Roy Keane says he hopes he’s a better manager after completing his first year in charge of the Blues. The Irishman took over at Town a year ago today, signing a two-year contract.

Keane said: “Hopefully, I’m a better manager for the experience of the last year. Hopefully, the players and the staff are too.

“It’s been a difficult season in terms of the setbacks we’ve had, even at the start of the season.”

The Blues boss feels that the 14-game winless run ended any serious hopes of a play-off push: “The start to the season that we had obviously set us back. Not winning for the first two or three months gave us a massive mountain to climb and we’ve not been able to do it.

“The second half of the season has been much better, as you’d have hoped and expected.”

Keane wonders whether last season’s strong finish might have led to some complacency in the squad: “Maybe we just thought it would happen because we finished the season OK, winning the last three games.

“We’re under no illusions for this summer, it’s going to be a tough season, but we have to do better and we have to be competing in the top six for most of the season, we’re well aware of that. Anything less than that, won’t do.”

Looking back, the former Ireland skipper says there ought to have been a greater turnaround in players during the close season a year ago: “I probably should have made more changes last summer, believe it or not. I’ll defend my players to the hilt, but I just think we lacked experienced players through the spine of the team.”

And addressing that situation is his main aim for this summer: “We need a few more players, a bit more experience in the squad and that’s why I’m hoping to have quite a busy summer in terms of trying to get some experienced players in our group.

“You’ve seen that with teams like Newcastle, you need that experience to get out of the Championship and we’ve lacked that.”

Keane says he didn’t spend quite as much money as is often claimed during his first year: “I’ve had good backing [from Marcus Evans], but there always seems to be this myth with me that I’ve spent fortunes. I don’t think I’ve spent that much since I’ve taken the job. We’ve wheeled and dealed like everybody else, moved two or three players on.

“I’ve stuck with players who have been here for the last two or three years. I don’t think that was necessarily the right thing to do, but you live and learn. I know exactly what we need and I know exactly what we don’t need.”

Keane says he will move quickly to bring in his targets as soon as the season is over but warns fans not to set their sights too high when assessing who might come in: “Don’t be expecting Ronaldos to be walking through the door.

"We’re obviously interested in one or two good, young attacking players, but also experienced players in important positions which we’ve struggled with all season. We’ve never quite recovered from one or two injuries and one or two setbacks.

"I’ve got four or five players in mind and, hopefully, I will have an idea in the next week or so whether we’ve got any realistic chance of getting them.

“When the season finishes next week, we can make enquiries. One or two of these players’ contracts might have expired anyway. So, we’ll see, but you’d like to think the players we’re interested in would have a few options, so there’s a long way to go yet before we can start relaxing and feeling we’ve got these players signed.”

Scunthorpe frontman Gary Hooper, Cardiff’s Michael Chopra and Southampton midfielder Simon Gillett are understood to be amongst the players Keane could look to bring to Portman Road.

Photo: Action Images

MarkITFC added 09:29 - Apr 23 lol , if we did get Hooper and chopra ! KEANOOO
0

floridaboy added 09:30 - Apr 23 Murphy in Goal, McAuley, Delaney, Leadbitter, Peters, Norris and hopefully Wickham. Now Roy go and get the remainder to make what could be a very good side for next season
0

newburyblue added 09:39 - Apr 23 I hope we forget about D.Murphy and D.Healy! A front pairing of Chopra and Wickham, with Hooper as backup sounds very exciting! But we've still got Lisbie, Pablo, Stead and Priskin on the books, we'll need to ship out at least 3 of them if we were to bring in 2 more front men as Wickham will obviously play a huge role next season!
0

TractorRoyNo1 added 09:44 - Apr 23 re-headline let's hope so
0

Lightningboy added 10:04 - Apr 23 Hahahahahahahahahahah...d'ya reckon Roy? You had a tough second year at Sunderland..that didn't seem to make you much better at management either.
0

Blueknight85 added 10:12 - Apr 23 ^ his seccond year was in the premier league as apose to his first in the championship.....it wasn't going to be easier was it
0

naa added 10:17 - Apr 23 If he thinks we needed more news players, not less then he clearly hasn't learnt anything from his struggles this year. He pi55ed about with the team so much we never gelled and it was only when he settled down to only making a change or two that we finally started getting somewhere (albeit with results, not performances, which have been poor all season). Also worried about another 5 players. That's a lot to bring in in one go. He really does need to stop this, other managers don't do this. Also worried that he's after experience. Problem is ME wanted quick promotion, so that's what RK is after. But there's no element of squad building, it's all just fire-fighting. You need a long-term plan. If we do manage to go up it'll be another summer of loads of changes in the desperate hope to stay up. If it works, and we play nice stuff, then fine I certainly can't complain, but it doesn't strike me as the actions of a well-run Championship club.

