Jim can't fix it
BLUES skipper Jason De Vos has revealed the Ipswich Town players are ready to do without manager Jim Magilton in Sunday's crucial Championship clash against Hull City.
Derek Davis
BLUES skipper Jason De Vos has revealed the Ipswich Town players are ready to do without manager Jim Magilton in Sunday's crucial Championship clash against Hull City.
Magilton is facing a touchline ban when he appears in front of an FA disciplinary panel today to answer charges of foul and abusive language towards referee Mike Jones at Stoke in February.
Magilton has accepted his guilt but will make a personal appearance at Soho Square, in London, today to explain why he got so frustrated with the official during a row over Stoke's use of the multi-ball system.
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Town did without Magilton in the dug-out in the latter part of last season when he was banned following an incident at Preston and De Vos insists it will not affect the players this time either.
He said: “The boys will be okay with it. It will be disappointing not having the gaffer there but we are well equipped to deal with that sort of thing.
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“Once we cross the white line then the manager is powerless in many ways. It is down to the players to get the result.
“We look to the gaffer for guidance and leadership but ultimately the decisions you make are split- second ones you make on the pitch.”
The Canadian knows what these final-day dramas are all about and admits he would rather the crowd stayed noisy but didn't let the team know how the scores were going elsewhere.
De Vos was part of the Wigan side that missed out on the play-offs in 2004. The Latics went up the following year when De Vos joined Town and failed in the play-offs after being top of the table in March.
Wigan went up automatically at the expense of Town, who drew at Brighton on the final day while Paul Jewell's side beat Reading 3-1 to coast home.
De Vos said: “There was that situation a couple of years back when we went to Brighton and needed a result and our crowd was dead silent.
“The players picked up on that and knew Wigan were up against Reading.
“The fans were transmitting that negative vibe to the players on the pitch so we have to shut that out and ignore what is going on in other games and all we can do is win our game. That is the only result we can influence.
“I can't stress enough what an influence they can have. The players are very aware of the crowd noises and the volume in the stadium and our fans are going to be massively important to us on Sunday.”
If Town fail to go up it is likely that Sunday will be De Vos's last game as he considers retiring back to his native Canada, although he insists he has pushed that to the back of his mind.
De Vos said: “I've maintained all along that now is not the time to think about next year.
“I'm focused on the job of winning the game on Sunday.”
