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.

Photo: Action Images

superblueflude added 14:40 - Mar 19 Because Dietmar - you so called loyalty is based on not even a completed season, how about giving him his 2 years and then discuss it.
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MightyPaz added 14:44 - Mar 19 Main problems for me are: (a) Ruling by fear seems now to be the norm, players will never relax and perform. This is borne out by never going more than one up (bar Cardiff) (b) Where's the passing gone? We played it out from the back once at Watford and I remember thinking "ah a passing move". It's the Ipswich way, but not Roy's so far. Why fight through three players when you can pass around them. (c) Walters is well off the boil. Possibly a time to think about the captaincy as it seems to have damaged his game. Maybe a bit of bench time. McAuley is better off without the armband, maybe Jon too? A fine player but so much is untidy and bolshy about his games at the moment. He spent half of the Watford game just shoving their left back. (d) Decide the best team and stick with it! Robson did this and it worked for him. You win a game, same team same subs. You lose a game, make a change if you want but think about giving them a chance to redeem themselves. You'll soon see who's up for it.

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ITFC1985 added 14:44 - Mar 19 to be honest the situation we are in isnt all down to the manager or the players, i feel the fans need to take some a small portion of the blame, for the last 3 seasons weve been expecting to be in the playoffs and getting promoted when in reality we are probably a mid table club at best, the season we finished just outside the playoffs was a lucky season and we relied heavily on our home form if we hadnt of picked up the points we did at home we wouldve been down the bottom as our away form was terrible, but for some unknown reason the following season we were once again tipped to go up and i personally couldnt see how we were as we couldnt win away to save our lives, and suddenly the expectation rose especially with ME coming in. Last season was no better than the season before except we struggled to win at home, then Keane comes in and again the expectation level raises. im probably going to get ripped apart for this but i feel that Magiltons last full season in charge we over performed at home which raised fans expectations too high, we are not a top 6 team and havnt been for many years. Im passionate about the team i support and this season has been terrible but the inconsistency is no different to the last 3 seasons, i want Keane to be the man to turn things around and i feel he needs a chance, 1 season is not long to turn around what was already a mid table club. Im going to tomorrows game with the same positive attitude i do every game and i believe we will beat Barnsley and then Plymouth on tuesday, lets cheer the team to safety, COYB!!!!

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superblueflude added 14:47 - Mar 19 1985 SPOT ON!
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DietmarVanNostrilBoy added 14:47 - Mar 19 I'm not asking for him to be sacked, I just think he has a massive opportunity to improve and do it quickly. To be fair I bet he would agree.
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superblueflude added 14:50 - Mar 19 But Diermar your comments dont show this, all they show is anit-keane and no sign of wanting him to succeed at all
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ITFC1985 added 14:53 - Mar 19 Dietmar - i agree with you mate, i think he would be disappointed with how this season has gone i believe he would be first to admit that, but i also feel that he has improved the teams performances and i also believe he would feel that he deserves more time (not that you want him sacked, but some people on here want it to happen over night)
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blu_dru added 14:53 - Mar 19 To be fair no players have backed up the "rules by fear" rumours, in fact they tend to comment that they enjoy his management style
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WadzillaBhoy added 14:55 - Mar 19 To be fair to Keano we have only lost 11 games this season, the only teams with less losses are all in the top five. 1985 I totally agree some fans are a joke they have worse attitude than some of the players.
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Lightningboy added 14:59 - Mar 19 superblueflude..i'm not for one second saying that our current first 11 is better than the "legendary" team Burley built , mainly because Burley's team was a TEAM..we knew who'd be playing week in week out and he let them gel,which is exactly what he'd do with this squad if he was given the chance...I do think we've got much more quality in the depth of squad that George had in his time. Billy Davies for instance has been in charge at Forest for a year or so - has he needed 3 or 4 seasons to transfer out the "dead-wood" that was there when they were on the verge of relegation? - don't think so..he's just a manager who knows what he wants and what he's doing,which is why they're where they are and we are where we are.

