Ipswich Town manager Paul Cook has accused his players of not caring about what results they get after another drubbing this week at the hands of Northampton Town.

The ex-Wigan Athletic boss hasn't had the best time of things since arriving in Suffolk at the beginning of March, and hopes of a play-off place for the Tractor Boys have been pretty much extinguished.

Cook has seen his side win just twice under his leadership, and in the last five League One outings Ipswich haven't scored a single goal, drawing three games 0-0 and going down 3-0 away from home to two relegation-threatened teams in AFC Wimbledon and Northampton.

There's clearly major issues at Portman Road that need to be addressed, and that's not just the lack of goals either and Cook will be hoping that the new American owners of the Tractor Boys will be investing this summer to help him mould a promotion-winning squad.

It'll be a shock if many of the current team are around to see that challenge though, as he's called them out yet again for essentially not being bothered whether they win, lose or draw their games.

 

 

 

 

“At the minute, my sole focus is on winning tomorrow. A winning feeling is something that I feel this club lacks, whatever it is," Cook revealed, per TWTD.

“The mood in the dressing room after beating Plymouth was exactly the same atmosphere as it was after losing 2-0 at Fleetwood.

“And I spoke to the players about it - that tells me you don’t care about the result. I know what happens to me when I lose games - I don’t sleep for two nights and I stare at the ceiling and I watch the games back.

“I don’t enjoy the losing because when we win, I only don’t sleep for one night and watch the games back a little bit. The reality is winning’s a lot better than losing, isn’t it?"

The Verdict

From all the noises that Cook has been making in recent weeks, don't be surprised to see a full-scale rebuild should he be given the approval from Ipswich's new owners.

Considering the club were floating around the top two in the early parts of the season, it's quite a surprise to see Ipswich fall off as much as they have this season, but the same thing happened in the 2019/20 campaign as well.

It may be a club mentality problem which has stayed with the squad and Cook's claims of the players not caring will deeply worry fans and it will no doubt make them back Cook in his desire for a big clear-out this summer.