Blues boss Roy Keane admitted that his side are a long way from the play-offs after Sunday’s dismal 4-1 derby defeat at Norwich. The Town manager is concerned that with some tricky fixtures coming up, his side could drop even further down the table from their current position of 16th.

Keane said: “At the moment I don’t think we’re capable of going on a run like we’ve seen from other teams, Burnley and Derby for example. I’ve been saying for a month now that we’re only a few points off the play-offs, but if anything that gap’s going to get wider because we’ve got a tough run of games.

“We’ve got injuries andwe don’t look like we’re going to score many goals, so we’re a long way off the play-offs yet.”

The Blues boss says last season’s poor run was his hardest time in management and that he constantly looks at his own performance: “It was pretty tough last year when we didn’t win for 14 games, but the expectation this year was that it would be better. I analyse my position every day, whether we’ve won three or four or lost one or two, whatever it might be. That doesn’t change.

“We’ve got to try and turn things around and it’s not going to get any easier. We’ve got West Brom on Wednesday.”

Keane believes the line-up he fielded at Norwich was decent enough: “I think our starting XI was pretty strong, I’ve been saying for the last few months that we’ve got too many young players. I think it was an experienced team, no Tom Eastman as he’s injured, as are Luke and Connor.

“But going down to 10 men made it very hard for us. Having said that, you still have to get punished for it and Norwich are a good team and are in good form and they punished us.

“When it was 2-1 we dropped back a little bit and tried to soak up the pressure. Having lost a centre-half, we had to reshuffle and we missed Jack Colback in midfield, so it had a massive knock-on effect.

“They put us under a bit of pressure, put a lot of balls in the box and they’re pretty good at that anyway, even if we’d had 11 players. A tough afternoon all round for everyone.”

Chief executive Simon Clegg gave Keane his backing just over a week ago, but the Irishman says he’s aware that patience eventually runs out: “I think we’ve heard that from clubs before about managers and the next day they’re gone. I take any comments that might come with a pinch of salt.”

Moving on to Wednesday’s Carling Cup quarter-final against West Brom, Keane says he’s not sure who will be in his squad: “God knows what players we’ll have for Wednesday. We’ve a lot of injuries, suspensions, two or three players who started today won’t be available because they’re cup-tied. It’s going to be tough. West Brom could come down and flex their muscles.

“They had a pretty good weekend, winning 4-1, and they have a chance of getting to a semi-finals. It’s another big game for us on Wednesday, but we’ve had a decent cup run, although this is the first time we’ve played a team from a higher league.

“We’ll find out a lot about our players on Wednesday in terms of their characters and personalities because we question them all the time, asking, ‘what have you got?’. We’ll know a bit more about the group on Wednesday.”

Photo: Action Images

WeWereZombies added 11:01 - Nov 29 Clegg out first and then let a new chief executive assess the situation sanely and soberly...if nothing else, it will extract a few extra calories of work from RK before he gets paid off.
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osborne1nil added 11:03 - Nov 29 steve1978 Be most surprised if Wickham has been sold, I believe his injury was genuine and caused in the mid week game. Going by M.E. sacking of JM, he would have somebody lined up to take over straight away. By taking a free agent then there is no compensation to be payed so someone who is free - Curbishley, O' Neil etc would not cost anything in compensation only the remaining term of Keanes contract.

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ordinarybloke added 11:05 - Nov 29 If Keane walks ... pray that he walks into another job quickly then he can come back and take 'the characters' he brought to this club off our books. I would have loved to see some crunching tackles, and a bit more passion on sunday. This result was always inevitable for those that have watched Ipswich's last few home games. I didnt see many characters at Carrow Road just players hiding. Keane says the ' I've got a great group here ' ... My missus says that Take That are a 'great group' but you wouldnt dream of having Jason Orange on lead vocals and Gary Barlow dancing half naked on the stage. Play the players in the correct positions or jog on Mr Keane .... I also think that Terry Butcher may be a good shout or even Gus Poyet from Brighton.

