Boss Roy Keane has stressed the importance of bringing players with the right character to Portman Road during the summer.

Keane told the club site that a player's approach to the game can be more significant than his more technical attributes: "It's important that we bring in the right characters for the football club. I like to know a little bit about their personalities.

"Attitude is more important than ability in many respects now. To play for a professional club, you are going to have a decent level of talent anyway, but to get to the very top and have a long and successful career, you have to have a good attitude. A real determination to improve yourself every day, and without that you're in trouble."

Town have already been linked with innumerable players this summer, often for no other reason than that they were members of his Sunderland squad or are reported to have been made available by Manchester United.

Keane says this is something he was expecting: "I'm hoping it will be a busy summer, but it could be a quiet summer. Media speculation is all part of the game and we were always going to get linked to this player and that player, and I'm sure it will carry on all summer.

"We have our targets and, if we can get them for the right price then great. If we can't, then we will back away and be patient.”

Photo: Action Images

Ipswich Town Polls