0

itfc1981 added 10:22 - Apr 23 Hooper as back up! my arse! he would be the star man, chops is very overated. mind you I would welcome him, better than the crap we have now. Whickham excepted of course.
0

jas0999 added 10:23 - Apr 23 The trouble with transfer fees nowadays is they are often undisclosed and have numerous add ons. Roy therefore may not have spent as much as we think. His comments here though will almost certinly spell the end of players like R. Wright, Counago and Quinn - although will anyone want the last two? I am optimistic for next season, despite my prediction of a 8th to 10th place this season not quite happening.

0

blueblood66 added 10:53 - Apr 23 I think a lot of players will be off loaded..revolving door this suumer..I hope so.
0

naa added 11:00 - Apr 23 blueblood: we certainly have a large squad that we need to thin out but I'm not too keen on a revolving door policy. As I said, it hardly breeds stability - which is essential for a promotion push. The main reason Newcastle did so well is because they kept the core of the team intact. Obviously, it helped that the core of the team were all former internationals....but even so, stabillity is key. If RK is going to trounce the squad all over again I'd say he'll need at least 2 more seasons to get us promoted.

0

PaulMariner added 11:16 - Apr 23 Dont we all!
0

Lightningboy added 11:49 - Apr 23 I meant his second year in the prem Blueknight...oops.
0

Mark added 12:32 - Apr 23 I have mixed views on the comments: “I probably should have made more changes last summer, believe it or not. " - my view was that the team was not too bad and just needed two or three key additions. We seemed to change things too much and the argument was about the need to "gel" because of it. "I'm hoping to have quite a busy summer in terms of trying to get some experienced players in our group" - I am worried about players of age 30+ coming here on big money towards the end of their careers and we cannot get any money back for them due to their age e.g. Edwards. "I don't think I've spent that much since I've taken the job. " - either he means compared to Sunderland where he spent a real fortune, or it could be that transfer fees were over-quoted in the press due to the club's non-disclosure policy. "We're obviously interested in one or two good, young attacking players" - I am pleased to read that. "I've got four or five players in mind" - the risk is more big change, upheaval and hence time for gelling. I think our priorities are a decent left-sided midfielder and two strikers, much like this time last year.

0

bennyblue added 13:18 - Apr 23 he may think hes a better boss than whenever but we know hes rubbish
0

Lightningboy added 15:27 - Apr 23 ..no benny..he's great...really...
0

naa added 16:18 - Apr 23 Mark: quite right. The same players we needed last year - left-sided midfielder, striker or two are exactly what we need now. That's why I think RK has been poor in the transfer market. For any success he may have had, they were in positions that weren't really that weak in the first place.
0

Dolly2.0 added 17:18 - Apr 23 naa : stability is not the key - it's quality! No point having a 'stable' team if it's not very good. Newcastle and West Brom went up coz they had quality players, simple as that.
0

devontractorboy added 17:32 - Apr 23 If I could turn back time...................
0

RobbieScarlatti added 18:59 - Apr 23 Why does Keane always talk about players rather than management. F**ks sake. Always buying is the answer. I hate that im managers. For me, it suggests a lack of ideas.
0

SurreyITFC added 19:10 - Apr 23 There's only one Keano!!!!!! I am fully behind Keano adding to the squad in the summer and getting shop of the driftwood. All I would ask is please sign up all the players before Pre-Season so as they have all of Pre-Season to gel. its harder for the players to gel once the season starts with games coming thick and fast. Here's to a busy summer for Keano & his team and promotion to the Premier League next summer KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO

0

Lightningboy added 20:05 - Apr 23 Stll can't figure out why he sold both our left backs last summer (Harding&Richards) and only brought in the inexperienced O'connor (who he's only just started playing since march) to replace them? The man's not a footballing genius is he? Maybe he should get the players to paint a big "L" or "R" on their boots like Jimmy Cricket used to do on his wellies...
0

Mark added 20:41 - Apr 23 Lightningboy - it is because he bought in Delaney to play at left-back, which was a total disaster but then there are not many 6'3" full backs around are there?! It was only a centre back injury crisis that means Delaney was played in the middle and he has been there ever since. We did have Thatcher too, but he seemed destined never to play for Keane.
0

bennyblue added 07:46 - Apr 24 that jimmy cricket bloke is he out of contract ? we'll ave im as long as hes not ex - sunderland
0

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls