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Lambert: We'll Give Marcus Everything We've Got
Wednesday, 1st Jan 2020 19:10

Blues manager Paul Lambert revealed that discussions regarding his new contract had been ongoing with owner Marcus Evans for more than a month.

The 50-year-old penned a four-year extension to his Town deal, which now runs to 2025, prior to today's draw at his old club Wycombe.

“I just wanted to see you for another five years!” Lambert joked when asked about the new deal by the media.

“Listen, Marcus has been great and I think he recognises the work that’s happened here in the just over a year we’ve been in here.

“I’ve never seen a massive club as low as it was, the things that were wrong here were incredible. As I said before, the disconnection with everybody, [it was important to get] everybody back together.

“It’s small steps. I hate using that word project because it shouldn’t be in football but if people want to call it that then people can call it that.

“Marcus asked me to come and rebuild everything and connect with it and that’s what we’ll try and do and hopefully step by step we’ll have a really good time at it. Put it this way, it’ll not be for the lack of trying.”

Lambert confirmed that being offered the new deal wasn’t a reaction to his comments after the Boxing Day draw with Gillingham when he appeared to call his future into question.

“This has been going on for I would say at least a month and a bit, at least a month and a bit, maybe two months,” he reflected.


“There were things going on behind the scenes out of anybody’s control that I had to contend with but it was always there.

“It’s easy to sign something when things are going great and when people say ‘He signed because of the [comments on Boxing Day]’. Not at all.

“I love the club, I love the support behind it, I love the area. Who knows, this might be my last gig, I don’t know, but I really do love it here.”

Lambert concurred that the new deal gives both him and the club stability going forward.

“We’ve got some young guys there who are going to get really good, including [Armando] Dobra and Idris [El Mizouni] and others as well, some really good talent here,” he added. “If you give them a few years, you’re looking at something really good here.”

Was that partly why he was keen to sign a lengthy new deal? “If you put everything into the melting pot, that and the support, I want to see Ipswich do really well, I want to try and be part of it and when it does eventually finish and the contract does run out or whatever happens, you want people to go, ‘They did one helluva job there’."

The deal is the longest handed out by Evans since he took charge just over 12 years ago, which Lambert admits is a show of faith in.

“Yes, we were speaking about it a few months and you see other managers say they’ve signed five years and Marcus [spoke] to me a while back [about] the whole thing.

“He’s been great that way. But we will give him everything we’ve got. We’ll have head knocks along the way, me and him will have arguments and all that sort of thing, but the two of us want to try and do the best for the club within the parameters that he’s asked me to do it within.”

Asked how the discussions started, he added: “We speak regularly and he asked me what did I think longer term and where I saw the club because I said before that the club was so low.

“There were so many things wrong. Young guys had to get a chance, the Community Trust, I always go back to the Community Trust, re-engaging fans and getting people back into the stadium was important and then you had to concentrate on the football team, which everyone was criticising, they were taking upper cuts all over the place. You had to re-engage everything.

“But Marcus came and asked me whether I’d look at it and, as I said before, I love the club, I really do, it’s a brilliant club and you take the little bits that come with it when the team doesn’t get a result, that’s normal, that’s at most clubs, but it’s a fantastic club.”

But while the club’s long-term future is important, Lambert is aware that the short-term, achieving promotion in the second half of the season, is currently the priority.

“We will try everything we can,” he said. “We don’t have a divine right, you look at Sheffield United, six years [in League One], Sunderland, dear oh dear. We were relegated last year and sometimes that can hurt a helluva lot of teams.

“We’ve responded in the right way. If we’d have had the run back to front, if we’d gone the other way and had the start we’re having now and then 15 or 16 games into it [had the early season form] people would think you’re a genius. But we’ve done it the other way.

“But the big thing for me the other way was the relegation thing, that they came out of the traps [so quickly].

“Short-term, you absolutely want to come out of the league, long-term you’ve got one helluva job here, that’s for sure.”

Asked which of his previous experiences he is drawing on as he tries to turn the club around, he reflected: “Every job’s tough, even if you’re doing really well.

"I’ve been fortunate enough to play in Germany and saw how things worked there and being experienced through playing football you handle pressure situations whether there’s criticism or praise. I know because Ive been at massive clubs. I’m pretty level-headed that way.”

Quizzed on the club’s support, he added: “The fans have been unbelievable. I came here, dear oh dear, I’ve never seen a club as big as this as low as this. But the fans have been absolutely brilliant, I’ve got nothing but praise for them, they come in their numbers to watch us and I’m delighted with the support that they give us.”


Photo: Pagepix



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LWNR2013 added 19:14 - Jan 1
Excellent
11

Dolphinblue added 19:16 - Jan 1
Brilliant COYB
11

ronnyd added 19:18 - Jan 1
If these contract talks had been going on for a month, why the strop last week. Was he forcing MEs hand i wonder? Jury is still out re Lambert, for me anyway.
-5

carlo88 added 19:26 - Jan 1
Still not sure if I trust this guy or not, can see him being sacked in a few months and walking away with a bundle. Our friends over on the Pinkun forum reckon this is classic Lambert tactics.
0

runningout added 19:27 - Jan 1
Not interested in any long term plans to be honest. Apart from that Like what I'm hearing. Form is poo but not worth being too negative.
6

cat added 19:31 - Jan 1
Congrats Lambo. His off field work has been top draw and there's no doubt that he's trying to play possession based football (stats back that one up) but with a 26% win ratio, some might think he's a tad fortunate to get the new deal.
9

