Bristol Rovers boss Mark McGhee is looking forward to bringing his side to “brilliant” Portman Road in the first round of the Capital One Cup but isn’t overly chuffed about having to make a 400-mile round trip. Town is the furthest possible trip the League Two side could have been handed in the regionalised draw split on a north-south basis.
The Blues have been handed similarly lengthy first round League Cup trips themselves in recent years with a tie at Shrewsbury in 2009/10 and at Exeter the following year.
McGhee, who was a member of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen side which beat then-holders Town in the UEFA Cup in 1981/82, says that while he likes coming to Suffolk he’d prefer to be playing nearer to home: "It's not ideal from a timing or travelling point of view — especially if our first league game of the season was to be away from home in the far reaches of the north on the [following] Saturday.
"Equally, it is a fantastic place for us to go. It is a game against Championship opposition and is one that we can use as a focus and motivation throughout the weeks of pre-season.
"Portman Road is a brilliant place to play, I've always loved going there. It's a great pitch and there is always a good atmosphere, so I'm looking forward to that one already because it will be a good test for us."
The tie is likely to be played on Tuesday 14th August, although the Football League has said it will allow clubs to move matches to the preceding Saturday, something McGhee said his club would consider, although they have already have a pre-season friendly against Coventry pencilled in for that day.
The Olympics will still be going on on the Saturday, which means there will already be significant pressure on transport links which would be used by both Rovers and Town supporters getting to the game.
Clubs will learn their league fixtures on Monday at 9am, when Town's will be available on TWTD, and a decision on the scheduling of the Capital One Cup tie is likely after that.
Meanwhile, former Blues boss Roy Keane is reported to be in the running for the vacant manager’s job at Birmingham City, along with Lee Clark, Alan Curbishley, and Phil Brown.
Elsewhere, ex-Town defender Troy Brown, 21, has had his Rotherham contract terminated by mutual consent and has joined Aldershot, where he ended last season on loan.