Town manager Roy Keane says his side get no ‘12th man effect’ from the Portman Road crowd to help them in their fight for promotion from the Championship. The Blues boss was unhappy with the booing and cheering of opposition passes during last week’s 3-1 home defeat to Barnsley, feeling that his younger players bore the brunt of fans’ frustrations.

Keane said: “I don’t think it’s the type of club where we’ve a 12th man dragging us to promotion. We hear other managers talking about Celtic and the great European nights, Stoke at the moment.

“For us to bring this club forward it will come from within the club, it won’t come from outside or the supporters. It will come from the players and the staff and with a bit of luck.”

During an occasionally fiery Thursday press conference, the Town boss said he was saddened rather than angered by the crowd’s reaction: “I was fine, disappointed, but nothing surprises me in football.

“You always remember these things. I remember when I played for Ireland I got booed against Iceland because one reporter, who was an idiot and was pals with the manager, did a piece saying the fans should boo me. And guess what? They all booed. Sheep. One or two boo and the rest follow.

“As I’ve said before, I remember after the Watford game [at home last season] when I thought the fans were brilliant and they cheered us off the pitch even though we drew the match and were in the difficult run. You don’t forget these things and you don’t forget the fans last weekend either.

“Having said all that, that’s not all of the supporters,” he added. “I’m not trying to tarnish all the supporters.”

Keane says it’s probably for the best that the next couple of games are away from Portman Road: “I think it will be a benefit over the next few weeks that we’re away from home and the players can go out and relax a little bit and enjoy what they’re trying to do, which is learning their trade. And they should be applauded for that, not jeered.

“I think it’s too easy now. We see it with other games, we saw it with international matches on Wednesday night. There’s this mentality of booing teams all the time.”

The Irishman has no objection to being the focus of fan dissent himself, indeed he says he thrives on it, but wants supporters to back the players: “They can boo me all they want. I never went into football to be popular, in fact it drives me on and I bloody enjoy it.

“Get behind the players, get behind the young players that we’ve got. We’re two points off the play-offs and players who are 18 or 19 years of age are getting jeered and booed.

“Young Connor Wickham’s coming on and the fans are booing because I’m taking Tamás Priskin off. We’re 2-0 or 3-0 down at that stage, they should be applauding Connor coming on.

“Two weeks ago they wanted Priskin out of the club,” he continued. “All of a sudden we shouldn’t be taking him off. I’ve nothing against Tamás, I think he’s doing well for us, but you have to make changes.”

Keane concedes that some negativity is inevitable but believes that last week’s reaction was out of all proportion: “When you lose matches, you put up with that little bit of criticism.

“But I think that the way the atmosphere has been over the last few weeks they were going to be criticising everything anyway, whether it was the referee, the pitch, me, the staff, the players, the substitutions we’re making. Way over the top.”

The Blues boss says he has no objection to supporters giving their viewpoint but doesn’t see the sense in booing: “The fans have a right to express their opinion, I have no problem with that. I’ve been at clubs before where fans do that. But there’s a certain line which has to be drawn. And I’m entitled to my opinion.

“It’s an emotional game, I understand that 100%, the ups and downs of being a supporter. What they did last weekend was wrong, that’s my opinion.

“They didn’t support the team. How can you support the team by booing? They can question all they want about taking players off. We’ve got a young 17-year-old, the future of the club, what’s he supposed to think when he’s coming on to the pitch and there’s booing?

“We can’t kid ourselves that if we’re not performing we’re going to get criticised, but there’s got to be a balance to that of what’s right and what’s wrong, and what happened last week was wrong.

“I don’t care what anyone says, "Keane continued. "I don’t care if you’ve been a supporter of this club for 50 years or you work in the media, we all know it’s wrong. You try and teach your kids that — what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong, and our players have to listen to that nonsense.

“That’s why I think it might be a benefit that we’re away from home for the next couple of weeks, and we’ve got some tough games.”

Photo: Action Images

Jonnosdreadlocks added 16:19 - Nov 19 Keane just go, and go back to Ireland too if you can't say anything nice about the country in which you have made your fortune. His distain at Ipswich fans and England makes me sick!
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itfchorry added 16:31 - Nov 19 KEANE OUT
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itfchorry added 16:31 - Nov 19 KEANE OUT
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EatonBlue added 16:43 - Nov 19 Sorry to see that Roy has made the same error as many other unenlightened commentators. The oles and boos were clearly ironic humour intended to make a point to RK, that point being that we were incapable of putting two passes together. It was also intended to be mildly amusing on an afternoon when there was little other entertainment to be had. The booing of the Priskin substitution was accompanied by a chorus of 'you don't know what you're doing' which was understandable given that Priskin was the only player looking remotely capable of putting the ball in the net.

