HARNESS MY SKILLS
I cannot be a supersub all season warns hero
TWO-GOAL Marcus Harness wants more than a bit-part role in Ipswich’s chase for promotion.
Harness made it three goals from off the bench in the last two league games.
But the 27-year-old insists he’s not happy in the shadows as the Tractor Boys make a push for the Premier League.
Ipswich have lost once all season but that record was under real threat approaching the last 10 minutes of the game.
Struggling Blues, with three successive defeats since Wayne Rooney took charge, thoroughly deserved their surprise 2-0 lead. But Town boss Kieran McKenna rolled the dice, turned to his subs, and saw Harness floor the home side with a quickfire double.
The ex-Portsmouth man wants more of the same – well, not quite the same.
He said: “Obviously I’m happy to do that because the points are the most important thing but I’m not here just to make up the numbers. I’m happy to contribute but I want to be more than just a supersub. It was a difficult game for us but I’m delighted to score the two goals that turned things around.”
Ipswich are on fire but this game served to remind them that there are plenty of fences to clear yet.
Harness added: “There are no easy games in this league and this says a lot about our character and determination. The manager will have a look at what we have to work on and we’ll be stronger for it.”
While McKenna was happy with his changes, disappointed Rooney (above) felt his subs were, well, sub-standard.
Rooney groaned: “I can’t really fault the lads but the one thing I can fault is some of the lads who came on didn’t do enough. I make this point to the players all the time – if you’re not in the starting XI, you need to be ready to come on.
“The lads worked extremely hard to put us in the position we were in and, when you’re coming off the bench, you need to be better than a few of them were.”
But the former Derby boss went on: “I’m seeing improvement every week. There were good signs against Southampton last week and we’ve improved on that against a good, tough Ipswich Town side.
“We got the team organised, on the front foot, and for 45 minutes we were excellent. That dropped a bit second half, which was obviously disappointing.”
Jay Stansfield and a Cameron Burgess own goal put the visitors in a real fix and they needed to come up with a solution, fast. Up stepped the support crew, Dane Scarlett also having an impact with a hand in both goals.
Once Harness had seized on a loose ball for the first goal, you could sense anxiety among home fans brought up on disappointment. Harness confirmed their worst fears with a cracking strike a minute from time to salvage what could be a valuable point come the final run-in.