Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Jewell bemoans lack of mental strength

Ipswich manager Paul Jewell feels his side lack the mental strength to succeed after dropping more points in injury time.

Goals from Alex Pearce and Noel Hunt saw Reading snatch a 3-2 victory over the Tractor Boys, despite the fact the side were trailing with just minutes to play.

A week earlier, Nottingham Forrest scored twice in the last six minutes to condemn Ipswich to defeat by the same scoreline.

Now Jewell has serious concerns about the ability of his side to see out games.

"We're not strong enough. We're not mentally tough enough to see games out," Jewell told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"We should have had the game sewn up last week. The team's lacking in cohesion and confidence."

The side have now lost five games on the bounce and find themselves just one point of the relegation zone, losing their last three matches 3-2. Anyone who has placed a big Championship bet on them will not have been impressed.

Jewell described the recent results as "sickening" and pointed out the way to get out of this rut is by games and that three points in either of their last two matches would have provided a confidence boost.

He also reflected on a change of formation, revealed that although the diamond system he had employed this season had been working well, it had not been as effective in recent games.

Although the width provided by  Josh Carson and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas seemed to help going forward, the side's fragility at the back haunted them once again and the side now look set for a tough season.

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