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MaySixth added 15:00 - Mar 19 Just get three points.
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blu_dru added 15:06 - Mar 19 Because the Championship has been so close this season it hasnt helped us, i read before the sunthorpe game that Jim had only one point more than Keane at that stage of his first season in charge but we were mid table as the bottom few were further behind, abit like how tight the prem is right now, so really Keane hasnt done that badly, just the draws that have done us in

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superblueflude added 15:08 - Mar 19 And nottingham forrest have lost their last 6 away games, bet there fans aren't calling for the managers head though!
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nobrain added 15:12 - Mar 19 Approx 20,000 people go to PR. I guess that less than 200 post on this site. Just to put things in perspective, when people talk about 'all those keane lovers/haters' out there.
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MightyPaz added 15:21 - Mar 19 Maybe they don't have computers.
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blu_dru added 15:21 - Mar 19 There are a lot of elderly fans..
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MoscowBluesSon added 16:05 - Mar 19 DietmarVanNostrilBoy: So the so called 'haters' are simply loyal fans that query the quality of the managers decisions from time to time. Don't insult me. I've been to every game this season home and away and I see the same fans at every away game, and the most popular song is about Keane. I think that those that go to every game are the loyal ones and the majority that don't like Keane are the armchair supporters i.e devontractorboy. Even on Tuesday night when we were awful, the fans were still chanting his name. Maybe it's because most of our performances away from home have been good; QPR, Cardiff, Sheff Utd and Wed, Blackpool (FA Cup), Doncaster. You all want instant success, and its not going to happen. PS. superblueflude, I agree with everything you say.

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superblueflude added 16:14 - Mar 19 Thanks Moscow, and hats off, i can't make everygame, but it's guys like you I envy id love to watch my club week in week out, even games againts Watford. Bring on tommorow and lets have some fun with the club we call our friends - and beat them by 2-3 goals.
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grumpyoldman added 16:31 - Mar 19 Do some of the contributors actually think that Roy thinks "We won the game, so for no bloody good reason I will change the team, just because I can", do they spend all their time on the training pitches, do they actually talk with the players in the dressing room, do they have contact with the team, apart from what they read on this and other sites or hear in the media. So all their informed opinions about Roy's management style is based on rumour and hearsay. Discuss yes, express opinions yes, but don't dress them up as though they are facts and whoever doesn't agree with you is not a saupporter

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DietmarVanNostrilBoy added 16:41 - Mar 19 MoscowBluesSon I have been going for over 30 years, but it's not about me - I care about the club. Do you not query any of RK's decisions? Surely you can see that he is as much to blame for this poor season as the players. It just makes me rage when people accept so many of his questionable decisions. There have been too many poor signings, average loan players and dodgy selections/tactics. Do you not think he could do better?

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superaltown added 16:55 - Mar 19 whether you are pro/anti Keane, you are entitled to your opinion. The one thing I would say that in any walk of life/business/sport/the universe, it's never black and white, so its no good just blaming Keane if you are anti him or just blaming the players if you are pro him. If he was as bad a manager as some make out, we would be rock bottom. If he was as good as some made out, we would be top. Reality (which will differ even within the ITFC squad) combined with the element of chance that goes with sport in particualr is somewhere in the middle. Its just whether we stick with Roy or not and results will determine that and whether he is the manager next season or not. the main thing is to support the Town. simple as.

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WickedBlue added 17:31 - Mar 19 @ devontractorboy reason the majority of people on here still support RK is because unlike you and a few others we are not moaning morons who are only happy when we can complain.
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kirbs added 17:31 - Mar 19 the people who still want keane here are muppets who are not REAL town fans. you obviously havent been watchin ipswich for very long if you cant see the damage keane is doing to this football club, dont have a go at fans who want him out because they have got more of an argument over you PRO keaners! This is the worst town have been for a number of yers and sacking him will take the club forward. A lot of fans were saying at the start of the season if we are in the bottom 3 at christmas then he should go and we are nearly at the end of the season 17th! There was no dead wood from magiton's team they finished 8th and only needed a few players out not the whole team! A real town fan dosen't slag off felow supporters.

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Dorsetblue added 17:35 - Mar 19 The season we all thought was coming back in the summer, never turned up, like some of the squad in a few of the games. The simple fact is they are not his players. So expect a good clean out in the summer, I was a little worried at the start of the season with Keane but I can see what he is trying to achieve. He is still learning but I see hope, i think mr ME will give Roy the time as he has been to a number of games this season and seen what we all have seen. About the players wages. Yes they earn a lot of money, they train a lot and there is a lot of pressure on them, 20k people shouting at them and if they have a poor game being called all names under the sun. when you are poor in your office you dont have that amount of pressure and your wages show that. Secondly they don't request the contract the club offers it. So get over it.. it's never going to change. We should be supporting the team come what may, we may all have different views but back the team or go and get qualified and offer your services to the club... Nothing positive comes out of bitching at each other.

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AJblue added 17:36 - Mar 19 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A real town fan dosen't slag off felow supporters. What the f*ck have you just done in your post? UNREAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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