Blues boss Roy Keane felt his team settled into the snowy conditions better than Leicester after Town’s 3-0 victory over Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Foxes. Eriksson was less than impressed that the match went ahead in conditions he believed were more suited to skiing.

Keane said: “We looked at the conditions and I don’t think it was going to be a night for too many touches on the ball.

“Rory was a good asset to us, obviously you can understand why Leicester brought Howard on after 20 minutes.

“We played to our strengths and adapted to the conditions and scored three good goals. There was good honesty amongst the players, which was particularly reflected in the third goal with Shane not giving up and chasing a lost cause and we got the reward.”

The Town manager says that although the conditions will be what’s most discussed, his team went out there and did the business: “Everyone’s going to be talking about the conditions, when we were taken off and whether it should have been played. The game was played, we adapted better, we scored three goals and we move on.

“The referee was under lots of pressure, as you’d expect, particularly from Leicester. Once the game started, I don’t think there was an issue with the safety of the players, and we were passing it OK.

“But when you’re taken off after about 58 minutes you’re always concerned and it would have been typical if it was called off. It wouldn’t have surprised me, the way things are going.”

Keane had praise for groundsman Alan Ferguson: “The groundstaff did very well, Fergie and all the lads.”

As for his own position, the 39-year-old Irishman says he isn’t getting carried away after just one victory: “I’m glad we won the game but the pressure’s still on. It’s one result.”

Sven-Goran Eriksson felt the conditions didn’t suit his Leicester team’s approach: “We were not good on the snow, that’s for sure. It’s difficult for the referee when he starts a game and after 30 minutes we are 3-0 down.

“If the result was 0-0 when he took the 10-minute break, he would have said ‘no more game’, but at 3-0 for them, it’s very difficult for him. There was a lot of pressure on him.

“I can’t really say [I’m disappointed with my players], we conceded some goals easily. But in the second half, what shall I do? It’s not our way to play football to nick it long to Stevie Howard and try to win second balls. We’re not that good at that. We want to play football. We are not good on snow.”

The Swede says the match, which was shown on TV throughout the world, was a poor advert for football: "If you look wider on it, who wants to see a football game like that? If I'm sitting in Australia in a bar, I switch off for sure.

“If I'm sitting in Sweden, I've never seen football in snow because I go skiing in snow, not playing football.”

Photo: Action Images

urbanblue added 01:08 - Dec 19 I have been a Town supporter for 40 years but have lived in Australia for the last 10 so first of all can i thank all you posters for keeping me abreast of all thats been going on for the last few years. This site has been a lifesaver for a diehard fan ..... Have now decided to join in ! I watched the game on the internet, and when i saw the line up i nearly went to bed ! Seemed a complete lack of creativity and flair (No Priskin !) However, when i saw the pitch and the game started i realised that, this time anyway, Roy may have got it just right. This was a game for solid workhorses and so it proved. Fair play, the team were up for it and the spirit was good but i fear we still have a long way to go to pull ourselves out of the mire we appear to have got ourselves into. I am sorry, but for someone who has been bought up on years of playing the Ipswich way Rory Fallon is not the answer. I hope Keano just realised that this was just not the game for Priskin, but fear he is inflicting another of his 'punishments' and we may not see him for a coupla games now. On a general note what has happened to Luke Hyam ? I never understood why Keane changed the successful side from the beginning of the season.

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roytheboy added 01:18 - Dec 19 It's gone one in the morning and I'm starting to feel warm again, but I was so thrilled to have been there today, there were so many good positive things and I'm really happy for the team, the Manager, and all the loyal Supporters including myself, it has made me feel very happy going into Christmas, there is still a lot of work ahead, but tonight I am so pleased, we played with passion and skill and everyone did well including the Groundsmen and Stewards who were also clearing the pitch, with that sort of determination how can we not do well !

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moomoosereni added 02:30 - Dec 19 Oh christ c'mon, lets get some perspective here people! Great result, wanted it more, and Keane got some tactical decisions right today. And I do hope that he gets that right EVERY week. But I'm waiting to see if this is the case. I fear that it is not. We still look weak at CB without Mcauley. Delany and Smith did a job but too often we get exposed with simple wide or over the top balls. Upfront we delivered today, but against more tactically aware sides I think Fallon and Scotland would not be as effective. Glad to see Fulop in goal, just prefer him to Murphy. Great result Town and hope we push on but Keane you still have a way to go before my head is turned.

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Back_The_Boss added 07:22 - Dec 19 The conditions were the same for both teams, it was Ipswich who accepted the unhelpful conditions and made a game of it. Sven can moan to his hearts content but the match was always going to last the 90 minutes.
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bluebrit added 07:53 - Dec 19 This will be one game that won't be forgotten for a long time. I was convinced that the match wouldn't be finished and in truth during the latter stages of the second half conditions on the pitch were deteriotating to almost farcial levels. Nevertheless the result was fantastic and lifts the mood before Christmas. The walk back home never felt better. Bring on Watford!

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Brazilian added 08:24 - Dec 19 Brilliant performance Happy Xmas COYB
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Trickster added 08:24 - Dec 19 Falon was Great. Held up the ball and released it well. Best of all I won £78 at the match! COYB
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mental1 added 08:32 - Dec 19 Gutted i couldn't go, well done boys great result and well deserved, coyb!!!!!!!!!
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Calmingwind added 09:45 - Dec 19 good result and good bit of graft put in by the players was certainly needed, however conditions were right up our street with the way we play. was nice to see O'conner back in the team and he was one of our best players today in my opinion. noticed a few pro-keaners have raised their heads again as i thought they would on this result. todays game is only one step on a long road for roy to get things right at town. im not going to get carried away with it, and i dont think many town fans will. christmas though is the perfect time for us to push on and try get a run together games come thick and fast and 3 points against watford would be huge. if we can come out of the xmas period with a respectable amount of points and some good performances then, maybe then i will start to gain back that small sliver of belief that we might be ok but even then i still dont think Roy is the manager for ipswich.

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RetroBlue added 09:48 - Dec 19 Leicester players were never up for the fight , and were trying to get the ref to call the game off from asa early as the 10th min. Key points : 1. Town look a totally different side when they play it on the ground - ball to feet - pass and move.The conditions yesterday , meant Town had to play this way...and look at the outcome!!
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RetroBlue added 09:54 - Dec 19 FAO Vic: "we didnt have to adapt (ref long ball game), they did". Well that was a load of twaddle, cos Town DID play the short game ...and when ever we do , we are a totally different side to contend with. Too many players today are mamby pamby . In the good old days the game would NEVER have even been in doubt. This is supposed to be a "man's game" - truly laughable!!

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thechangingman added 10:08 - Dec 19 Well done Roy - you've proved the old adage to be true: Even a broken watch is still right twice a day...
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corshamblue added 10:12 - Dec 19 I must say, Tommy Smith had a great game at the back and continues to grow as a player. As for the Snow, I must admit I was worried when they went off - still 3 points and happy days for now. 3 or 4 wins in next 4 or 5 matches should do wonders for the league table. COYB.
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bluearmy4life added 10:15 - Dec 19 For the first time in ages I felt happy walking home after the game. Need to build on this win and really get some big points on the board over xmas. In my OP I don't think we can afford to lose for a while now lets get are season back on track and see where it takes us. COYB
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bluelondon added 10:49 - Dec 19 Patience and intelligence is key now. There are alot of critical fans on here who turn on whoever they can at the first sign of adversity, which frankly shows their own insecurities. Lets try to not follow other clubs and give our managers a decent amount of time to put down a legacy. Great performance yesterday
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dirtydingusmagee added 11:15 - Dec 19 Sorry Sven ,it snowed ,both teams had same coditions ,we played well ,no way was it a''poor advert for football, it was enjoyable to watch ,even to neutrals [and it probably made the canaries sick as parrots ,they would have been laughing for weeks if it was abandoned at 3 nil.So a bit of sour grapes Sven.Admitted had score been other way ,we would have said same but thats life. Ican remember being at Portman rd way way back on a similar night, LAST NIGHT WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED TOO. COYB .

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Drew added 11:19 - Dec 19 Delaney was brilliant, O'Connor was fantastic, Kennedy getting 90 minutes was a massive boost for us, nice to see Wickham get some game time. Defensively we looked very solid, and that can only improve with McAuley returning next month. COYB
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old_and_blue added 11:21 - Dec 19 So Sven though it was the wrong sort of snow eh? The game probably shouldn't have started but SKY has a programme schedule to keep. Once started, it had to finish and I'm glad it did.Poor Sven, never mind..
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RRanger added 11:31 - Dec 19 Interesting interview with Fallon in Kiwi online paper - particularly regarding his lack of goals and why many supporters don't really understand/appreciate the role of a good target man. This certainly applies to many of the blinkered idiots that post on this site. RK obviously sees Fallon as an Emile Heskey type player:the odd goal but many many assists and quite possibly the missing link to enable Scotland to be that 20 goal striker we are all looking for.He could be the buy of the season and I for one hope we seal the deal in the transfer window.

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bobble added 11:31 - Dec 19 same problem though 1 win in10 games and everyones happy as..... it should be be 1 lose in 10 games and everyones happy as ........keane out.. we are going nowhere gee its nice to win again but its taken how many games ? unacceptable keane out
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RRanger added 11:32 - Dec 19 Sorry forgot to put link to article in my post. http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/football/4474483/Ipswich-keen-to-keep
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Dorsetblue added 12:05 - Dec 19 Ipswich players wanted it more and maybe it was a sign to say that they want to play for Keane. If they had lost it then I would suspect Mr Keane would be looking for a new job today. The ground staff and stewards did a wonderful job, and the ref I thought had a good game and better still he didn't bottle it when under pressure. A good result and a great improvement over recent weeks. People who said we just played long ball I must have missed something in the snow showers because we played it on the ground as well as up in the air, but so did Leicester. Must have been a fun trip for Leicester fans going home... A14 past Kettering and snow = rubbish

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nobrain added 12:31 - Dec 19 Bobble - no 'everyone' is not happy. Some people are because we won - which is quite understandable. Life is not just about moaning and groaning mate - we are all entitled to celebrate a success - which is what last night was. And, BTW, I don't 'love' Roy Keane.
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StowTractorBoy added 13:01 - Dec 19 I just could not enjoy the match for fear of it being aandoned. The best part for me was the final whistle with 3 points and massive relief. When I reflect every one of our players actually played well and any thoughts of not playing for the Manager were surely dismissed. Delaney I thought was excellent tonight and back to his former self but as I said earlier all the lads played well. My God how we owe Watford one and I just hope and pray we get some revenge on them on Boxing Day. Last season we outplayed them - they had one shot and won the match so come on Town lets see another good performance and Keano leave the team as it was last night.

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Hereford_Blue added 13:07 - Dec 19 Best we have played in a long, long time. To those saying that the conditions suited us better because we played long ball, I disagree, we played some really good stuff on the ground. Thought Scotland and O'Connor linked up superbly at times. Can only cross fingers now that Keane keeps the faith in Shane, because I thought in terms of effort, work rate and composure on the ball, he was by some distance the best player out there. I am not a fan of Mr Keane but if he can keep the boys playing like that then I'll be a happy man. COYB

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