Chief executive Simon Clegg has revealed that talks are continuing with Senegalese defender Ibrahima Faye, who impressed during his recent trial with the club. Clegg was speaking after last night’s Supporters Club AGM at Portman Road where manager Roy Keane was a surprise special guest.

Keane revealed that the club would move for Faye last week and Clegg says negotiations continue: “Talks are still ongoing.”

Clegg says no other deals are currently being progressed: “What I’m now realising in this game is that things move very quickly. There’s nothing that we’re going to announce by the end of the week at this moment in time.”

Keane’s presence was a surprise to the 85 fans attending the meeting and Clegg says his attendance was deliberately kept under wraps: “Purposely we didn’t advertise it so we got the right people here, the people who came for the right reasons.”

The Town boss answered questions openly throughout, signing autographs and chatting with fans afterwards, and insisted that the Blues can still enjoy a good season, despite the poor start, although admitted that they had made things “very hard for ourselves”.

Keane says that new additions may now have to wait until January without completely ruling out possible new loan signings, particularly if other players leave on loan in the next few weeks, with the emergency window closing on November 26th.

The Town boss says he doesn’t want to have too big a squad with too many unhappy players, something he says happened during his time with Sunderland.

He dismissed a suggestion that the club’s location was a factor in some potential loan signings turning down a move to Town and said that very few players had actually refused the chance to join the Blues, certainly fewer than had been speculated in the press.

One player he had asked another manager about recently had turned the move down, but he had also discovered that the player, a Premier League reserve, was on £35,000-a-week, far more than anyone is earning at Town. That player may have been Hull City midfielder George Boateng, linked in the press earlier in the week.

Keane admitted that he isn’t surprised that Jordan Rhodes, controversially transferred to Huddersfield for £850,000 in the summer, is doing well in League One: “It was a chance I took after receiving an offer which was good for the club.”

He confirmed that the club would be "well provided for by sell-on clauses" if Rhodes subsequently moves on for big money and added that a player scoring in League One, as Kevin Lisbie has also been doing this season, is no guarantee that he’ll do the same in the Championship.

Keane added that Connor Wickham’s progress through from the academy, something which he sees as an important aspect of the club, was also a factor. He also feels the reserve team has a big part to play but says the level of football in the Totesport.com Football Combination is a disappointment, although he pointed out that Town lost their game at Watford the other night.

The Blues boss admitted that some of his summer signings have taken a while to settle in, naming Damien Delaney and Tamás Priskin amongst them, and admitted his side have “lacked experience at vital times”. Keane also felt his strikers should be more aggressive in the box.

He had praise for chief scout Steve McCall and said he was looking at improving the Town’s scouting network, as he was all other areas of the club. He said he remembered Sir Alex Ferguson saying it took him five years to get Manchester United’s scouting set-up as he wanted it.

Both Keane and Clegg said they have dealt with good and bad agents in their time, but Keane in particular felt the situation was better than it had been previously.

Keane dismissed summer newspaper claims that the Playford Road Training Centre had become a closed and unfriendly place and said fans are welcome to watch training sessions: “Anybody in this room can come along tomorrow.”

The manager himself doesn’t get involved in training matches, unlike his predecessor Jim Magilton. He says he did so once at Sunderland, lost and didn’t speak to anyone for a couple of days. Keane says he has made a conscious decision to step back.

The Blues boss said Jon Walters was enjoying the responsibility of being captain but felt it wasn’t hugely important to actually be the named skipper: “You don’t have to wear the armband to be a leader.”

Clegg was questioned about high ticket prices and said that the current structure was put in place after a great deal of thought and with the club conscious of the current financial situation.

Keane says owner Marcus Evans, who Clegg says has been a regular at Portman Road this season, was “one of the reasons I took this job” and that he has been “left alone [to get on with the job] and treated with respect” since joining Town.

Clegg said the club were reviewing their website and would make the necessary investment in this area at the right time.

Earlier in the evening, the business of the AGM had returned Elizabeth Edwards as the Supporters Club chair.

Photo: Action Images

bleedblue added 09:22 - Nov 5 I adore Keane and Clegg, what a pairing, hoenestly believe we will be a major force in English football in the next 5 years!! Come on the to-w-en!!
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SitfcB added 09:27 - Nov 5 I'm even more pi$$ed off i missed it now!! I was gonna go and was looking forward to it!! But did'nt finish work until 7.30- Unexpectedly!!! :-((((
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belfasttractor added 09:29 - Nov 5 I like what I read - it just needs translated onto the pitch.
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finidiwoah added 09:53 - Nov 5 keane knows the right things to say, we need to see this on hunger, will, desire and effort ona saturday!! i think we can go back to being a premier league club under keane- not as quickly as everybody hoped, but given time and support by the fans..... there is still some dead wood that keane has yet to turf out but at the end of the day he is at the helm and in him we have to go with his choices and wait for the sunnyside of ITFC to show its head again!!!

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campowasgod added 10:53 - Nov 5 All sounds great and I think that they could become a great partnership. However with this Faye chap , he was here a couple of weeks ago and I dont know the ins and outs of the deal but if we want him ,we should sign him quickly before someone else does .... Clegg says no other deals are currently being progressed: “What I'm now realising in this game is that things move very quickly. There's nothing that we're going to announce by the end of the week at this moment in time.” Is he not contradicting himself here ?

