 Friday, 19th Mar 2010 11:48 Boss Roy Keane looks set to ring the changes when the Blues face Barnsley at Portman Road on Saturday having been less than impressed with the performance during the 2-1 defeat at Watford on Tuesday. The Town manager felt youngsters Shane O’Connor and Connor Wickham were his side’s best performers at Vicarage Road. Keane says a reshuffle is very much on the cards: “I learned a great deal from the other night and there’s a good chance I’ll be changing the team on Saturday.” The Blues boss says his team failed to match the Hornets’ desire from the start: “Watford were hungrier than us the other night. We had two or three players who felt they could just put the shirt on and perform. “The two players who did the best were Shane O’Connor and Connor Wickham, two boys who have made four starts between them and they’re leading the way, which tells you a lot about the group of players we have. “I’ve been defending my team all year, but the other night the way two or three of them started the game made you think we were 10 points clear at the top of the table. “We’d one or two the other night without the hunger and it came across in their performances. Obviously I’m not going to mention names, but they know who they are.” While Owen Garvan was replaced after 22 minutes, Keane says he could have made even earlier substitutions: “I wouldn’t say Owen Garvan was unlucky, although he was unlucky in the sense that there could have been another two or three coming off with him, but I can only make three substitutions. “I should have made the three substitutions after 10 minutes and if we picked up an injury, so what? ”We’ve got talented players and Garvs should have started the game better. When he kicked the ball out of play after three seconds, I was thinking ‘how have you prepared for the game?’.” Earlier in the season after the defeat at West Brom, Keane said some of his players were unlikely to play for the club again, a statement he later admitted regretting making. Despite Garvan’s early substitution and his anger at some of his players’ attitudes, Keane says all his squad are still in with a chance of selection: “There’s always an opportunity, but there are players who are running out of opportunities, particularly as we’re coming towards the end of the season when decisions have to be made on certain players. “It’s not about letting me down, ultimately they’re letting themselves down because they’re talented players. I watch them every day in training. It’s not as if we’re working with amateurs or a pub team. They’re good players and we’ve seen that on a lot of occasions but not enough.” Keane says some of his players continue to consistently make the same errors: “We all make mistakes and young Shane made a mistake the other night, but it was an honest mistake and as long as he learns from it that’s what life in football’s all about. “But there are certain players who are making the same mistakes week in, week out. They’re the ones who’ll take you nowhere fast and I’m aware of that and we’ll sort it out.” The Town manager concedes that he may have made an error himself when he changed his the side which had won the previous two matches for the Watford game: “We talked about trying to keep a winning team. I appreciate it when people say we probably should have kept a winning back four, I made that change and that was probably wrong.” Keane is unhappy that some of his team only perform at home and that has led to the inconsistency which has contributed to Town’s struggles: “The biggest thing holding us back all season has been the inconsistency of the team. The first back to back victories came last week, which says it all really and it’s a bad reflection on the players, myself and the staff. “It was probably too much to ask the group of players we have to win three games in a row, so we’re aware of that. We know where we’re at. If we start a game like we did the other night, we’re heading for trouble.” As for Saturday’s match, the Blues boss says he’ll look to make changes: “There’s a good chance of that, but if we win on Saturday there’s a chance I mightn’t change the team for Tuesday, however, we’ve got a tough game on Saturday, there’s no getting away from it. "Barnsley have done well and they have been scoring goals. They have picked up some good results against the top teams, particularly at home and we know it will be a very tough game. "They have a striker in form [Daniel Bogdanovic] and that has been the difference between us being a half decent side and not this season.” Keane expects a somewhat better display than at Watford: “We’re at home and the players will probably be ready for the home games. It’s the away games we have the problem with.” The Town manager is unlikely to drop keeper