Judge: As Low as I've Felt in My Career Wednesday, 4th Mar 2020 10:10 Midfielder Alan Judge admitted he was feeling as low as at any point in his career following last night’s 1-0 home defeat to Fleetwood. “It’s hard to take. We weren’t good enough from the first half. They had one shot and scored,” the Irishman reflected on the game. “In the second half I thought we were a bit better, we didn’t play the greatest football but at least we put them under a bit of pressure. We had two shots cleared off the line in a matter of 10 seconds. “Young Tyreece [Simpson] came on, did well, had his shot saved, Freddie [Sears] had a shot which was goalbound in the first five minutes of the second half. You can say all again but ultimately we’ve come away with nothing.” Asked what the problem was in a first half in which Town were as poor as they’ve been all season, he said: “To be honest with you I don’t really know. I think maybe me and Keano [Will Keane] got a bit isolated. We tried to nullify them a little bit, it didn’t work. Fair enough it didn’t work. “And then what we did in the second half we went to a 4-4-2 and I think it worked, it kept them in their half and we did put the pressure on them.” Judge came close to levelling in the second half which his freekick from the left was cleared off the line, then seconds later Jon Nolan had his rebound similarly blocked at the last. “That was the first off the line and then Nolo, I don’t think could strike his any better, to be honest with you,” the 31-year-old recalled. “For me that summed it up for us in that matter of 10 seconds, two shots cleared off the line. When it’s not going for you, it’s not going for you. “And then young Tyreece had his chance, turned well in the box and the keeper’s made a good save.” Despite having lost a match which was labelled a must-win fixture by manager Paul Lambert, Judge insists he and his team-mates aren’t giving up on reaching the play-offs. “We won’t give up, we’ll keep going,” he said. “Anything can happen in the league but we’ll just keep going and see what happens.” Why does he feel the Blues have collapsed from being top in late January to now being ninth and outsiders for the play-offs. “I think if we knew it wouldn’t be happening,” he continued. “I don’t want to say it’s just one of those things but something’s not working for us along the way at the minute and it’s down to us. “I’m not going to pan it onto the staff or whatever, it’s just not working for us as players and that’s down to us. “I don’t know what to say to the fans, to be honest with you because I’m out of words really, to be honest with you. They’re sick of hearing us talking and I can understand that totally.” Regarding the fractious atmosphere with fans showing their frustrations throughout the second half in particular, he admitted it was difficult to play in: “Yes, but they pay their good money and ultimately it all comes down to us so we have to do what we can and it wasn’t good enough tonight. “I don’t know what to say. It’s probably [among] the worst I’ve felt in my career but we’re not going to give in, none of us won’t give in, I’m not going to say just me, we all won’t give in.” He added: “They pay good money so we have to put on a show for them. We can’t just throw in the towel. “I don’t think we have many players in there who are like that and there are young lads in there, this is their first taste of playing league football, so we’ve got to go out there and just do everything we can.” Turning to the young players, the Dubliner believes they will ultimately benefit from the experience. “This will be the making of them,” he said. “I’ve said that before. It’s hard for them but I think as you’ve seen Tyreece has come on and done well, [Armando] Dobra’s done well in other games. “We have been hit by injuries and suspensions, key players have been injured. Ultimately for me I’ve been OK [injury-wise], I’m maybe paying for not having a great pre-season but you just want to see the lads fit and well and just see what happens. “I don’t want to say things and the fans say, ‘Oh, he’s ranting on again’. I totally get it. I get it and it’s down to us.” How do they do that? “Keep going, working hard, don’t shy away from the ball. I think tonight you saw players who didn’t shy away from the ball, and that’s the important thing. If you start seeing players shy away from the ball, then you’ve got a problem.” Asked to look ahead to Saturday’s now even more crucial home match against top-of-the-table Coventry, he added: “Every game’s a big game. This is the worst I’ve probably felt in bits of my career, and I’ve broken my leg and this is definitely up there with it. “I hate seeing people spending good money and not getting what they deserve back, because we have been supported well.” And he says he’s not the only one feeling like that in the dressing room: “Exactly, it comes from all of us. I’m just the one speaking now but I’d imagine if you have everybody speaking they’d say the exact same thing as me. But, again, fans are probably sick of hearing that.”
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