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Donny Expecting Difficult Game - Ipswich Town News

Doncaster assistant manager Richard O’Kelly is expecting a difficult game when his side take on the Blues at Portman Road on Saturday. Sean O’Driscoll’s right-hand man feels Town have too many quality players to have been relegated this season, despite spending much of the year towards the bottom of the division.

O’Kelly said: "By all accounts they were unlucky to lose 3-0 against Nottingham Forest. Ipswich are a good football side and they are strong and organised.

"They've got a threat up front with Murphy and young Wickham. They are both very dangerous at set-pieces along with McAuley and Walters. They all attack the ball well in the box so it will be tough.

"They have been in danger of getting dragged into the relegation dogfight on several occasions but you always felt they have got too much quality to go down and that's been proved right,

"I think that Roy Keane has stuck with the majority of his players he's got at the club and added a few more and he's turned things around.

"That's what we did last season when we were battling against relegation. You can't go around changing things left right and centre.

"You have got to have a philosophy and believe in what you do and you have just got to try and do it."

Doncaster could have skipper Brian Stock and fellow midfielder James Coppinger back after injury on Saturday. Stock has been suffering with back and calf problems, while Coppinger has been out with an ankle injury.

Meanwhile, Town duo Pim Balkestein and Liam Trotter are both expected to miss their loan clubs’ fixtures this weekend.

Balkestein, currently with Brentford, has suffered a recurrence of his groin injury and is back at Playford Road undergoing treatment, while Trotter was subbed at half-time in Millwall’s midweek draw with Yeovil due to a tight hamstring and is expected miss Friday’s game with Huddersfield.

Elsewhere, Kevin Lisbie’s red card for a headbutt while playing for Colchester against his former club Charlton on Tuesday has been rescinded by the FA after the U’s appealed.

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