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 19:40 - Jan 1
In an earlier post I wrote that I wished PL would be clearer about how he viewed the future. He must've been listening. Now we know, let's all embrace the project and enjoy the ride.
6

BlueMachines added 19:47 - Jan 1
This makes last weeks comments utterly ridiculous and I have less respect for the guy now
-9

Dissboyitfc added 19:48 - Jan 1
i have no doubt that Lambert will give his all, i just dont think his best will be good enough. 14 months in the job and he doesnt know his best 11 or best formation to play them in.
5

TimmyH added 19:49 - Jan 1
Agree great off the field work to get the fans onside and increase the attendances but results wise (last season starting from November) far more of a question mark against, and I'm not sure we're playing any better than under Hurst.
1

Dissboyitfc added 20:03 - Jan 1
Hurst had to go, but had he of stayed i dont think our end of season points tally would have been any worse than what we ended up with under Lambert.

I know we are 5th and the position in the table is what it is! Its the fact i am not sure of the on pitch improvement during his 14 months in charge.

The jury is out, i just hope that when the jury reconvenes the verdict is in favour of lambert.
3

chopra777 added 20:14 - Jan 1
Progress has been made and the club is in a better mindset than it was last year. We may not be top of the shop at present. Therefore let's ignite the promotion push. Congratulations on your new contract and push-on.
9

Karlosfandangal added 20:42 - Jan 1
The town faithful have very little patience. If you look at last season to this it's basically the same except for one or two players. So why on earth would we become world beaters over night.
The club is losing money every year so Lambert will have to get the best out of the players.

If town go up is Jackson going to make the grade in the Championship, Dozzell was the future last season yet he is struggling in a lower league. If big money is thrown around for say Downes they will go. We do need to go up this season but if not we could be here for a few seasons.
1

muccletonjoe added 20:52 - Jan 1
Read the Lincoln post match interview , and 5hen insert the fact that this contract was sorted a month ago, and you will have a very good idea of what Lambert is . A total chancer and one of the last people you'd want in charge of a football club. Complete madness, and they are a tribute band, rather than the real thing !!
-4

Dissboyitfc added 21:06 - Jan 1
Really Karlos? i think we have the most patient understanding fans out there! ( almost to our detriment) still behind the team in numbers with very little to cheer in almost 20 years. We deserve a reason to smile and currently that is not being provided, PL has himself said that football should be exciting and entertaining and put you on the edge of your seat! by his own words he is failing to provide!

Winning games in the third tier of english football should not be likened to being world beaters. Virtually all our first 11 would be automatic starters in most league one teams.

And as for dozzell i believe he will go onto better things, probably holding his career back staying here!
1

warktheline added 21:15 - Jan 1
Sold your soul to the devil, Lambert! And in doing so, sold fans down the river! Parameters, long term projects, call it, or dress it up as you will, it equates to failure, why? Because all those individuals involved, whatever their roles, or agendas, give proof and evidence to suggest so!!!!
-4

blueboy1981 added 21:40 - Jan 1
Fact is Lambert has his five year salary guaranteed now - he can afford to win, lose, or draw now - it won't cost him a single penny.
What an incentive to be successful .... ??
Is there any other profession you get that in ? - if there was we'd all have some of that.
0

Daniel72 added 21:55 - Jan 1
If there was a profession in which you could have some job security, to organise and try to get the best out of people, I'm sure we'd all have some of that. I'm personally delighted that Ipswich still has a bit of old-school back-the-manager about it, with regard to Lambert. After all, we play at Portman Road, not the "Marcus Evans Arena", or some such atrocity.
6

dirtydingusmagee added 21:58 - Jan 1
Since we got relegated PL and ME have somehow contrived to get fans back in good numbers. If we fail to get promoted this year with what people regard as strongest squad in Lge1 ,it will take one hell of a master stroke to keep fans on board , Lambert had still got time in front of him to prove himself and get us reinstated in Championship , results during his time thus far have been less than impressive, why extend his contract now ?
3

Daniel72 added 22:36 - Jan 1
That's a good question, but why not?
1

Karlosfandangal added 22:55 - Jan 1
Sir Bobby had a struggle for the first couple of years but they stuck with him. So it's nice to see the club giving Lambert time like the old days. Nice to see some of the old values of Ipswich still alive.

HoweverSir Bobby was one in a million and we will never see the likes of the great man at Ipswich again, plus totally a different era when football was not money driven.
8

Carberry added 23:04 - Jan 1
Sat in their main stand today next to a woman who said they wouldn't want Lambert back. She couldn't understand why we weren't walking this League with the players we have. To give it some perspective, they had injuries and tired legs, hence the big lad on the bench, and what a difference he made when he came on. I also heard people saying we weren't a patch on Coventry who played lively slick football to beat them on Sunday. From where I sat, we huffed and puffed but didn't look like a class act and a draw was a fair result. Those Wycombe fans can't believe they are top of the League and we look like the mid table side they really are.
7

Cakeman added 06:35 - Jan 2
I am pleased with this contract extension. I am sure Paul Lambert is the right man for us.
Won't always agree with his team selections etc but that's the beauty of football. We all have differing opinions at times.
2

brian_a_mul added 08:47 - Jan 2
Its also good for the players to see that PL and his staff are commited long term. Thats important for team confidence and stability. Onwards and upwards!
0

BettyBlue added 09:10 - Jan 2
what a load of hot air...

10 more years of failure, pat yourself on the back Lambo

Q when are you going to start winning??

A when its too late.
0


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