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legoman added 17:50 - Nov 19 I think the ole behavior can best be summed up as insensitive to the youth present on the field.
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jas0999 added 18:08 - Nov 19 What a shame there are still a number of 'fans' who still think it is acceptable to boo during the game. Let me ask you - if you were a 17 year old boy, about to come on, and hear a loud chorus of boos - what would you think? There can be no excuses for this behaviour. It sends the wrong message to the younger players. I don't think Roy has an issue with fans showing their frustration at the END of the game - but during and cheering the opposition. Simply pathetic. Whether you like Roy or you don't - as fans of ITFC I am sure we ALL hope that our team wins. Therefore for 90 minutes at least, we need to get behind the TEAM. Forget Roy. Forget the hatred. Support the team. If unhappy at the end - then boo - but not before then.

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tractorintheloft added 18:33 - Nov 19 Hmmm....I think Roy is missing the point. His arrogance has got in the way of seeing what some of the fans are upset about. We are used to having more downs than ups at Portman road but the ITFC culture of playing football and going about our business in certain way has been destroyed by a desire for a quick solution. This is the reaction you saw on Saturday. We want to be playing football and the cheers were ironic when we saw Barnsley do it. I feel the crowd were 100% behind the team until the 3rd went in and another tactical blunder saw Priskin taken off. The crowd that has been brought up on a certain style of football is voting on its feet and the attendance is dwindling. There's talk of ticket prices but….now anyone who has stated “Keano spot on” or “fickle fans” a question for you: Have you enjoyed the style of the football or the style of the club since Keane took over reins? Do you think that 30+ years (remember the adverse reaction to Duncan & McGiven's anti football for results?) of football tradition should be sacrificed chasing a return for ME's investment? Should Woods & Klug have been sacked? For me NO NO NO!

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bluechick added 18:54 - Nov 19 Roy the booing was for you and you alone. Even you can work that out so stop hiding behind your players.
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TractorBeezer added 18:59 - Nov 19 The Blues boss says he has no objection to supporters giving their viewpoint Does Keano truly understand the viewpoint of most of the fans? No width, four centrebacks in defence, very easy to defend against etc. etc. He or his staff should try sitting higher up in the stand...it's so obvious.
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AshFinland added 19:41 - Nov 19 They are highly paid, professional sportsmen. It is not cheap to watch Ipswich play and I believe very strongly that supporters have a right to voice their feelings. This is a football club, not a fascist state. Stop looking for other people to blame. It's not difficult. Get the players to pass the ball to one another, instead of playing like some horrendous imitation of Wimbledon in the late '80s and we might just cheer. I was very strongly behind Keane when he came here but I find that I dislike him more and more every time he opens that stupid mouth.

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3_5_2 added 19:46 - Nov 19 I paid £33 to watch that rubbish v Barnsley - if the players had given 100% I could live with the poor result but they didn't (most players that is) They failed to turn up for what ever reason (yet another slow start to a game) so when the booing started I joined in - in the same way that if they deserved it, I would have cheered them, that is my choice Don't take the ITFC lightly, it takes a lot to p!ss them off but Keane is doing that by alienating almost all the players and staff (yet another row this week with Pejic in the frame) and now turning the fans again You are losing it kean, time to go before you destroy any more what is left of OUR club

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BlueArmy01 added 20:12 - Nov 19 Hopefully Roy this is the straw that broke the camels back Even John duncan didn't slag off the fans, after all you lot are the professionals on ridiculous wages while we struggle to afford to watch your pitiful Football. But as you said what do we know we are just lifelong FANS, how dare we have an opinion other than what we are told to have..................
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warkway added 20:18 - Nov 19 We have some of the most patient and loyal fans in the league. Keane may have drifted in 18 months ago, but we have endured ten years of this. I appreciate from listening to the Star recording that the hack was goading him, but he should not come into this club and criticise the fans. He should have more respect for us, who were here many years before him and will be here many years after he has left. His arrogance destroyed the relationship with the sunderland fans at its going the same way here.

