Town boss Roy Keane says young defender Tom Eastman has done “brilliantly” since he came into the first team and says he’s not looking to sign another right-back. Eastman, primarily a central defender, has been the Blues’ regular right full-back in recent weeks.

Keane said: “I don’t think right-back is a major problem for us. Tom Eastman’s done brilliant for us, [the Derby game] was his first defeat in the first team this season. He’s played eight games for us and that was the first loss.”

The Blues boss, who kept his players in their dressing room for just over an hour after Tuesday’s match, says the youngsters need the support of more senior players when they’re having difficult evenings: “He’s three months out of the youth team, he’s been brilliant for us and is going to have a great future ahead of him, but Tom, like other players, is entitled to an off-night.

“But when they have an off-night they need players to help them out, same with Connor Wickham. They’re two players just out of the youth team. If you think those two boys are going to get us out of the league, then you’re kidding yourselves.

“Tom Eastman’s done brilliantly, I’m delighted with Tom. Tom’s the least of my worries. We’ve also got other right-backs such as Jaime Peters and Troy Brown.”

Having ruled defender Gareth McAuley out of Saturday’s game with Barnsley straight after the Derby match Keane now says the Northern Irishman does have some chance of making it, albeit a slim one. He told the club site: "We had to take Gareth off with the injury and he is very doubtful for the weekend.

"He has been struggling for a week or two with an achilles problem and was touch and go for Tuesday night as it was.

"David Norris is unlikely to make it as well. As often happens with ankle injuries, if they don't settle down in a week they can become a problem."

Skipper Norris, who is the subject of a new billboard at Ipswich Station, picked up the ankle problem in the Millwall match. Grant Leadbitter is suspended from Saturday’s game having reached five bookings.

Photo: Action Images

yarmoblue added 09:09 - Nov 11 dont need a right back ???? you have lost it man.....
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wcoote added 09:21 - Nov 11 Keane is a MASSIVE idiot.
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GiveusaWave added 09:22 - Nov 11 Its clear to everyone except you that we need a right-back..... Are you saying our right-backs are the same quality as David Wright/Danny Simpson etc? If so why did David Wright play so many matches last season?
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Surco72 added 09:23 - Nov 11 It shows how deluded Keane is then .its not just about his defending Roy full backs are supposed to be attacking options cannot Eastman or Smith marauding down the flanks putting in wonder balls . Wait till we play Swansea ,Sinclair will take Eastman apart .Nobody on this site can say that Eastman or Peters are better options than Wright or Rosenoir at right back . And at least with the injuries to the centre we might start playing Colback in his right position and have a left sided player for once ,Leadbitter has been poor for most of the season and alot of last season and should have been dropped anyway ,taken apart by Derry and Savage . Keane has rid us of "the dead wood " and by the looks all of our passing players ,this team and the formation he continues to play needs a creative attacking midfielder all we have are workers who chase balls continuely hoofed out from the back . Good to see Garvan fulfilling some of his undoubted potential under George . In reality we have only beaten 1 side in the top half of the table Cardiff when there two best players were missing ,the rest we have come up painfully short ,but if we continue to beat the bottom sides a mid table finish looms and after 2 years no real progression and the media experiment can be ended

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Wallingford_Boy added 09:24 - Nov 11 Because Tom Eastman was about 14 at the time!
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GiveusaWave added 09:27 - Nov 11 Saying that- just took a look at the stats. David Wright fell out of favour at one point and played so many matches because he was forced to play at left-back... Quote of the week- Keane rapped: "Yes, I am angry. We all need to have a good look at ourselves and see where we are going. "Mentally we need to be more switched on." Keane was aiming to notch three league wins in a row on Tuesday night for the first time since taking charge 18 months ago. He added: "Maybe it's just the nature of this club. "There's a soft centre running through it." I have supported Keane from the start, and maybe (naively) still suport him....but I am fed up of his comments....

