Blues boss Paul Lambert believes his side ought to have been three goals up after the first half but felt they got “caught up with the emotion of the game” in the second as they were beaten 3-2 at home by Millwall.

“We should have been three-up,” he said reflecting on the Blues’ impressive display which had given them a 1-0 lead via Jack Lankester’s first senior goal in the opening 45 minutes.

“I thought we were excellent in the first half. We dominated the game, dominated the ball, we had unbelievable chances and I don’t think anybody would have begrudged us if we’d gone in at 3-0, I thought we were that far ahead.

“They’ve had some blocks, but the football we played was great. But we had to take our chances.

“In the second half, we spoke about it, if Steve Morison came on we’d have to deal with just long balls and headers. But we never dealt with it physically.

“I think we got caught up with the emotion of the game as well, the lads started to get emotionally involved in some of the decisions, which I thought were strange.”

Lambert knows veteran frontman Morison, 35, who came on as a half-time sub, very well having signed him when he was manager at Norwich.

“I knew it was coming, Moro’s had more appearances than our whole midfield put together, that’s how good a career the lad’s had,” the Blues manager added.

“Two big lads up front, the other lad Elliott’s a big, big lad. We’re a young side trying to deal with that physical side of it but we never dealt with that side of it and the emotion of the game with some of the decisions.”

Regarding Millwall’s goals, he reflected: “They were just long balls. I’ve seen it, it’s never a freekick against Flynn Downes that led to the corner [which led to the second goal].

“Jordan Spence should have dealt with that better but Flynn Downes actually won the ball, that was never a freekick, it should never have happened.

“The penalty, I’m yet to see. I think it was a really strong, strong challenge on the [third] one they scored when the lad went in on Deano [from Matthew Pennington’s backpass].

“It looks a bad one when I was looking at it on the video. Again, I thought some of the decisions went against us.”

Lambert himself was shown the yellow card by referee Stephen Martin, he says for encroachment rather than anything he said.

“I went and saw him, he booked me for going on the pitch,” he said. “The pitch is so technical area I didn’t know I was on it.

“I don’t understand that one. I never said anything, I never said anything derogatory or anything.

“I think some of the things I heard in there were shocking in the technical area, some of the things that were being said. We’ll be sending our own report in.

“But I never got booked for bad language or anything, they said I got booked for [going on the pitch]. I must have been a centimetre on the pitch.

“That was that, whether I threw my hands up or whatever the case may be, it was nothing.

“We should have had a penalty I thought in the first half when Pennington got done [by Tom Elliott ahead of the Millwall break from which Gerken saved from Jed Wallace].

“I thought we got caught up with the emotion of it. As I said, we’re a young side, they need to learn that and the only way they’re going to learn that is when they get more experience. The physicality of it, as I’ve said before, we need to get a little bit of help in here.”

Lambert admits the now-10-point gap to safety is a big one but he says he’ll remain upbeat and he still believes the Blues can escape the drop.

“Yes, it is, but as long as I’ve got a heartbeat then we keep going,” he insisted. “I’m never going to go negative, I never will go negative, we’ll always keep going, we’ll always keep the positivity.

“If you ask me if it’s achievable, absolutely it is, absolutely it is. We’re playing some really good football, we need just a little bit of help, just a little bit of know-how.

“As I said before, Morison’s appearances outweigh our whole midfield’s virtually. If you go through our team, Gerken’s played Championship football, Spence has done it, Chambers has done it, Pennington’s done a little bit, Myles has done a little bit.

“Chalobah, it’s his first time, Bish has been out for two years, Lankester’s just in it, is just a kid. Ellis has not [played in the Championship before], Freddie has, we’re really, really inexperienced. Lads who haven’t played Championship football in their careers are learning.

“The lads have been brilliant for me, their effort, their commitment to it, their understanding, they’re better players, that’s for sure than they were and, as I said, it’s my team and we’ll go together.”

Asked if he’s near to landing any of the experienced additions he’s after, he said: “We’re talking to a few lads, we’re talking to a few and we’ll try everything we can to get them in.”

Does he believe he’ll be able to persuade players to come to Town given the current situation? “You have to, you’re hoping lads want to play, lads that don’t play in their own respective teams.

“You’re footballers, that’s your job, it’s the greatest game in the world. You want people who want to actually come, you don’t want people who maybe take three weeks to think about it. You need people that want to come. That’s the big thing.”

Town will confirm the signing of Leicester City’s Australian left-back Callum Elder, 23, on loan tomorrow.

Millwall manager Neil Harris was pleased with his team's second-half turnaround after what he felt was a dismal performance before the break.

“A nervy end, an horrendous first half," he said. "I’ve got to be honest, the first half was not acceptable.

“I thought about changing the team, I don’t think I’ve ever made a sub in the first half unless it’s forced by injury or a red card, but it was probably the closest I’ve been to making a sub in the first half of a game.

