Town boss Jim Magilton has admitted that he was close to leaving David Norris out of the squad for Saturday's live Sky game at Doncaster Rovers (5.15pm, Sky Sports One) after the controversy surrounding the midfielder due to his goal celebration at Blackpool a week ago.

Magilton told the club site: "It's been a difficult week for the lad and everyone at the football club.

"I know the media and public spotlight is going to be on him, especially with the game live on Sky TV, but he wants to play and he will be in the squad for Saturday.

"It's not been an easy decision, I came very close to leaving him out, to be honest. It's an important game for us, we are building up some momentum now and I want every player totally focused on the job in hand, but he assures me that he is ready to play and maybe the boy needs to get back to some sort of normality, and that means playing football matches.

"He knows after the media coverage he has received this week that he is going to be in for a rough ride for a while and he's going to have to deal with that.

"The lad made a big error of judgment last weekend. He has apologised publicly and will be visiting the Peak family in person next week to do so privately.

"He has been fined by the club - with that fine going to charities chosen by the Peak family - and I think Ipswich Town Football Club have dealt with the matter as well as we could have done."

Magilton looks likely to start Town's first ever game at the Keepmoat Stadium with Norris on the right of midfield with Owen Garvan and Veliche Shumulikoski continuing their excellent partnership in the centre. The Town boss will have to choose between Alan Quinn and Darren Ambrose for the left-sided role.

Even if Magilton decides to continue with Quinn, named in the Championship Team of the Week for his display at Blackpool, new loan signing Ambrose is likely to be play a role from the bench at some stage.

At the back, the Blues will almost certainly be unchanged, despite Ben Thatcher closing in on full fitness after his torn thigh muscle. David Wright and Moritz Volz will continue at full-back with Richard Naylor and Gareth McAuley in the middle.

Alex Bruce, who now looks certain to leave the Blues in January, is again likely to be on the bench, while Tommy Smith is Town's only long-term injury, his broken ankle keeping him out of action until early in 2009.

Up front, Jon Walters is likely to continue, his versatility allowing the Blues to switch into a 4-5-1 formation if required. Kevin Lisbie will probably start alongside Walters with Pablo Couñago and Jon Stead coming off the bench at some stage. Danny Haynes could be included in the squad after overcoming his abductor injury.

Bottom of the table Doncaster, whose home record reads won one, drawn three, lost four, have an injury concern regarding left-back Gareth Roberts, who has a tight hamstring.

Midfielder Richie Wellens is OK after a groin injury, while defender Shelton Martis, on loan from West Brom, may be fit enough to return after his hamstring problem.

Attacking midfielder James Coppinger is back in training after a calf injury, but defender Jos Van Nieuwstadt is definitely out due to yet another hamstring injury, as is full-back Sean McDaid, who is likely to require surgery on a dislocated knee.

Rovers haven't won for 12 games and have only nine points after 16 matches. Scoring goals has been their main problem, only two having come in their eight home games and five in the eight matches away from the Keepmoat.

Manager Sean O'Driscoll says he and his staff have sought to make little of the match being live on Sky during training: "We have tried to get away from the fact that the game is on the television. I don't think that we've ever focused on that before.

"The 5.20pm kick-off will give us some logistical problems as we've never kicked off at that time before.

"Whether we bring the players in for training in the morning is something we've not yet decided.

"But apart from that we've tried to carry on as normal. Ninety-nine per cent of the things that we do we think we do well. We've just got to work that bit harder to finish of our chances.

"But we've got to create chances first and foremost; nobody is going to give you any chances in this league.

"We have tweaked training a little bit and we've made it more focused on certain aspects of our game.

"But the players are under pressure anyway so I'm very wary of putting more pressure on them because that defeats the object of what we are trying to do.

"Everybody has tried to be supportive of each other, which is what you need."

O'Driscoll says the Blues will be difficult opposition: "They are capable; they have spent money and they've got a good fan base.

"They are organised and have got players who can score goals. Being an established Championship side gives them more of a hard edge because it is such a competitive division.

"Like any other team in this division, they are really difficult to beat if you go a goal down."

The Blues have never been beaten by Rovers in the league, winning twice and drawing twice in the clubs' only four meetings. The teams' league clashes came in the 1954/55 and 1956/57 seasons with both games at Doncaster's old Belle Vue ground ending in 1-1 draws.

At Portman Road, the first match ended with the Blues running out 5-1 victors and the second with Town winning 2-0.

More recently, Town travelled to Belle Vue for a Carling Cup second round tie in 2004/05 which the home side won 2-0 via goals from Richard Ravenhill and Jermaine McSporran.

As well as being live on Sky in the UK, the match is also live on Setanta in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Supporters elsewhere in the world are likely to discover that they may be able to watch the game as well.

Closer to home, the club are opening the Far Post Bar and Centre Spot to show the game.

Town fans will be dismayed to discover that Saturday's referee is Kevin Friend from Leicestershire, who has shown 47 yellow and three red cards so far this season.

Friend, who has a reputation for favouring home sides, is best known to Blues fans for sending Fabian Wilnis off at Plymouth two years in succession and also showing Town players six yellow cards on the first occasion.

Friend's last game involving the Blues was the 3-0 home victory over Barnsley in September when he failed to book any Town players.

Likely squad: R Wright, Supple, Volz, D Wright, Thatcher, Naylor, McAuley, Bruce, Shumulikoski, Garvan, Campo, Miller, Norris, Quinn, Ambrose, Walters, Lisbie, Couñago, Stead, Haynes.

Photo: Action Images

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