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Bluecynic added 09:33 - Nov 11 Keane's comments probably taken out of context again. Having said that we could do with a natural Right Back. I do think Eastman is doing well though generally.
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bluecrossy added 09:37 - Nov 11 clueless
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osborne1nil added 09:38 - Nov 11 Have to agree with you Surco. I will say that it is nice to see Keane backing the player (at least publicly). We have had a quality right back issue for a long time now but it was never helped by getting rid of D Wright and not replacing him with someone who is a dedicated right back rather than the Keane system of square pegs in round holes. I tend to agree with Keane in that I also feel Eastman will be a good defender but as a CB not RB. No loss IMO with Leadbitter out as he has been poor this season and I feel Hyam has been better than him in keeping the ball on the ground and passing it. Leadbitters fixed balls this season have, in general, been p##s poor. Jamie Peters I feel has had a good season and he too is not a RB more of a winger and should be starting games as the strikers are not getting balls to feet very often, mainly hoof balls from the back or keeper. Sometimes these forced changes (as at the start of the season when we were doing okay) turn out for the best as some of the players Keane has been fielding week in week out are just not doing the job. Although I do not agree with alot of what BlueLady posts (as I do not rate Keane very highly as a Manager) I did agree with you prefered line up you posted the other day for this Saturdays game, spot on, I hope you are right.

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bluelady added 09:45 - Nov 11 Have to say to me this stinks of tight at the back let's hope we can nik a goal type negative football - can see why he has dropped townsend now, far too creative!! I am usually positive, but without attacking full backs we could have torres up front and we'd still not score! Strikers need supply which will only come from a forward thinking attacking defence and midfield. Own goal keane, much more of this and I will be joining the keane out brigade! That said comment re garvan, yes scored two this week but I've been following his progress and it appears he is as inconsistant as ever, not the mesiah some of you seem to believe him to be. Much prefer colback but only if playing centre mid.

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olepablo added 09:53 - Nov 11 Keane- what a genius you are !! Why would we need a right back? We got so many centre backs we can play there !! Lost count of th number of times Eastman and Smith went on the overlap and set up attacks on tuesday!! I despair, when can we have a real manager????
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nitroblue1970 added 09:57 - Nov 11 Oh for gods sake!!!! Ive always been a keane supporter as i believe most town supporters are, but to suggest we dont need a right back (or left back for that matter) is madness. On tuesday we were crying out for some width that would be provided by proper full backs rather than a "converted " centre half, Im pretty sure a few more quality balls into Derbys box would have given us goals and a 4-2 win! Asking Tom to do that job is fine in the short term, but the long term plan must be to fill the position with someone who is comfortable in that role. So hopefully O dea (who does look promising) will return along with Kennedy, albeit a little leggy these days!....but it does seem they are both injury prone so far! so we do need an alternative...yes ..yes i know we have Jaime Peters but i believe hes better in midfield as the link player with a proper full back...but with the midfield competition at the club at the moment he may have to bide his time...and Civelli will be pushing hard soon too! Coyb!

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Surco72 added 10:07 - Nov 11 Bluelady ... Not saying Garvan a messiah saying he is a young lad who will only get better playing the game the right way with great vision who has scored 3 goals from open play and created 3 for others for a team bottom of the table ,who out of our million pound plus midfielders or premiership loan players can match that ? And if you think Garvan has no future due to being inconsistent then we may awell get rid of our whole team apart from Mac

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alfromcol added 10:09 - Nov 11 RK quote re Eastman : "He's played eight games for us and that was the first loss.” it would have been more losses but for the stupendous work being done by Macauley and Delaney in clearing the crosses coming in from players beating our two "centre half" fullbacks!! It took RK several weeks to realise that we needed two up front, long after many 'people with no knowledge of football' on this site were calling for two up front. It looks as if it is going to be the same with having 2 centre backs as full backs!! Bloggers with no knowledge of football can see the problems but will have to wait a further couple of defeats or so before RK sees it.

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townfan added 10:12 - Nov 11 Enough with this. How can we aspire to do anything when our manager is convinced we don't need full backs that can do what they were desinged to do, defend and attack. It amazes me how a man that was such an important player within one of the greatest sides ever can be so clueless. We are one dimensional, at best. Predictable and boring. Two words I never thought I'd associate with this great club. At one point during the game on Tuesday, MF had the ball on the edge of his area and there were THREE players in front all with time and space, but instead he decided to go long...AGAIN! I don't know what's more worrying, the fact that the keeper didn't see them, or that not one of the three wanted the ball. Tom does a good job, but the poor lad is a CB. I feel for the bloke. 17,000 on a Tuesday night against a decent side should tell you everything. Enough.