“So, we adjusted the shape at half-time, I had a few choice words for the group and they responded in the second half.

“The goals, all five goals, weren’t the greatest of goals but we scored more than Ipswich and that’s all that matters.

“Nervy at the end, we should have seen the game out at 3-1, we weren’t really under any threat but probably the best goal of the game got them back in it.

“Nine points out of nine over Christmas was exactly what we needed and what I demanded from the group and I can only praise my players for that.”

Asked what pleased him most about the second half display, he added: “The character to be one behind and I thought the stadium was good, Ipswich I thought they were good, I thought there was energy and they made it difficult for us and they played well.

“I just said to the boys [at half-time], that’s not the performance we’ve not put in over the last six days against Reading and certainly not against Nottingham Forest [both 1-0 home wins] and they haven’t risen to those standards.

“I questioned them really, asked how much they wanted it and I thought in the second half, it wasn’t free-flowing football, but at what we do and how we play I thought we were very good.”

Photo: TWTD

ArnieM added 22:20 - Jan 1 Very true. Lambert should now be rebuilding with next season in League One very much in mind . It's time for our kids to come through with a few we'll chosen “ experienced” pros amongst them. Some of the current squad will jump ship ( Bart and Knudsen already is about too) Dozzell ( I suspect dad will be doing all he can to facilitate a move to Spurs) Returning all current loanees: Pennington ( try and sign) Chalobah ( try and sign) Offloading the following : ( via frees or selling) Adeyemi Huws Ward Sears Spence The current window recruitment should be ideally looking for next season ( loan with view to buy ) but to see if they could help with what slim chance we have this season as a loan Personally I'd be looking to keep ( for experience in the squad not necessarily 1st choice though) Chambers Skuse

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blueboy1981 added 22:38 - Jan 1 Paul - one thing lost us this game today, and that was chaotic, incompetent defending second half. This is something you must be able to do something about - who is there in our defence who can be relied on to do the basics efficiently ... ?? Three catastrophic mistakes today means we are DOWN.
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Taricco_Fan added 23:27 - Jan 1 I look back to Lambert's first two games in charge as the writing on the wall. The failure to hold a lead against two of the league's poorest sides (one at home against ten men). At that point it became obvious that this side just isn't good enough to compete in the Championship. The great giveaway at home to Bristol was the beginning of the nails being hammered in the ITFC coffin. Today's result was the final nail. Our attack and midfield have improved under Lambert but the defence is as shambolic as it was under Hurst. Probably more so. Spence should never pull on the blue shirt again and Lambert's persistence in playing him (rather than Donacien) has proven costly. Chambers may be our leader but he has never inspired confidence in me. And I don't care if he has played for Denmark - Knudsen isn't good enough. And both keepers have let him down. In the end our current malaise cannot be attributed to Lambert. Hurst was a disaster but ultimately our situation is the natural conclusion to a decade of under-investment. The club has been on a gentle but steady decline since Evans took over. McCarthy was a sticking plaster who fended-off the inevitable for a few years but I said a while back that ITFC is on a downward trajectory and it's only a matter of time before we are relegated. And here we are. As Harry from Bath says..."owners relegate clubs"

