Former Ipswich Town midfielder David Norris believes that former club owner Marcus Evans and not ex-manager Paul Lambert is the most to blame for the Tractor Boys not gaining promotion from League One this season.

After falling short of the play-offs last season, Lambert was given more time to try and get things right and was able to guide the squad into the top six for the first 18 games of the campaign.

But following the turn of the year, results nosedived and Ipswich had dropped into mid-table - but even after victory away at high-flying Hull in late February Lambert ended up losing his job after crunch talks with Evans.

Since then, Paul Cook has replaced Lambert without much success and Evans has sold the club to an American consortium, ending his 14-year stay as the club's owner.

Whilst many fans would pinpoint Lambert as the reason for Ipswich's failures this season, Norris is of the belief that Evans' lack of investment in recent years was more of a contributing factor to the Suffolk side falling away from promotion contention than Lambert's management, although he did admit that the club could have made a decision on the Scot sooner.

 

 

 

 

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Norris said: "I think I think that the club needed a change at the top. I think the fans have been unhappy with Marcus Evans for quite a few years now.

"Maybe it didn't help sticking with Lambert for so long, but I think the the problems now might have been a little bit off the back of Lambert - I think the play-offs at that time were still achievable.

"I think the problems were bigger than that - it was from the top to bottomI think what is going to happen now is going to be a big transitional period for the club."