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Playing Norwich away from Portman Road could benefit Town after Burton low - Skuse
Cole Skuse believes playing away from Portman Road could benefit Ipswich. Picture: STEVE WALLER - Credit: Picture: Steve Waller
Cole Skuse admits it might help Ipswich Town to be playing this weekend’s East Anglian derby away from home.
The Blues head to Norwich on Sunday on the back of a 0-0 draw with bottom side Burton, played in front of the lowest home league attendance in two decades, after which Mick McCarthy’s side were booed off by sections of the crowd.
Skuse was taken aback by the level of away support when he first signed for Ipswich in 2013 and, when asked if it might be better that the Blues are on the road this weekend, the midfielder admitted it could be beneficial.
“Maybe, it could be, yeah,” Skuse said.
“When we played them at home I thought we played well, put in a good performance and should have got something from the game, but coming off the back of last weekend and that performance (it might help).
“The support away from home is always fantastic and we’ll be looking to put on a good display for them.
“I was a bit taken aback when I first signed for Ipswich because the away fans are unbelievable. The atmosphere they create is phenomenal.
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“Let’s not beat around the bush, Ipswich is geographically challenged to say the least. Every away game for Ipswich is hours and hours, hundreds of miles.
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“The away fans are fantastic, so credit to them. It would be nice to give them, on one of the shorter journeys, the win they deserve.”
Skuse admitted hearing the Portman Road crowd vent their displeasure is tough to take, but insisted it’s up to the Blues players to give the fans something to be excited by.
“We have to give them a reason to get behind us,” Skuse said.
“You can’t be putting in performances like that week in, week out and expect to get ‘oles’ and then cheered off the pitch. That doesn’t happen in any football stadium, so we need to be putting in performances that will excite fans and bring fans back week in, week out.
“It’s tough (to hear the boos) because you wouldn’t want that when you walk down the street, the booing, jeering and being told you weren’t good enough. As a human that’s not nice but it’s something you have to deal with in football.
“Only we can make amends, so it’s up to us to put in a performance and excite the fans.”
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