Town have reiterated that manager Paul Lambert retains the support of owner Marcus Evans in the wake of local newspaper calls for a change at the top at Portman Road.

This evening, the EADT/Ipswich Star joined the widespread clamour for Lambert’s exit via a comment piece from editor Brad Jones with the club responding in a statement released to the papers.

Saturday’s 1-0 home loss to Peterborough, the Blues’ fifth home defeat in six, saw them drop to ninth in the table, two points off the play-offs but now 10 from the automatic promotion spots.

The club statement reads: “While we are very disappointed that the EADT/Ipswich Star has taken this stance, we fully understand the frustrations of supporters with recent results.

“The performances and results of the opening stages of the season have not been mirrored over the last two months or so and the manager, staff and players are fully aware that there needs to be an improvement if we are to achieve the goal of promotion back to the Championship this year.

“Owner Marcus Evans has recently reiterated his support for the manager and with players now coming back from injury and the recent addition of Josh Harrop and Luke Thomas to add competition to the squad, he - and everyone at the club - remains fully behind the management and players in the challenge ahead.

“We are two points off the play-offs with games in hand on nearly all the clubs above us and we have not yet reached the halfway point in the season. There is a lot of football to be played yet, 75 points up for grabs in what is a very challenging season on many fronts.

“So yes, we understand the frustrations of the local newspaper and yes, we understand the frustrations of the supporters. The manager, his staff and the players are frustrated as well but they are determined to turn those frustrations into celebrations.”

TWTD, with reporter Phil Ham still banned from player and manager press conferences at the behest of Lambert, has also backed the calls for a change.

Despite Town’s continued public support of Lambert, we understand the 51-year-old Scot’s future is increasingly in question as the Blues drift further away from the top six with a tough home game against seventh-placed Sunderland on Tuesday and a similarly testing visit to Crewe Alexandra, who are eighth, on Saturday.

Town have beaten only two teams currently in the top 10, Accrington and Crewe earlier in the campaign when the Railwaymen were well down the table, while losing eight games against sides at the division's top end.

Former Portsmouth and Wigan boss Paul Cook and ex-Lincoln and Huddersfield boss Danny Cowley are believed to be high on the list of potential successors if and when Lambert departs, while we understand Neil Harris, who left Cardiff City earlier in the week before being replaced by one-time Blues boss Mick McCarthy, is also among those who would be considered.

Many fans have called for the job to be given to ex-Town midfielder and current U23s coach Kieron Dyer with Terry Butcher, also currently working with the U23s, as his assistant.

Photo: Matchday Images

barryblue added 12:08 - Jan 25 lampard sacked, come on evans get on that phone
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SickParrot added 12:16 - Jan 25 Of course Evans still supports Lambert. He is the clown that extended Lambert's contract which still has 4 years to run, so he can't sack him.
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BeattiesBackPocket added 12:34 - Jan 25 Razor you really need to take your blinkers off you keep saying get Howe in! He left a premier league club, turned down Derby county's millions but yeah he'll come to an average league one side who finished 11th currently 9th with relegation form, a poor squad, an owner not willing to invest and cannot invest now in league one and who will have to reduce the wage budget even further next season if we stay in this league!! Please some people get real no way is Howe going to come here or any other manager with a credible CV. We will due to where evans has taken us get a has been like Pulis or a manager from league two or one! As hitting as this is to write those are the facts now.

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BeattiesBackPocket added 12:38 - Jan 25 I've seen numerous fans and families since yesterday cancel their direct debit due to the way the club is being run and tbh I'm seriously thinking about doing the same after 37 years of going maybe that's the only way Evans will finally understand fans frustrations. Saying that he'll probably think it's due to covid like he did in the summer
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brittaniaman added 12:49 - Jan 25 What makes you think we are going to win the Play Offs Marcus ? we have not Beaten a team up there Yet, this season or last season, so get your head out of the sand Marcus
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grubbyoik added 13:00 - Jan 25 At Chelsea the owner makes changes to drive his club forwards ... At Ipswich we have to pleed with the owner to make changes to drive us forward..
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Blue_Meanie added 13:50 - Jan 25 Paul Lambert predicts Rangers collapse in bid to stop Ten in a Row - Daily Record PL football genius 😂😂
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dirtydingusmagee added 15:11 - Jan 25 oh well Lampard will be ''linked'' now i suppose as he is out of a job, along with lord knows who else, thats what happens, dont go getting all worked up or excited. Evans thought he'd signed him before,but he hadnt got his specs on it wasnt Lampard it was Lambert. We might get Lampwick next time , thyat would be par for thye coarse.
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Bert added 16:37 - Jan 25 BBP is almost certainly right but every so often there is an out of work manager who doesn't have an ego and thinks damm the salary " perhaps I'll give a club like Ipswich a go". Pigs might fly but despite our dreadful position and wasted years, I do think the football world still sees Ipswich as a rounded club with potential. We don't want a yes man to Evans and therein lies the problem. Evans will say "you can have the job but can only use what is here while I pay the bills". We can only fix that with a philanthropic mystery buyer who is a billionaire and likes a risk.

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therein61 added 16:49 - Jan 25 This statement is typical of our current owner, his biggest mistake wasn't employing Lambert and his inept coaching staff it was giving him another 5 years to carry on failing!!!!!
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therein61 added 17:11 - Jan 25 The blind leading the blind(no offence to the partially sighted meant or intended) springs to mind R.I.P. I.T.FC.
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istanblue added 18:16 - Jan 25 Took the local papers long enough but at least they got there in the end. On a separate note I'm beginning to think that 'Frank from Holland' on Radio Suffolk is actually Marcus Evans. Surely there can't be a genuine fan left that doesn't think PR Paul needs to go.
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norfolkbluey added 18:28 - Jan 25 I think nothing more can be said as to how the fans are feeling at this moment and its not good. Is ME really joined at the hip with PL? Surely not. For one I am holding my breath because if we lose again against close opposition new players or not this situation with PL cannot go on and and on and on. I honestly wanted him to do well and I honestly want him to get over COVID but not while he is at our club because he is a single minded unimaginative manager who when things go wrong he's like a rabbit in the headlights. If ME does an Abramovic and sack him, I just hope he gets proper advice and doesn't go for a cheap option off the market. There has to be life after PL doesn't there?

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johnwarksshorts added 18:29 - Jan 25 FRANK LAMPARD!
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stiffy501 added 19:15 - Jan 25 Well when the job was vacant i thought Nigel Clough was the perfect fit for us and Mr Evans, Knows this league, plays good football, works well with little or no money. He left Burton ( look where they are now) had a break and then took a job at Mansfield, they were down the bottom of league 2 and in trouble, 12 games and 22 points later they sit in mid table, top the current form table with 5 wins in a row and even looking a prospect for play offs or promotion, No or very little money spent so must be down to good coaching and tactics. Just saying

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dirtydingusmagee added 19:55 - Jan 25 losing to Sunderland tomorrow should be the final straw if Evans has any genuine desire or ambition, end of . If it werent for covid Portman rd would not be a comfortable place for manager or owner right now, im bloody sure there cant be many happy clappers left still delusioned. Even ''flipper'' has flipped, and i thought there was no hope for him .
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Nobbysnuts added 20:21 - Jan 25 Remember lambert is a demon but Evans is the devil...😈
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peewee added 11:26 - Jan 26 Still comes down to lambert seems to have no clue with his squad "diamond wide " I still think would suit us with 2 up front. Years of Evans underfunding the club and the appointment of Hurst buying players that suit league 2.
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therein61 added 16:19 - Jan 26 We could use those players next season peewee!!
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