Sky Sports: Jack Clarke breaks silence on poor Ipswich Town form with veiled nod to Tony Mowbray at Sunderland.
Jack Clarke opened his FA Cup account for Ipswich Town on Sunday, scoring in a 3-0 win over Bristol Rovers, which pleased Sunderland fans.
SUnderland supporters are still keeping an eye on Jack Clarke and how he’s doing at Ipswich Town. Despite an overall bad start at Portman Road, Clarke has scored his first Ipswich Town goal and may have the confidence to score in the Premier League. He scored in his team’s FA Cup victory over Bristol Rovers, which finished 3-0. Meanwhile, Sunderland lost 2-1 to Stoke City in the FA Cup third round, losing in extra time. Regis Le Bris and his squad may now concentrate on Championship promotion. Ipswich have the opportunity of an FA Cup run, though KieranMcKenna’s focus may well be on the Premier League with his side in 18th right now.
McKenna will be hoping that by changing Clarke’s position, he has finally solved the Clarke issue and given him a confidence boost after scoring his first goal. If he has, he and Clarke may owe their success to Tony Mowbray.
Jack Clarke’s veiled nod to Tony Mowbray at Sunderland
Speaking to the East Anglian Daily Times after scoring his first goal for Ipswich Town, Clarke stated that he is not concerned about his lack of goals and is convinced that his luck will change as long as he is ‘doing the right things’. Clarke remarked, “That one felt good, and I’m hoping to gain some momentum for the next few games. I never overthink it [bad form]. As long as you’re doing the right things day in, day out, your luck is going to turn at some point.” And that echoes statements he made in 2023 when evaluating his excellent record at Sunderland under then-manager Mowbray.
In an exclusive Sky Sports interview, he said: “I believe he [Mowbray] understood our squad’s strengths. “We spent a lot of time figuring out what we were strong at and what would help us in specific games. Getting the ball in the correct places at the right time. “I go out there every week and do my best. Things come off sometimes, but not always. To experiment and enjoy football. He offers you the platform.”
Tony Mowbray gave Jack Clarke a platform, now Kieran McKenna must do the same
In the same interview with Sky, Clarke mentioned how Mowbray suited him wonderfully as a player because he gave him ‘freedom’ to play and attack. Clarke clarified: “For a young attacking player he gives you the freedom to express yourself, and that’s all I want to do.” Clarke has found himself in a difficult situation at times for Ipswich, owing to the fact that the club is frequently caged back while facing considerably superior opponents in the Premier League.
However, McKenna has assigned Clarke a new duty. The Ipswich manager refers to it as a ‘up right 10 role,’ and the highlights from the game against Bristol Rovers show Clarke much farther up the pitch and closer to the opposing box, where he was most threatening for Sunderland. Clarke undoubtedly learnt a lot at Sunderland under Mowbray. It will serve him well in the Premier League, but he and McKenna must continue to experiment, like Mowbray did at Sunderland, to fully realise the winger’s immense potential.
Read more on sportupdates.co.uk
Leave a Reply