Town will be without the suspended Grant Leadbitter and Jon Walters when they face Scunthorpe at Glanford Park on Saturday. The duo picked up their fifth bookings of the season in last week’s 3-1 home victory over Blackpool.
Keane says their absence gives one or two other members of his squad a chance to win themselves a place in the team: "They are important players but it gives other players an opportunity to stake a claim. We saw that last week. We brought Jaime back in and Jack, and both of them did very, very well for us.
"The two lads were on four yellow cards for a number of weeks, so it was only a matter of time before they got to suspensions and they come tomorrow and, as I say, it gives the other players an opportunity to stake a claim to be in the starting XI the following week.”
The Blues boss is unlikely to change his backline with the solidity of David Wright, Liam Rosenior, Damien Delaney and Gareth McAuley having been the base on which Town’s recent improvement has been built. Alex Bruce is still sidelined with his groin injury.
Arran Lee-Barrett will continue in goal with Richard Wright out for four months with knee ligament damage and Brian Murphy unable to play until the transfer window opens in January.
Peters and Colback look set to keep their places in midfield with Alan Quinn perhaps the favourite to join the Sunderland loanee in the centre in place of Leadbitter. Owen Garvan looks likely to continue on the left with Carlos Edwards coming off the bench at some stage. Colin Healy may also be amongst the subs having impressed Keane in the midweek reserves friendly, but David Norris is not yet ready to return to the squad.
Up front, Jon Stead is likely to continue with Stern John perhaps the favourite to partner him with two of Pablo Couñago, Tamás Priskin and Connor Wickham on the bench.
Keane, who has not yet decided who will skipper the team in Walters's absence, says that his side now need to make winning matches a regular event: "We won a game last week, lots of football teams win football matches, but the good teams keep winning and that’s what we have to do.
"We know it’s not going to be easy tomorrow, particularly in the Championship, away from home and with Scunthorpe’s home record, but we’re in good shape, we’re missing a few players through suspension, but we’re ready.”
Keane says the squad were able to train this morning despite the weather with only one unnamed player, almost certainly Ben Thatcher, arriving late: "We’re lucky, we still got to train as we’ve got an indoor facility. We trained well and we’re looking forward to the game.
"There was one player who was four hours late, but if you travel from London that’s to be expected.”
Scunthorpe sit in 18th place in the table with a home record of won five, drawn two and lost three. They have goalkeeper Joe Murphy back from a one-match ban.
Veteran defender Cliff Byrne picked up a hamstring injury last week but is expected to recover in time for Saturday’s game.
Midfielder Martyn Woolford is back in contention after a foot injury, while Michael O'Connor is also pressing for a start after overcoming a dead leg.
Striker Ben May (ankle) and defender Kenny Milne (knee) are both long-term absentees.
Iron manager Nigel Adkins says his scouts have been impressed with what they have seen of Town: "It will be a very tough game. We've had them watched. Our chief scout Lee Turnbull has been to see them and has come back with glowing reports about them.
"They didn't expect to be in the lower echelons of the division this season and they've turned it around now.
"They're a big side, they've got unity and are on a good unbeaten run at this moment in time.
"I wouldn't be surprised if come the end of the season you didn't see Ipswich around the play-off area.
"They've got Roy Keane in charge, he sets high standards and demands a lot from his players. They are aspects we're trying to emulate at our football club.
"What we've got to try and do is be prepared to face a team on Saturday who expect to be around the play-off area.
"They expect to be challenging for automatic promotion, they've got a big name manager and have a great support base and history.
"We know it will be very tough for us. They know that we make it difficult for teams at Glanford Park as well."
Scunthorpe have only beaten the Blues once in history, a 4-0 win at the Old Showground back in Town’s 1960/61 Second Division championship season. The Blues have won seven (five in the league) and drawn two (two).
The sides last met two years ago in Scunthorpe’s relegation season, Town doing the double over Nigel Adkins’s men. At Portman Road, goals from Pablo Couñago, Owen Garvan and Tommy Miller gave the Blues a 3-2 win with Martin Paterson scoring both goals for the visitors.
Later in the season at Glanford Park, Couñago and fellow Spaniard Sito, netting his only Town goal, saw the Blues to a 2-1 win with Ben May scoring for the home side in the final minute. Couñago and Jack Cork, on loan with Scunthorpe from Chelsea, were both red-carded in the second half after a scuffle.
No member of the current Scunthorpe squad has played for the Blues, while Liam Trotter spent time on loan at Glanford Park last season and came on as a sub in their play-off final victory over Millwall. The Lincolnshire side offered the Ipswich-born midfielder, who made five starts and nine sub appearances with them, scoring one goal, a contract in the summer but he decided to remain at Portman Road.
Jon Walters was also a loanee with the Iron, in 2005 when a Hull City player, making three appearances but failing to score.
Scunthorpe are confident the game will go ahead unless overnight temperatures plummet.
Saturday’s referee is Andy Haines from Tyne and Wear, who has shown 43 yellow and four red cards in 16 games so far this season. Haines has never previously taken control of a Town match. Scunthorpe fans will fondly remember his last visit to Glanford Park in September 2008 when Gary Hooper scored two last minute goals to take them to a 2-1 victory over Notts County.
Squad from: Lee-Barrett, McLoughlin, D Wright, Rosenior, Delaney, McAuley, Smith, Colback, Quinn, Healy, Trotter, Garvan, Peters, Edwards, Martin, Stead, John, Couñago, Priskin, Wickham.