Brian Murphy but David Wright will probably return for Liam Rosenior at right-back. Damien Delaney and Gareth McAuley are likely to continue at the centre of the defence, although Tommy Smith may be in with a chance of inclusion, with Shane O’Connor on the left, having been one of the players who most impressed his manager at Watford, despite his error on the second goal. Arran Lee-Barrett is likely to continue keeping Richard Wright off the bench, despite the former England keeper having been fit for some weeks now, Keane having said no one shone in a poor reserves performance on Wednesday. In midfield, David Norris is likely to return, probably for Owen Garvan with Jack Colback — who Keane says he expects to be playing in the Premier League regularly with Sunderland next season - and Grant Leadbitter probably keeping their places. Skipper Jon Walters will be OK to play despite having a scar on his leg from John Eustace’s wild challenge during Tuesday’s game. Alan Quinn is an injury doubt with a groin problem picked up in the reserves but was unlikely to be involved against the side which wanted to sign him in the summer in any case. Up front, David Healy could come into the starting line-up having impressed when coming off the bench at Watford, while Daryl Murphy will probably get the nod ahead of Connor Wickham alongside the Northern Irishman. Barnsley are currently 12th in the league, five points and five places above the Blues, with an away record of won six, drawn two and lost nine. Tykes manager and former Canary Mark Robins says that his side are generally making progress: "We've got to maintain the form that we've shown over the last couple of weeks, the Newcastle game aside. "I'm delighted with the way the season is going. The players have still got a lot to play for. There are 10 games left to go and a lot left yet for these players to aim for." Robins agrees with Roy Keane that the Blues are better at home than they are away: "Ipswich are a different proposition at Portman Road and I went to watch their match against Cardiff City last week when they played very well. "They have only lost two matches there all season and do not concede many goals. They have had a lot of draws but are not a bad side and they have some very good players. "We need to be focused and ready for them. We cannot afford to have our minds on anything else apart from Ipswich. My players are professional and we want to finish the season properly. I want us to go out and see what we can achieve." Barnsley will be without winger Adam Hammill, who has a hamstring strain, while defenders Carl Dickinson (knee) and Rob Kozluk (knee) will both again be missing but Darren Moore is back having been away on compassionate leave. Historically, Town have done well against the Tykes, winning 18 games between the sides (17 in the league), drawing four (four) and losing 12 (10). At Oakwell earlier in the season, former Town loanee Jon Macken’s last minute goal gave Barnsley a 2-1 victory. The Tykes had gone ahead in the first half through Iain Hume, who later smashed a penalty against the bar, Liam Rosenior equalising for the Blues just before the break. Last season, two goals from Jon Stead gave the Blues a 2-1 victory at Oakwell, Daniel Bogdanovic pulling one back for the home side. At Portman Road, Stead was again on target, along with Owen Garvan and Ivan Campo, as the Tykes were defeated 3-0 on a nightmare evening for then-keeper Heinz Muller. Barnsley striker Reuben Noble-Lazarus became the youngest-ever Football League player during that game at the age of 15 years and 45 days. The most famous meeting between the sides came in May 2000 at Wembley when the Blues won the play-off final 4-2 to reach the Premier League. Richard Wright is the only player in either squad to have played that day. Jon Macken is the only former Town player currently with Barnsley, while Anderson De Silva played alongside Pablo Couñago at Malaga. Blues midfielder Colin Healy, currently on loan with Falkirk, spent 2006/07 at Oakwell but made only two starts and eight sub appearances during an injury-hit spell. Jon Walters was at Barnsley for three months in 2003/04 when a Bolton player, making 10 starts and two sub appearances but failing to score. Saturday’s referee is Neil Swarbrick from Lancashire, who has shown 81 yellows and five red cards in 29 games so far this season. Swarbrick’s last Town match was the 3-2 derby victory over Norwich in Jim Magilton’s final game in charge as manager at the end of last season. Squad from: B Murphy, Lee-Barrett, R Wright, D Wright, Rosenior, O’Connor, Delaney, McAuley, Smith, Norris, Leadbitter, Garvan, Colback, Peters, Walters, Edwards, Martin, D Murphy, D Healy, Couñago, Wickham.
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