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ordinarybloke added 11:05 - Nov 29 If Keane walks ... pray that he walks into another job quickly then he can come back and take 'the characters' he brought to this club off our books. I would have loved to see some crunching tackles, and a bit more passion on sunday. This result was always inevitable for those that have watched Ipswich's last few home games. I didnt see many characters at Carrow Road just players hiding. Keane says the ' I've got a great group here ' ... My missus says that Take That are a 'great group' but you wouldnt dream of having Jason Orange on lead vocals and Gary Barlow dancing half naked on the stage. Play the players in the correct positions or jog on Mr Keane .... I also think that Terry Butcher may be a good shout or even Gus Poyet from Brighton.

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dirtydingusmagee added 11:08 - Nov 29 tearle 1974 i think reason players never had the derby passion is that half our team are loan and others never experienced a derby we have no ''IPSWICH'' we are a fragmented team of misfits dragged together by a manager who has been unable to get serious signings in from day one, there was no true blue blood.
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elmswellblue added 11:08 - Nov 29 I have said it all before, Clegg is only at this club to sell Olympic Packages for Marcus Evans. We need to make ourselves known at the next 2 games that we do not want Keane or Clegg at our club. But looking at the bigger picture I cannot see Marcus Evans getting rid of Keane, especially after he has given him permission to have 2 players on loan.
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thebeat added 11:13 - Nov 29 Get out of my club you pathetic clueless buffoon!! Get Curbishley in with Matt Holland learning the ropes beside him to take over in 5 years time and lets bring this great club back to life!!
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Thetruth added 11:17 - Nov 29 Who would want the job..........
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ChurchmanBlue added 11:17 - Nov 29 Not sure what to add to the comments made already. What I really don't understand is that as a player RK was a great leader on the pitch - a talisman for his club. He has also stated that at Man U, the dressing room was full of leaders, guys that do not need motivation from the manager to go out on the pitch and do what is required. Where are they in this ramshackle bunch of players? I can excuse the younger lads, but the experienced players like Delaney, Leadbitter, Scotland, Norris and Kennedy show no leadership on the pitch. I would also like to see us play with out all the loan signings - they do not play for the shirt, well not the ITFC shirt anyway. If they do not want to make their loan moves permanent, then they should be released back to their clubs. We should not be a finishing school for bigger clubs. The commentator said that at 4-1 the ITFC players were playing for pride - too late! Should have done that from kick-off. This is all absolute madness, it is as if RK is the polar opposite as a manger to what he was as a player - no desire. If he can't find the spark to ignite some passion for this club then he should go. The funny thing is, I don't really care if we lose at the moment, I would just like to see 11 players play like team-mates and with a passion and determination that the paying public deserves. Would the real RK please stand up, and start making a difference, or head back to whence he came.

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Dorsetblue added 11:20 - Nov 29 Well what a bunch of happy people you are today. Lets look at the clear issues. Firstly our defenders forgot the simple thing of kicking it out to row z. Holt a good bully and our players just never learnt from his play. The scouting reports must be rubbish, and the one time Norwich were really rocking was when we went at them, so taking our attacking people off was putting the nail in the coffin. Not all bad with ten men we held them for sometime. I believe Mr Keane is not here for the money and does take pride in his work but not all players are of his class and I think he finds it hard to work this out. Secondly his back room team must be poor. The knowledge that I have gained is that you must have a good back room staff to push on and I think this is were we are lacking and a team who support each other. If we had gone all out for a goal and still lost we could walk round with our heads held high, but not negative football. But my last comment is this, this is the supporters fault. Why? simple people didn't go to the cup games, haven't spent money at the club and hence renvenue is down, so sponsorship is more important and Roy being on Sky and the BBC gets free advertisment. But looking forward to the shareholder AGM, how many of you can say you put your hands in your pockets for the club you love.....? not just to watch it but put stuff back...? Mr Evans is the only person that matters Clegg is the front man but ME is the boss and so you can complain, shout and be upset but the truth is that it's pointless. In the real world we are where we are and i think we will be with keane till the summer..

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PunchNoHopers added 11:20 - Nov 29 At this rate, when we play Norwich in April they will be fighting for a top two place and we will be fighting to stay up!
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blueherts added 11:20 - Nov 29 Wickham - could def believe that one - why should he stick around ? Keane has ZERO respect from anyone at the club FACT
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ChurchmanBlue added 11:22 - Nov 29 Not sure what to add to the comments made already. What I really don't understand is that as a player RK was a great leader on the pitch - a talisman for his club. He has also stated that at Man U, the dressing room was full of leaders, guys that do not need motivation from the manager to go out on the pitch and do what is required. Where are they in this ramshackle bunch of players? I can excuse the younger lads, but the experienced players like Delaney, Leadbitter, Scotland, Norris and Kennedy show no leadership on the pitch. I would also like to see us play with out all the loan signings - they do not play for the shirt, well not the ITFC shirt anyway. If they do not want to make their loan moves permanent, then they should be released back to their clubs. We should not be a finishing school for bigger clubs. The commentator said that at 4-1 the ITFC players were playing for pride - too late! Should have done that from kick-off. This is all absolute madness, it is as if RK is the polar opposite as a manger to what he was as a player - no desire. If he can't find the spark to ignite some passion for this club then he should go. The funny thing is, I don't really care if we lose at the moment, I would just like to see 11 players play like team-mates and with a passion and determination that the paying public deserves. Would the real RK please stand up, and start making a difference, or head back to whence he came.

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steve01777 added 11:25 - Nov 29 Don't think that we have a crappy team. We (in my opinion or on paper) have a decent set of players. However what I do believe and most do on here, is that we have a Manager who refuses to play the same team week in week out. Surely then as a team of regulars, each player knows what they are supposed to be doing. Think the patience of fans have finally drawn to a close. The two defending howlers were a joke yesterday and so were we in most parts. PLEASE CAN WE HAVE A CHANGE NOW!!!!

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Dorsetblue added 11:25 - Nov 29 Wickham = two loan players + cash.
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brian_a_mul added 11:25 - Nov 29 I would love to see O Neill w/ Tarricco as assistant. But I cant see Martin O Neill managing outside the top flight tbh. Curbs would be a good signing, the work he performed at Charlton was outstanding. The day Charlton sacked him was the beginning of their downfall!! However it looks as if Keane will see out his contract till April, until then we should support the players that do put on the shirt!

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Thetruth added 11:27 - Nov 29 The atmosphere created at Portman Road is pathetic, I have heard louder at Sunday league football matches, as fans we have a responsibility too, and thats to create a hostile atmosphere, it just isnt there. I wrote to the club and told them to do something about it, play crowd noise through the pa system like they do at the San Siro, it was our only hope of generating noise. As fans Ipswich are the most fickle ever, when the times are good this board is full of excitment and praise, chips are down and cometh the axemen. Thats not true support, the likes of Newcastle and Man City fans went through bad times, their gates never changed, their fans never stopped chanting, thats real supporting, thats what our club is missing. It pains me to say this, but the truth is Norwich were hungry, up for it, had a crowd BEHIND them and a quality player in Grant Holt. If Delaney had not have made his silly mistake in pulling Holt back with 11 men it may have been a different game, but what chance have you got when your sitting deep with 10 men and trying to save your pride at 2 - 1. Where are the comments that Delaney cost us that game?? They are not here, because why blame him when you can blame Keane The truth is the players get paid to do a job, they have responsibilty as much as the gaffer.

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cambsman added 11:35 - Nov 29 This is now time to stop and question not only Roy Keane but the players under his control strange that players suddenly pick up injuries when things are not going well, has it not always been the case a happy side picks itself unless there is a Roy around it is only a few weeks back " I find it difficult not to pick Peters" because i have a very useful not tackling replacement winger in Edwards !! who we can drop back in an emergency. Roys team changes have been baffling to say the least in the past but now they just are acts of shear desperation

