WHILE knives are being sharpened by the more vociferous among Ipswich Town's supporters, chairman David Sheepshanks today talked openly and honestly about the current situation.

By Elvin King

WHILE knives are being sharpened by the more vociferous among Ipswich Town's supporters, chairman David Sheepshanks today talked openly and honestly about the current situation.

And he stressed that now is the time when action must be taken to arrest the slide.

Sheepshanks admits that tomorrow's game against Luton Town at Portman Road could spark considerable criticism from the stands if the game results in another Blues defeat.

And he appreciates that if results do not improve Ipswich will find themselves in the midst of a relegation fight.

Sheepshanks has been the subject of post-match protests by a small minority of Town fans, and silently condemned by the majority, for his part in Ipswich's fall from grace and their current dire financial position.

Today he decided to get his strike in first in an exclusive interview with the Evening Star.

“Yes, the Luton game is a minefield that hopefully the team can negotiate successfully,” said Sheepshanks.

“But if the right result is not obtained there is still cause for optimism.

“I look ahead to 12 months' time when we will be in a much more challenging position.”

His most severe critics might say they have heard these promises before, but what you cannot level at Sheepshanks is a lack of passion for his beloved club.

“Now is the time when we have got to take action,” he added. “It is the time to start making it count.

“If we don't we could well struggle, and we have a better set-up than that.

“I am very determined, and can see light at the end of the tunnel, as the work done behind the scenes by chief executive Derek Bowden and myself allows us to give the manager more funds.

“We will turn it round.

“Joe Royle has proved that he has the managerial skill to succeed if he is given the resources, and hopefully next week he will bring in experienced players to play up front.

“I watched us play well at Hull on Wednesday, when we paid for our weakness in front of goal.

“We have been decimated by injuries, but no team is too good to go down. I am well aware of that.”