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JayITFC added 20:19 - Nov 19 I think Connor Wickham is more than capable of realising the fans are booing our tw@t of a manager for a poor substitution rather than the 17 year old wonderkid!
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alitfc added 20:29 - Nov 19 Let's face a few facts here shall we? We all want ITFC to succeed and be back in the Premier League, we all want to watch attractive football and we are ALL entitled to our opinion. In response to Mr Keane's 12th man, we know that ever since our stadium improvements the atmosphere has gone, the old North stand had an awesome atmosphere even when John Duncan's teams were playing in front of 10,000 of us, does no one remember Fabian's goal against a certain team from Manchester, Sir Alex said it was an incredible noise throughout the game. The powers that be will make the decisions in their own time, too long for some of us I agree but that's how it is, they will be alarmed at the attendances dropping all the time, but we will still go back week after week because we love the club no matter who runs it, owns it or plays for it, let's back the team in their efforts and hope the performance level of the Barnsley game is never seen again. COYB

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legoman added 20:48 - Nov 19 alitfc. We are a youth development club now so the barnsley game might be seen again! However when we all bond together, watch out rest of the championship!
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northernblues added 20:53 - Nov 19 this is mr keanes smokescreen!
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itfcbam added 21:13 - Nov 19 Keane is absolutely SPOT ON. The crowd now days are more like the 10th man rather than 12th. To be honest this has been the case since just before the end of the Royle era. Too many players (many young) over the years have targeted for consistant abuse during games by the so called home support, and we wonder why often they play with fear! That said the away support is almost the opposite.

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I_8_NARWICH added 21:30 - Nov 19 Mr Keane is really starting to step over the mark. He just seems to have forgotton that last season we all pretty much stuck with him through thick and thin and now he has just forgotton this and has publically attacked our fans, who in my opinion had every right to boo the team on saturday and also at his decsion to bring off our best player. I do think there is only enough that us fans can take and i am now starting to belive that this club hasnt moved foward since Keane has took over as manager. Me personally i think he should stop having ago at us fans and constentrate on making his team better because i think hes forgetting that we pay a lot of money to watch that sort of terrible football which for me is just unacceptable for the price that tickets are nowadays, and a little tip Mr Keane NEVER get on the wrong side of the fans as they are the most important part of the club and if we dont like it then we can change it and we will still be here after you have left so get over yourself, you havent achieved anything as a manager yet and if you fail with us then that will be the end of your career and you will be forgotton!

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WREXHAM_BLUE added 21:56 - Nov 19 Spot on Keano!!
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h32 added 22:07 - Nov 19 Mr Keane, after your latest outburst and critisism of support, I have had enough after 44 years of being a loyal fan. I know my token gesture will mean very little - but you can now stuff it once and for all. I may return to Portman Road at some point, but under this man never again, - this club is not the true Ipswich Town that I knew for so long. I therefore withdraw my support - and don't even begin to suggest I am not a true supporter - it's just that I, individually or collectively, will not accept being treated with total contempt and disrespect by this man any longer.

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itfcbam added 22:24 - Nov 19 h32, intitled to your opinion but Keane is SPOT ON. Read the whole release not snippets. Collectively we are some of the most fickle winging supporters out there. The treatment of Priskin is the classic example. Boo, jeer, whatever after the game but doing it during will NEVER EVER help the team or individuals struggling. As I said previous the away support is excellent as they get behind the team, more often than not at home we are on their back. Keane is the only one with the balls to say it though, it probably will ultimately get him the sack though.

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NathItfc added 22:50 - Nov 19 15 grand a week.!!! HELLO PEOPLE I don't care how old you are, I would be running miles on that money, sign me up. I'm 17. And blaming the fans for booing is a complete and utter joke! This club is a p*ss take. Keane you've got 3 games, show us what you can do.
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h32 added 22:50 - Nov 19 itfcbam - equally you are entitled to your opinion - but to keep blaming the supporters for everything is futile and out of order in my opinion. You mention the treatment of Priskin, I would think that most ill treatment has in fact come from the direction of the Manager, having only recently given him a decent run in the team and beginning to play to the players strengths. Blame culture in the direction of support is the easy option - and will further drive people away, which any club can ill afford. But maybe the club only wants 'nodding dogs' in the way of support - if so it's heading in the right direction. But not for me.

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north_stand77 added 23:22 - Nov 19 Nathitfc Have I missed something from ME? I wasn't aware he had given Roy Keane 3 games to prove himself! Booing your team is a totally counter productive. If we want to see success for our team, we should support the Club and ALL its staff. It was the supporters who booed and then cheered Barnsley who let us down. Have to agree with Roy Keane.
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