Former Ipswich Town captain Carlos Edwards says the ailing club’s players ‘need to step up’ – and bemoaned the lack of leaders on the pitch.
Edwards, who played for the Blues from 2009 till 2014, making almost 200 appearances, still does some coaching at the club and regularly watches the senior team play.
And the former Trinidad & Tobago international, who played at the 2006 World Cup, believes that if the rock-bottom Blues are to pull off the greatest escape from relegation in Championship history, it’s down to the players to turn things around on the pitch.
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Speaking to our Non-League Podcast Edwards, who now plays for Woodbridge Town, implored the team to ‘win horrible’ as they prepare for this Saturday’s must-win home clash with relegation rivals Rotherham.
The 40-year-old, part of the team which Mick McCarthy led out of trouble from the base of the table in 2012/13, said: “Players need to step up, first and foremost. There’s no point looking for a fairy godmother to do something – no, pull your finger out and try to get results.
“Do it the nasty way. If we can’t do it the nice way, do it the nasty way! Win horrible.
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“Millwall came here and how did they win? They win horrible. Morison took Chalobah out the game with one little stupid tackle or whatever. “That’s tactics. We have to do that.
“Lambert picks the team but when they cross that white line he can shout ten million things on the sideline – once you’re out there and it’s carnage, are you going to hear two words that he’s saying? No. Get it done. Roll your sleeves up.”
Edwards added that the team – currently 10 points adrift of safety –need more leaders as they attempt to climb out of the Championship basement.
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He said: “I’m going to be optimistic. I want to say that come January we’ll bring in a few players – well, more than a few – but we need more leaders on the pitch.
“We don’t have any leaders out there. We have individuals and they are looking around at each other to say ‘well, you do something then’ or ‘whose turn is it?’
“No, it’s a collective effort. Everyone has to work together – you win, you lose, you draw together.”
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