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HighSeasBlue added 10:57 - Nov 5 Good to see Keane facing the fans, nice touch. I hope we start to climb the league as it seem s Keane does say all he right things. Watched Faye played for the res against the scum. He seem very keen to take all the free kicks that would favour a left footer. He took one which hit the wall, but he gave it a fair old whack.
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danknott added 11:11 - Nov 5 keano keano keano
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byebyesheepshanks added 11:14 - Nov 5 Good on Keano for getting out & meeting the fans. A gutsy thing to do & no one can knock that.
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Thetruth added 11:37 - Nov 5 In the position we are in and Keane comes out and talks to the fans, quality! Keane tells it the way it is, dosent hide behind people and is not scared by anyone. Keane is the man, and yes I support him............ My view - Entitled to it
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SitfcB added 11:40 - Nov 5 Well said Thetruth!! KEANOOO!!!!!
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bluelad7 added 12:03 - Nov 5 One thing to say Supporter = Unity - Let's keep up the recent backing of Keano and the boys - Proud of you guys!
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dirtydingusmagee added 12:18 - Nov 5 Campo, i could be wrong, i think the printed statement is just an error,i thought same ,but reading again i came to that conclusion anyway .
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dirtydingusmagee added 12:25 - Nov 5 just a thought from a day or two back, in Sir Bobby's era,we seemed to explore the Dutch teams for players, that seems to have run dry ,and we have diverted to Ireland in recent years , suppose there is a reason ,money presumably![sorry if i am digressing from thread a bit .
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dirtydingusmagee added 12:29 - Nov 5 before anyone says anything ,i DO know Senegal is not Ireland! even i know its in Scotland !
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Tractorog added 12:37 - Nov 5 Whether you think Keane is the man for the job or not, you have to respect him. He is prepared to talk to the fans at a time like this and what he says is always sensible even if the press love to spin into stories like "praying for salvation" etc. Whereas every time Jim opened his mouth you just kind of though he was a nice guy but a bit of a clown. If Keane is this sensible in public, I can't believe is too far wrong in what he says to the players... Anyway, that is enough "Town-trospection" for today

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StavangerBlue added 13:04 - Nov 5 I think Keane's attitude is great. His summation of games is often realistic, he admits failures and praises good play. Like others I wish we could translate that on the pitch. To go and say "Ipswich will be a force in 5 years" I think is a little premature. Yes we may have MEvans but even with his backing there are many clubs who can punch well above our weight financially. Clubs like Pompey and Sunderland who have been "lesser" (I mean in success nothing against the clubs personally) have serious financial backing now. Not knocking Keane or Clegg but it means Town will have to be financially savy when other teams can splash the cash. Hats off to them though...COME ON TOWN!

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bigfish added 13:16 - Nov 5 All sounds good. Hopefully a great future for town.
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TractorRoyNo1 added 14:10 - Nov 5 What no moaners on here today?
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UEFA81 added 14:18 - Nov 5 Even though I have a reputation on here as being a 'moaner', I am actually now starting to warm to Roy Keane. I still don't think he's right for the job, BUT I am more than willing to give the guy a fair crack at it (not just 15 games) before dismissing him completely. Maybe I have been to hasty in my previous remarks about him - MAYBE. Time will tell.
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UEFA81 added 14:19 - Nov 5 Bloody hell, I sound like Marcus Evans, lol. You know what I mean though.
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AJblue added 14:20 - Nov 5 Good grief he talks a good game doesn't he? I honestly believe there is a bright future for us, whether Keane is in charge then is another thing, but the groundwork that he and Clegg an ME are putting in at the moment is key. There seems to be some people on here angry/upset with the lack of loan signing, and yes a new signing IS exciting, but I would rather we got the right man/men than just anyone. As Keane said, it could mean waiting 'till Jan. I presume from this statement he has people in mind, and would rather wait to get them, than sign premier bench warmer/journeyman. I have said in several previous posts how exciting times are at PR now, and this just reinforces my belief. If you feel differently, oh well, not much i can do about that, but you have to admit with Keane in charge, life is far from dull!! And dirty...great shout,Holland is a breeding ground for talented footballers...not often i agree with you is it?

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Greektractor added 14:24 - Nov 5 lol, starting to win over the nay sayers. You'll come crawling back when we start to climb the table, one win and its already started!
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AJblue added 14:24 - Nov 5 Careful UEFA81 perhaps you should post your address on here so we can send medical help if you need it. Next we will have CGS on here saying RK is going round his house for Sunday tea!!!! Better isnt it when we arent all fighting? C'mon get behind the blues..... COYB
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UEFA81 added 14:31 - Nov 5 Greektractor - it's not the fact that we won that has made me start to warm to Keane, it's the realisation that it is now time for me to put my personal feelings about his past to one side and see what he now is in the present - the manager of the team I support. Him and the team deserve the support of all Town fans. I can now well and truly say I have finally got over the bitter disappointment of our crap start and league position and realise that Town need our support more than ever at this moment in time. No, Roy isn't going to CGS for Sunday tea because I've already invited him here.

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FormerlyCGS added 15:00 - Nov 5 I dont wanna come on here and spoil the mood but all you lot.........only joking! I dont like Keane and would rather have someone else in charge, but speaking to the fans like he has done is one of very few things i like about him! It shows he is confident we will get out of HIS mess, I just hope we will! Seriously though it is alot better when no one rows on here - perhaps iot because I had not commented yet? I have doubts about this left back, anyone without a club this time of season worries me, but hey I aint seen him play! KEANE IN, OUT I MEAN OUT!

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