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Northstandveteran added 23:32 - Jan 1 Totally agree Taricco.
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Henrietta_R_Hippo added 05:01 - Jan 2 I'm personally growing exceeding tired of reading/hearing this HERE argument: "Aye but super duper smart Paul Lambert have ONLY used the perceived "Undroppables" Spence The Shocker & Captain Calamity (and until last week Knudsy too) to this date... simply because he, with Wolfy n/a too, not yet have had *ANY* alternatives" Hmm let's truly "fact-check" that one shall we I.E. there never ever being nooooo alternatives whatsoever: Primarily, besides from an apparently UNproper bloke named Donacien, each & every one of our U- team has at least 4 defenders, I believe lol... Despite their largely truly young age they are all "footballers" aren't they??? So even though it goes without saying that they would be "greener" than even the color of grass, on this level ...and therefore fallible in their own right... REALISTICALLY folks, *some* of them (heck if not all of them!) can really not be less of liability and hence perform no worse, repeat no worse, seen over the entire 95 minutes, than especially excruciatingly poor & calamitous Mr. Spence & Mr. Chambers has performed in this season!!! So basically: Besides at least TRYING to experimenting & subbing with Kenlock & Donacien much much earlier?!, well then it really boils down to that if those 2 didn't work or cut down on the malady of ultra poorly conceded goals... well dear PL you should THEN have displayed the cohones & foresight too! to have dared playing some "kiddo" defenders from the U- teams, and well before the opening of the Window imho!!! (As you could have opted to do from your Day One here btw!, cause surely one as *bright* as you must have seen plenty of "horror" films of this A-squad's games -- and thus our beyond horrendous defending (and goalkeeping too btw!) -- from at least your predecessor's tenure BEFORE you made your own first starting XI). The Kiddoes LITERALLY are and always have been "An Alternative"! Granted a very desperate one of course. But heck we indisputably already was in a very "desperate" situation" since your emergency hiring Paul Lambert! Period! ... and as such "An Alternative" whether you and sections of our fans have trouble admitting to this being a fact or not! Now it's quite quite possible we wouldn't have won more games by now doing so... HOWEVER 1) you would have sent home a lot of the paying and/or travelling fans a lot less agitated I'm sure! (Sure the ON-the-field version of Chambers still has his *die-hard* but by now minority section of fans here... but even they are seriously dwindling by the match I sense. And Spence, well he is just inherently bad ,as in shockingly bad! And oh unlike Chambers doesn't contribute with anything OFF-the-field. eos!) And 2) you would possibly have granted a selected few of these young & green defenders some much needed experience in that same process too! Cause, and this is very instrumental imho: Our future as a football club whether we somehow escape or go down, should *obviously* be build on using using & advancing the crop our own products + permanent quality ("quality" for the level we are at) signings... and thus NO MORE relying on a lamer than lame largely unsuccessful and/or counterproductive "loans galore" policy! PS: Although the latter is exactly, and well by the names thrown around so far only of so-so quality ...at best!!!, what I fear PL will predominantly be capable of attracting to this sorry-arsed, notoriously POORLY RUN & now furthermore seriously relegation threatened club in this Window. Kudos to Muck & his renowned "connections", Irish and otherwise in the Premier, for hauling in of some true MOTM capable loans like Frasier, Lawrence, Vickers and even to some degree Celina... but these days are gone I fear, cause as many other fans here have speculated: Which truly gifted quality footballer in his "right frame of mind" would wanna come here to Evan's ITFC nowadays, well voluntarily anyway??? lol Sad so so Sad

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TonyHumesIpswich added 06:56 - Jan 2 Good post Henrietta but need to add Pennington to that list.
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big_gaz67 added 07:22 - Jan 2 I am a big fan of all that Paul Lambert has said and done since he has come to the club but he has to be honest and take some of the blame here. Playing 4-3-3 leaves our full backs exposed and Millwall saw out weakest areas (Kenlock at left back - a good enough full back in a 4-4-2) pressed the more physical Morrison again him and we didn't react to this until all the calamities at the back happened. We should have gone 4-4-1-1 immediately and let Flynn Downes 'do his stuff' on Morrison.....Every game at the moment we seem to concede an unnecessary penalty or free kick and Gherkin makes a mistake (nothing new there - it was one of two reasons we didn't get promoted in the play off season) whatever happened before why oh why did he come out with his feet rather than defend his near post with his arms - I'll tell you why, he bottled it. As I said to Bart when he warmed up following this Gherkin wasn't injured, he was rightly embarrassed. If we concede two goals every game we are only going one way......On a lighter note is it me but I had forgotten how Kenlock shuffles rather than runs - like he forgot to have a poo before the game.

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Help added 07:36 - Jan 2 I am concerned about who will go next summer from the team. Dozzell? Downes? Bart, Knudsen. Looks like our best youngsters will be moving on as well as some higher paid experienced players to reduce the wage bill in league 1.
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roytheboy added 08:31 - Jan 2 I accept that we have a massive challenge of course, however I believe that Paul Lambert is a terrific Manager, he has got those boys playing real football, in the 1st half they looked like a decent premiership team, (holding the ball up, accurate passing, good supportive positioning and at last running with the ball), I was thrilled with that and this is the kind of football we were all yearning for with MM; if Paul stays with Ipswich and Mr Evans supports him with adequate financial assistance then I shall keep going whatever league we find ourselves in, I shall of course be bitterly disappointed if we do go down, however with Paul in charge we do have a chance of staying up, I feel he is the best manager we've had since George Burley, I regret to say that this problem has materialised as a direct consequence of what Mr Evans did in the Summer recess, with the assistance of a certain Paul Hurst, we will come good again if we can keep Paul Lambert.

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Reecex28 added 12:14 - Jan 2 Drinking the 120 miles home gives you time to think ! Hate losing but .... 1) First half saw the young talent coming through and couple of moves had fans out of their seats. So much better than the MM huff and puff. 2) Can see how PL wants to play but team not good enough to do It all the time. When we came under pressure start of second half should have adapted and used long ball to force Millwall back - then get back to paying football 3) We are down and pre season starts now 4) Dozzell is pure class - very touch he had was spot on and he can play the killer through ball - fear MM will cash in to pay for PH cock up For

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inghamspur added 13:57 - Jan 2 Brilliant from Spence. What a player.
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Gcon added 16:37 - Jan 2 Oh great. They are turning on PL already. Even a moron can surely see that our demise isa down to this owner and his lack of support. Certainly not PL.
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