A leading Ipswich Town supporters group has called for Paul Lambert’s tenure to come to an end by leaving a large banner hung to the gates of the club’s training ground.

The Blue Action group, who have been responsible for a succession of banners inside Portman Road over the last two years and have worked to improve the atmosphere at the ground, hung the banner on Wednesday evening and left it there overnight.

The banner read: ‘Lambo - cheers for the beers but it’s time at the bar’. The ‘L’ has been crossed out and replaced with ‘Sh’.

It’s understood the banner was removed prior to the players and staff arriving for training on Thursday morning.

After hanging the banner, the group posted on social media: “Whilst it’s been clear since at least last season that Lambert isn’t up to the task of getting us promoted, we were reluctant to call for his head. We gave him support when he first arrived, despite his previous connections. We gave him another chance this season, despite how badly we collapsed last season.

“However, enough is enough and this cannot continue. We are now calling for him to be removed from his position. This season is too important for Ipswich Town to be allowed to just drift away again, and if Lambert stays much longer, it’s obvious to all that it will happen again and we’ll still be stuck in division 3 next season.

MORE: Ex-Ipswich boss Burley hails Maradona as the ‘best player’ he ever played against“The playing squad isn’t free from blame, but it’s obvious they’re not being coached properly by the management team. Performances on the pitch are dismal, despite Lambert pretending they’re not. We’ve no effective game plan, we get outplayed by teams with far less resources than us, and get brushed aside by the supposedly ‘big teams’ in the division.

“Change is needed as soon as possible. We are urging the owner to make that change now, before it’s too late again. Promotion this season is a must, at any cost.”

Lambert met with Blue Action early in his reign, inviting them to Playford Road and stressing the need for a vocal support while asking the fans’ for their views on how to generate more noise inside the club’s stadium.

Tuesday night’s 3-0 loss to Hull saw Lambert’s side slip to fifth in the League One table, following on from last season’s disappointing 11th-placed finish.