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blue_em_away added 11:40 - Nov 29 I heard last night that RK has moved out of Aldebrugh several days ago. Anyone confirm????
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bleedblue added 11:41 - Nov 29 you dont say
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BrettenhamBlue added 11:42 - Nov 29 REPOST I know emotions are running high but it is time to move forward and to learn from our mistakes. We have a big cup game coming up and the Club, Team and Manager need our support. A place in the semi-final of a prestigious tournament is at place. The team need to come out and be cheered not boo'ed. Confidence is obviously low, and we need to try and build it up again. I am mortified by the recent result and stunned at the level of anger on this site. Keane is going nowhere and if we continue to show our anger- Evans, who is a Chelsea fan , will see that the time is right to sell the club and invest in something else (he owes no particular loyalty to the club). We should be grateful to him for saving us when we were at a particularly low ebb. Keane listened to us against Norwich. Against wiser judgement he put out the 4-4-2 that you were all craving for. He used tactics that the players were not used to and injuries were a key factor. We got slaughtered, but he played OUR tactics not his tactics. A 5-4-1 was much wiser against Norwich and may well have got us the 0-0. Instead we tried to play Norwich at their own passing game (look where that led us). You are all looking for Keane to be sacked (a majority anyway) but he won't be. Nobody here has thought about the boards expectations pre-season. What were they? None of us know, but maybe they were to avoid the relegation zone , develop the youth team and get into the last 16 of a cup? Now if this was the criteria, has Keane met them? The board wouldn't have looked to promotion as a target this season (considering the position we were in last season). What would they have given as targets? Why don't we shock Keane and the Team against West Brom? Rather than jeering, why not sing out loudly and proudly “We love you Ipswich, we do,we love you Ipswich we do” etc. If we give something to them and show our love for them, then maybe, just maybe, they will return the favour. Show the world that we are not “fickle” fans.

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lunatic38 added 11:44 - Nov 29 REPOST RKeaneisagod i dont care whether i am banned off this site or not but to say "we need to move foward" or "we need to learn from our mistakes" are you f.....g joking? and as for the other bloke being upset with swear words i get more upset with looking at division one football with Rory Fallon leading the front line. this club is in trouble big time and if Evans did read this and decided to sell it would be the greatest thing i have ever done for ITFC!! KEANE AND CLEGG OUT!!! KEANE AND CLEGG OUT!!! KEANE AND CLEGG OUT!!! KEANE AND CLEGG OUT!!! KEANE AND CLEGG OUT!!! KEANE AND CLEGG OUT!!!

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depressed added 11:47 - Nov 29 Not interested in the carling cup....Our priority now is to remain in the championship!! P..s Poor yesterday and now the same ol sh@t talk from Keane. Ray Wilkins & assistant would do me Sort it out Evans & Clegg NOW!
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opinionscount4nothin added 11:47 - Nov 29 Message to "the truth" - There are over 250 comments on this site about the absolutely crap performance that we put in at Carrot Rd. A good percentage of which state that there were silly errors by both Odea and Delaney. Yes the players made mistakes. The manager picks the team, gives them their instructions and makes the relevant changes during the match. Can you honestly say that RK does this effectively? Yes the sending off was early on but look at the first two goals that we gave away. To anyone that still has any support for RK - wake up to reallity - this pratt has no idea and whislt Clegg and ME believe that a so called big name at the helm is better than a manager who can pick a balanced team and actually play, then we are doomed. Season ticket holders can get some of their money back - place a bet on ITFC winning L1 next season.

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nitroblue1970 added 11:58 - Nov 29 When i saw thew team sheet for sunday i was a little hopeful..2 full backs and 2 strikers, just what the majority of town supporters have been crying out for. Scums first 2 goals where gifts, individual mistakes cost us but i was positive that we wouls and could go on and win the game, I actually thought that Norwich throughout most of the game were second best, it was town who where playing some nice stuff, unfortunatly in the last third bad choices where made by some players and leadbitter in particulay, why shooting from 30 yards was a good idea only he will know! The sending off was very harsh and i think Holts reaction got Delaney sent off, the contact was minimal, and the fat striker went down like hed been shot!...after this we had to change formation obviously but the still played well in patches....i do have issues with the changes tho....striker off for a defensive midfielder......striker off for a defender.....attacking full back off for a league one striker...we were losing for christs sake!!! not playing for a sodding draw!!...these decisions were made by the manager and the buck stops with him.....we need a new man in charge but who...our CE hasnt a clue about football and the faceless " owner" puts up tents and hold corparate parties!..we need a football management TEAM!!! its our club so can we have it back!!!!

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