Ipswich Town beat Gillingham 2-0 in the EFL Trophy this evening.

Manager Paul Lambert has made it very clear what he thinks of this competition this season.

The Town boss has, unprompted, been discussing his desire to play the kids in this game for several weeks, stressing on Friday and after Saturday’s game at MK Dons that he thinks the competition should have been sacrificed during what is the most congested of seasons.

Lambert has insisted he will ‘take the fine’ (£5,000) that comes with breaking the competition’s selection rules, which compel sides to field four ‘qualifying’ players in their starting XI.

Defeat tonight would see the Blues close to exiting the competition and would book Gillingham’s passage into the knockout rounds.

Town can’t be knocked out tonight, even if they lose, given Crawley and Arsenal’s U21s don’t play until next week. An Ipswich loss and a Gunners win in that game would see Lambert’s men exit and ensure the trip to Crawley next month is the deadest of dead rubbers.

A win, though, would mean Town will be in a position to progress when they take on the Red Devils of Crawley.