'The pressure is a privilege... we have to thrive on it' - Town players challenged ahead of Hull clash
Hull beat Ipswich Town 3-0 at Portman Road this season - Credit: Picture: Steve Waller
Matt Gill has challenged his Ipswich Town players to ‘thrive’ on the pressure building on them as they look to fight their way back into the League One promotion race.
The Blues head to Hull tomorrow night sitting 12th in the third-tier table, six points from the final play-off place, 14 points from the automatics and holding a single game-in-hand on the sides currently occupying those positions.
Town’s fall from top spot earlier in the season has heaped real pressure on manager Paul Lambert, as well as the playing squad, with first-team coach Gill insisting that pressure must be channelled positively.
“I think the lads know the situation they’re in,” Gill said.
Matt Gill, centre, says Town must thrive under pressure - Credit: Picture: Steve Waller
“It is high pressure, I’m not going to shy away from that, because we want to win football matches and we want to be higher up the table.
“But I think it’s about seeing that pressure as a privilege and trying to thrive on it. We need to show real courage and try to achieve something during the latter part of this season.”
Hull sit third, 12 points clear of Town having played three games more, and are currently on a run of just one win in their last five games.
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They have, however, scored eight goals in their last two matches. You need to go back through Town’s last 10 games to reach that number,
“We’ll look at ourselves and we’ve done our research on them,” Gill said.
“They been there or there abouts all season so they will know the pressure they are under to try and get out the league at the first attempt.
James Norwood came closest for Town as they drew 0-0 with Oxford on Saturday - Credit: Picture: Steve Waller www.stephenwaller.com
“This is a really good opportunity for us to try and build on Saturday’s performance and there’s probably no better place for us to do it than away to Hull.
“We were better at the weekend and, on another day, we could have won it. We created chances and kept another clean sheets – that's three in the last four – and now it’s about keeping the defensive solidity and taking advantage at the other end.”
Hull ran out 3-0 winners when the two sides met at Portman Road at the end of November.
