Lambert vows to ‘go strong’ at Peterborough with Ipswich four wins from Wembley in EFL Trophy
Ipswich Town boss Paul Lambert will 'go strong' for the Blues' EFL Trophy clash with Peterborough on Wednesday night. Picture: ARCHANT - Credit: Archant
Ipswich Town manager Paul Lambert says he’ll ‘go strong’ with his team selection for tomorrow night’s EFL Trophy first round match at Peterborough.
Luke Chambers is congratulated at Peterborough after scoring a late equaliser. Picture Pagepix Ltd - Credit: Pagepix Ltd
Tomorrow's game sees Ipswich compete in the first knockout round of the competition, after Lambert's side emerged from a group containing Colchester, Gillingham and Tottenham's Under 21s.
The Ipswich boss has made significant changes to his side for Trophy games this season, giving debuts to teenagers Tyreece Simpson, Tommy Hughes, Tawanda Chirewa and Liam Gibbs in the process.
Tonight's side could again include young players, most likely on the bench, while there could be an opportunity for Myles Kenlock, Toto Nsiala, Armando Dobra, Idris El Mizouni and Jordan Roberts to come back into the Town boss's thinking.
Regardless of who he picks, though, Lambert insisted he has trust in the side he puts on the field.
"Lads will come in and play," Lambert said. "But we want to win and we want to go through. We'll have a lot of fans going there no doubt, so we'll do our best to try and get through.
"It will be a strong side. I'll go strong and we'll try and get through the tie. As I keep saying, whoever I play I trust to perform.
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"We've lost two (league) games all season, so the trust is huge."
Paul Lambert with his assistant manager Stuart Taylor during Town's 1-1 draw with Coventry City in the second round of the FA Cup Photo: ROSS HALLS - Credit: Archant
When asked if he could use young players, or opt to give Under 23 goalkeepers Adam Przybek or Harry Wright their debuts, Lambert said: "I don't know, "We'll see. It's a tie I want to win.
"As I've said before, I don't want to give anybody a gift. I want everybody to earn the right."
Before Ipswich kicked a ball in the competition, Lambert declared he 'doesn't see the point' in the competition, with the Town boss doubling down on that stance despite his side now being just four wins from a Wembley final.
MORE: Ipswich Town manager Paul Lambert says he 'doesn't see the point' of the EFL Trophy
"Not really, because we have too many games in this country," Lambert said, when asked if his view had changed.
"You're asking fans to travel midweek-Saturday, midweek-Saturday. It's hard. It's hard for the supporters and it's hard for the players to go every single week. "The quality comes down and down and down. People say the quality is not good, well it's no good because you have too many games. That's where I don't think it stacks up. I understand the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, but when you throw another cup competition in there it's really, really tough.
"You're asking supporters to travel all around the country on a Tuesday or Wednesday night week after week."
The last-32 tie goes straight to penalties if the two sides are level after 90 minutes.
