Town manager Roy Keane says he doesn’t see any “negative energy” amongst his squad these days after the summer’s numerous exits. The Blues boss says he has moved on players who he felt had a less than enthusiastic attitude towards training.

Keane said: “I don’t see any negative energy, I don’t see any players coming in feeling like it’s a chore to train or play for Ipswich Town. I think every player on our books at the moment is coming in and having a right go, and that gives you a chance.

“If you’ve got players moaning all the time, thinking the world’s against them and not even able get in for a quarter-to-ten, get them out the door, I say.”

The Blues boss says some but not all of those that moved on didn’t approach training in the right way: “I think the difference from last year would be that there were players whose attitude to training I wasn’t particularly comfortable with. Deep down they knew that and that if I had half the chance I’d get shot of them. Maybe that’s the difference now with the players we’ve got at the club.

“I’m not including everyone in that, don’t think Garvs, Steady or Jon Walters are amongst them, don’t tar everyone with the same brush. But there are one or two players who have left the club because when they were out of the team they weren’t really good for the club.

“I don’t expect my players to be happy when they’re not playing, but you still have to set an example, particularly if you’ve got a bit of experience behind you. You’ve got to set an example for the younger players, like Colin Healy did at training this morning.”

Keane is pleased with Town’s first few games of the season, but isn’t getting carried away: “It’s been a decent start. We had a lot of games last year where we were unbeaten, but, of course, there were too many draws in there. We’re pleased with the start, we’ve had some tough games and we’ve got some tough games to come.

“We’re pleased with the spirit of the players, the attitude and we look forward to another tough game on Saturday.

“We’re pleased so far, but it’s only August. If we’re having this discussion in March and April, I’ll be quite happy.”

Photo: Action Images

BrightBlue added 10:56 - Aug 27 Keane: No Negative Energy This Season ...... lets hope this filters through to some of the less supportive fans! I'm constantly buzzing so far this season.... RK keep up the good work!
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GiveusaWave added 11:02 - Aug 27 It would be nice to speculate on who his loan targets might be .... Federico Macheda (unlikely to get into the Man Utd 25..) Tom Cleverly (same problem at man Utd...) Martin Skrtel (same problem at Liverpool) Jonjo Shelvey (same problem at Liverpool) Alex Tchuimeni-Nimely (same problem at Man City..) This is just to name a few...a lot of these players are going to end up dropping down to the Championhsip temporarily.... If we don't get them- some other championship clubs will....

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Bluetone added 11:04 - Aug 27 Beattie and Hunter were poor trainers, not taking it seriously, sloping off for a cigarette etc. I just wonder whether their like would even get a chance under the Keane regime.
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Papa added 11:09 - Aug 27 I have always sat on the fence when it has come to Mr Keanes performance as a manager but reading the above makes for brilliant reading. At a club like Ipswich, we will never be the best but what I do want to see when I watch them is 11 players giving 100%. So what if he is bashing a few old players? They're not here now so it brings no negative vibes back to the club it only sets a precedent to those that are here still. I hope Keane does do well, that passion, that expectancy and the fact he genuinely gives a sht is what I want at my club

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Skip73 added 11:15 - Aug 27 TractorGeek, I hope you're not referring to Counago being an adequate striker. The bloke was a waste of space with a bad attitude to boot.
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8ashblue added 11:28 - Aug 27 I cant see RK going for high earners as they're most likely to disrupt the dressing room. While the squad with the current injuries looks a bit thin at least we've got good team spirit (large squad = unhappy fringe players/unrest). Depending on the view taken on longer absentees, i expect 2/3 loans at most. Townsend will be back soon and Wickham cant be far off but we'll likely lose Norris or Leadbitter for one game soon as they'll reach 5 yellow cards. Therfore i expect one attaking midfielder plus striker fairly soon.

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positivity added 11:38 - Aug 27 with the 25 man squads, you can have as many young players as you want on top of that, so macheda, cleverley etc won't NEED to move on.
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notoriousITFC added 11:52 - Aug 27 no more transfers for town. a couple of loans maybe... http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/i/ipswich_town/8947742.stm
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Crock added 12:54 - Aug 27 He would find lots of it if he looked in a mirror.
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Surco72 added 13:58 - Aug 27 Perhaps less negative public condemnation from the manager also gives players a boost and togetherness unlike the start of last season ,dropping players for one mistake ,telling them they would never play for the club again then recalling them ,telling them to find a new club ending up as our player of the year. All these factors add up to negativity in a squad not just who trains well ,but i do think the team spirit is definately up this year so well done Roy

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ITFCKeano added 09:25 - Aug 28 Bluetone - Could you imagine what Beattie and Hunter would have been like if they'd not gone for quick cig's etc and had followed the Keano attitude? Wow! What a walk over team that would have been. Shows how good the rest of the squad were back then to be able to still lift them. That said though, maybe if they'd not had that freedom, maybe they wouldnt have been so good. Who knows?

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tom_the_blue added 10:46 - Aug 29 I'm guessing this is aimed at pablo...
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