Paul Jewell wishes he had more ‘intelligent’ footballers like Byron Lawrence
IPSWICH Town manager Paul Jewell wishes he had more ‘intelligent’ footballers like schoolboy Byron Lawrence.
The 16-year-old became the club’s second youngest-ever debutant when introduced as an 80th minute substitute during Saturday’s 3-2 win at rock-bottom Doncaster Rovers.
And Blues boss Jewell, furious at his side’s lack of ruthlessness and key lapses in concentration, says some of his more experienced players could learn a lot from the teenager.
“Young Byron is an intelligent footballer,” said Jewell, speaking after his side finished a wildly inconsistent Championship campaign placed 15th in the table.
“You only have to tell him something once and he takes it on board. That’s what we want – intelligent footballers.”
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The frustrated Blues boss, who has accused his players of ‘doing their own thing’ on numerous occasions this season, continued: “The problem with us is we get in control and then we don’t carry on doing the simple things that got us to that stage.
“There are too many players who think they can flick it, people give silly fouls away. I even saw a player today (Tommy Smith) give them the ball back for a free-kick. I couldn’t believe it; I’ve never seen that before.
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“We just do ridiculous things that become game-changing events. We have to sharpen up mentally in those scenarios.
“I just think today highlighted the fact that we need four or five quality players to come into our squad. With the standards I’ve got we need to improve this squad.”
