Ipswich Prepare for QPR

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A slumping Ipswich with 39 points from 34 games and with a home record of 8 wins, 2 draws and 7 defeats, scored 25 let in 23; Table
Ipswich Results this Season Ipswich Squad

Ipswich Official Site - Boss: We must stand together

Jim Magilton is calling on everyone connected with Ipswich Town to stick together and play a part in the team getting back on track in the Championship.

Blues face QPR at Portman Road on Saturday hoping to end a run of six games without a goal, a run that has seen Town slide down the table.

Speaking to the Club website, Jim said: "I know it's down to the players, the coaching staff and myself to end the spell of results we are having.

"We know we have to turn the corner and start winning games again and I can fully understand the frustrations everyone is feeling at the moment but I can assure you no one is more frustrated than myself.

Jim - stand together

"We're all working very hard on the training ground to put things right but at times likes these - and they happen in football - you have to stand together.

"I've been in this situation as a player and now I'm experiencing it for the first time as a manager and it's hard but I have total belief in myself and in my players.

"We have to stand up and be counted now. There's some negativity in the air but we have to deal with that and overcome it.

"The players are desperate to put on a show for the fans on Saturday, score some goals and win the game. I can see how desperate they are to win and everyone connected to the Club, the fans and the staff, can play their part and get right behind the players.

"The fans have been magnificent this season and my players need them right now. They can lift them but we are fully aware that we have to give the supporters a lift as well."

Ipswich

Ipswich Evening Star - Time to show my mettle - Magilton

IPSWICH Town manager Jim Magilton today looked ahead to the next three vital Championship matches and said: “Now is the time for me to show my mettle.”

Ipswich have slipped into the relegation fight after a long losing sequence and they badly need to get back on track with games against other struggling sides.

The Blues entertain Queens Park Rangers at Portman Road on Saturday and then visit Hull on Tuesday before the visit of Southend United the following Saturday.

Magilton would not put a target points tally on those three games, but he does know the importance of pocketing at least six points.

He said: “This is the time when I have to show my mettle and get the best out of the squad.

“It is a game we can win, and we are at home.

“We have failed to find the net for some while and this is what we are concentrating on in training this week.

“We will be trying to relax the players as we know it might be a little jittery with outside forces building up to Saturday's match and making it one where spectators may well be sitting on the edge of their seats.

“A goal will make all the difference and I am sure it will calm our players down and they will increase in confidence and become much more of a fighting force once the drought has been broken.”

Ipswich are hoping to have central defender Richard Naylor available again and he has been doing some jogging as he recovers from a badly bruised toe.

The 29-year-old will be stepping up his training as the week goes by but time will tell whether he can return to the team against QPR.

Fabian Wilnis has had a scan on his damaged hamstring and this proved all clear so the veteran defender will be stepping up his training also with the hope of being available at the weekend.

But midfield player Gavin Williams will still be out of action although he is making good strides with a pelvic problem. If his progress continues he could be in line for a recall next week, possibly at Hull on Tuesday.

Magilton, in his first season as Ipswich manager, added: “I have every faith in my squad although we are constantly looking at players who we could possibly bring in.

“There is nothing in the pipeline at the moment, but if the right player becomes available then we will look into bringing him to Portman Road and giving us a boost between and now and the end of the season.

“But if that doesn't happen we have enough ability and desire in the current squad to move us up the table.

“But what we need is a goal and a victory on Saturday. Then we can go from there.”

IPSWICH Town striker Danny Haynes is included in the England Under-19 squad for a friendly against Turkey at Doncaster Rovers on Wednesday, March 21.

The striker won his first international cap when the Under-19's beat Poland 4-1 at Bournemouth earlier this year. Evening Star