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Cr0wman added 10:14 - Nov 11 Possibly this comment was not aimed at us, but in fact @ Eastman himself, in an attempt to rebuild his confidence after a poor display Tuesday night. He was given so much abuse from the crowd it was unreal (remember he is only 18). Part of the reason that we have historically produced so many good young players from the ranks is that we have shown patience and have given the chance to develop. Keane is not a fool and this may be his way of using the press to put an arm a player when he needs a boost.... This may seem like a radical idea, but why don't we as "supporters" (The clue is in the word supporters) do the same when the young lads are on the pitch instead of giving them a hard time. Look at the difference a bit of support has made to Priskin recently... Rant over.. COYB

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alfromcol added 10:23 - Nov 11 Cr0wman THe whole point is that 'the young lad' should not be on the pitch in that position. Happy to see him at centre half as we woundn't expect him to go over the halfway line. These aren't practice games for the future, they are real games against real teams
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bluelady added 10:27 - Nov 11 Sucro I know you weren't but a few comments recently have made him into a bit of a god which he isn't. I'd also rather by seventh than bottom three - but as you will see m getting frustrated too with the lack of vision. Garvan isn't the answer but nor is square pegs In round holes!!!
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StowTractorBoy added 10:36 - Nov 11 Somwhat perlexing comments from Mr Keane. Has he not forgotten the mistakes Eastman has made and got away with - of which there have been many. Tuesday he was found out and will continue to be found out with speedy wide men. It is not his fault he is at right back and the lad has done well but for Keane to say we do not need a right back is ludicrous. I am with you Roy but you do say some stupid things.

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whippet added 10:37 - Nov 11 I always read and never post but feel i need to say something about this. how can we not need a rb? In simple terms, Peters is a midfielder, eastman is a centre back. Troy Brown is the only rb we have at the club and he is not ready (a loan spell in Division 2 would do him good) We do not have a right back. I was there for the last 2 homegames sitting in the NS. McCauley and Fulop were outstanding and helped us stay in the game against the constant threats from the wings. Eastman was beaten so badly that if it had been a boxing match it would have ended midway through the 1st round. feel genuinely sorry for the lad,he is a centre back. only an incompetent manager continuosly plays players out of position at their age. the reason Eastman is being bood is because of Keane as he is a good centre back. peters at rb? why? he is clearly much better in midfield. smith is being played out of position also and is well out of his depth. other clubs are laughing at our tactical incompetence and we are not sorting it out.we could have signed McNaughton. why didn't we? do not like the negativity on this site but something is clearly wrong. Keane will be playing Fulop at rb next. seems grant L cannot do anything wrong at the club either, the golden boy obviously! I would love to be a fly on the wall when the team sheet goes up.all of our players must be praying they are not at rb!

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Cr0wman added 10:46 - Nov 11 alfromcol Agree with your point, but the lad can't help where he is played and no matter how much people on here moan, neither can we!! What we can do as fans is get behind the team and young players in particular and hopefully build their confidence. Also maybe then we won't have the imbarassment of being out sung by 450 Derby fans. We want players like Colback to stay longer and possibly sign up long term, that is less likely if the crowd are always on the backs of the youngsters.

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Ipswich24 added 10:51 - Nov 11 The only reason Keane has such praise for this guy is that he probably does not argue or disagree with him you cant have an opinion of your own with him the guy is a centre half who can head a tackle not a modern day full back wake up!!!!
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Vexorg added 10:55 - Nov 11 Wonder what Jon Walters reckons
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brian_a_mul added 11:00 - Nov 11 Again the flat back 4 needs to be addressed, its affecting our defense and attack. The full backs dont push up to mark space behind wingers leaving huge gaps for opposition to run in to. When the opposition have players like Commons and Cwyka, that means danger! Dito against Watford. Defensive FB's also dont support the wingers (or midfield) as normal full backs should leaving the wide players isolated and easier to defend against. Kennedy is fit and should start next game at LB and hopefully Peters will get nod at RB. I think Keane will stick with Eastman to give him a boost. I cant understand why Peters hasnt been starting as he was one of the better performers (@RB!) at the start of the season when we were playing well (Kennedy also started the season as LB). IMO Townsend needs an experienced LB behind him to help him focus on his game. Kennedy is a great communicator and captain material and has a sweet left foot for corners/free kicks. Need to get him on the pitch!

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bobble added 11:03 - Nov 11 such a positive happy club under mr keane ar'nt we ?
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