Coleman on Cook: 'If that's indication of his fortune as Ipswich manager, they can book a place in the Championship'
Accrington boss John Coleman - a good friend of Paul Cook's - Credit: PA
Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman said if the luck Town had at the Wham Stadium last night is indicative of Paul Cook's reign at the club, then they can, 'book a place in the Championship, book a place in the Premier League!'
Coleman, a good friend of Town's new boss, was left bemoaning decisions that he felt went against his side as Town ran out 2-1 winners, to move up to seventh in the League One table and complete a third win on the bounce.
"I take a lot of consolation from the way we played, but we can't keep patting ourselves on the back for playing well and losing," Coleman told the Accrington Stanley website.
James Wilson celebrates his equaliser at Accrington - Credit: Pagepix Ltd
"I speak to Cooky (Paul Cook) most days. He's a mate of mine.
"You know, sometimes in football it's better to be lucky than good. If that's any indication of his fortune as Ipswich manager, then they can book a place in the Championship, book a place in the Premier League.
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"Because you can't get any more luck than he's had tonight. Than Ipswich have had tonight. But fair play, they go on. We lick our wounds."
Despite being down to 10 men for a long period of the game, Stanley played decent, especially in the second half, Coleman taking responsibility for not changing formations earlier than half-time.
James Norwood scores just before half-time at Accrington - Credit: Pagepix Ltd
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"You wouldn't know it was 10 v 11 in the second half," Coleman added.
"I'll take the blame. I didn't change the system adequately and quickly enough in the first half. So Ipswich battered us for about 12 minutes.
James Norwood celebrates scoring just before half-time at Accrington - Credit: Pagepix Ltd
"In that time they got two goals. Disappointing thing is they were from set plays, where a man advantage doesn't really have an impact.
"If I'd changed the shape before half-time, we wouldn't have got battered for those 12 minutes and not lost the game in my opinion."
New |Ipswich Town manager Paul Cook at Accrington - Credit: Pagepix Ltd
Coleman was especially frustrated that decisions for his side just don't seem to be balancing out.
"Nathan Baxter gets smashed and it's 20 seconds before he (the referee, Robert Madley), stops the game and decides to give us a foul when they've got the ball," he said. "Why is it not a foul when the incident happens.'"
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"Mark Hughes is clattered in the face, it's a penalty, not given. I could go on and on. We talk about referees too much. I'll speak to Mike Jones (Head of Refereeing at the EFL) and he'll agree with me, so we'll agree that I was wrong, like he has about 10/12 times this season.
Aaron Drinan goes around the Accrington keeper in the final seconds of the game at Accrington - Credit: Pagepix Ltd
"I wish it all balanced itself out. But it doesn't. Part of me wishes I was 12 years older and could give this up, because its like a broken record, Groundhog Day. But I can't pack it in, I love the game too much, love the lads too much."
