that!
8

robmonkey007 added 11:25 - Jul 19
Maybe TractorCam, but lets face it, we aren't going to win a cup, but we can take promotion. Its not a case of one or the other, but we can rest key members for these games to avoid burn out or long term injury. Lets keep them fresh for the league as surely promotion is our target.Or are you saying our targets should be win promotion and win the cup???? So much rewards for winning promotion, i just don't want to see it all go tits up as a player gets long term injury in a mickey mouse cup.
-11

PutneyBlue added 11:33 - Jul 19
The change in emphasis is the point. He's not saying he would play the regular league first team in the cup, as he will rest some. What he's saying is that he won't be giving 11 fringe players their only run-out for the year in the cups. So we can expect the cup team to be stronger than a MM team, but still to feature some others who don't play week-in, week-out in the league, to make sure that if they are needed in the league, they've played in a serious competition with a serious team.
10

RobTheMonk added 11:35 - Jul 19
No more Malaczck and Yorworth scenarios then haha!
1

Swn98 added 12:39 - Jul 19
It wouldoes seem that our club is now being run by popular opinion I wait with great expectation of the result.
3

NoCanariesAllowed added 12:51 - Jul 19
@Rob - While I also generally subscribe to the notion that the league is more important than the cups, you don't have to win a cup for it to have been worth competing in. Clubs can generate their fair share of revenue with a good cup run, not to mention some positive momentum. How many times in recent seasons has our form taken a nosedive in January, not helped by letting our second string get beaten by lower league sides in the FA Cup Third Round?
8

Northstandveteran added 13:59 - Jul 19
Totally agree nocanariesallowed.

Not only does our league form dive every time but for Christ's sake, cup games are great if you go on a run. No we won't win a trophy but it's nice to dream and surely that is what football is about?

Plus it's about time we put ourselves back on the footballing map.

Win against (be it a reserve team) of a big club would show that we have ambition attracting new players and that's without mentioning the revenue.
7

maninashed added 14:40 - Jul 19
Cup wins do bring in money. Not only though the gate but in prize money. As for not winning a cup we reached the semi final of the league cup under Keane. Who says that a slightly better team couldn't reach the final.
3

Northstandveteran added 14:56 - Jul 19
Would be lovely to win the league cup.
Just to complete the domestic set before Hurst wins the champions league...
0

DaGremloid added 17:31 - Jul 19
Burnout! Don't make me laugh. Look at what previous Ipswich teams achieved, going for league, FA Cup, and European Comps and playing on decidedly inferior pitches, especially in winter. 'Oh we must protect the poor little footballers from playing an extra three or four games a season'. Bollox. Please don't buy into this burnout nonsense. It's utter rubbish.
2

midastouch added 18:04 - Jul 19
MUSIC TO MY EARS!
2

Oldsmoker added 23:24 - Jul 19
If Town win 3 in the EFL cup and 3 in the FA cup the extra gate receipts, TV money and prize money could easily cover Barts wages for a year.
At least if we try to win cup matches, a repeat of that Lincoln debacle won't happen. That was a dark day in our history.
1

Skip73 added 15:12 - Jul 20
Good to hear, the only problem is, they way things are going, the reserve teams that MM played last season will to be our first team this.
0


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