Boss Roy Keane says fellow Cork man Damien Delaney is the player he is least likely to fall out with in the wake of the dismissed claims of a training ground bust-up involving the two earlier in the week. Delaney is a doubt ahead of today’s game with a virus which saw him miss training on Thursday.
Keane said: "If I have a bust-up with Damo I am in trouble because I have a lot of time for Damo. It’s the usual rubbish. I think I had it a few weeks ago with Connor Wickham.
"If there’s one player I’m not going to fall out with then that’s probably Damien because he’s a fellow Cork man.”
The Blues boss says this type of story often appears during the kind of run the club is currently on: "That’s lazy journalism again. The usual stuff when we lose a match - people writing headlines about myself. I get bored answering these questions.
"Where some journalists get these stories from I do not know. It’s disrespectful. It’s unfair on Damien, it’s unfair on myself.”
Keane is sure that if he remains at Portman Road similar reports will appear: "I’m sure there’ll be another story in the next few weeks about something else, about me going missing or bust-ups with people. It’s just lazy, but I’ve had it throughout my career, to be fair.
"It’s unfair to Damien because he’s not that type of lad. I’ve said it before, he’s a good professional, he’s missed out on the last few games, but there’s a good chance he’ll be involved on Saturday.”
"I’ve experienced it before at my previous club. When the team aren’t winning matches people will say stuff about bust-ups, about managers going missing. I’ve been down that road before, so it’s water off a duck’s back.”
Meanwhile, midfielder Grant Leadbitter has insisted that the club is in good shape despite the poor recent form: "Definitely so, we have the right people and good people who all want to go upwards. We have good players and it’s up to senior players to help the younger ones out and get us through this silly period.
"We have been the better team in the last few games, but have not been getting results. I’m confident it will change and we must learn from situations like Swansea when we were ahead and on course to win.”