 Friday, 9th Apr 2010 11:58 Boss Roy Keane says he will give one or two youngsters a run out during the season’s final games, but will still be focusing on gaining a win when the Blues visit his old club Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Central defender Tom Eastman is most likely to make his senior bow having been on the bench at Derby on Monday. Keane says the likes of Eastman could be given their chance in the remaining weeks of 2009/10 but not at the expense of results: “Maybe so, but we also want to be fair to our supporters and give them something to shout about in terms of victories. “If I decide to bring in one or two young fellas, they’ll be there on merit, they won’t be there because I’m just throwing players in. “There were one or two young lads who did well in the reserves the other day. If they get involved for Saturday, they deserve it, it’s not about me playing silly games.” The Blues boss was pleased with the youthful nature of his squad at Derby and will aim for a similar make up next season: “We had some young players playing for us last Monday, young Shane, Connor, Tommy Smith came on, young Tom on the bench. “We had a good mix on Monday and that’s what I want next year. I certainly want at least four or five younger players in the first team group and some of the young players are doing really well and they’ve got a chance.” Keane was particularly pleased with Connor Wickham’s display at Pride Park: “Connor had a good week last week with his performance last Monday, the way he led the line, the way he started the game - he could have scored after two minutes - his assist for the second goal and he scoring the third. “Overall, his body language was very, very good considering he’d had a busy week. He played 80-odd minutes on the Thursday [for England’s U17s], 45 for us on the Saturday, the full 90 on the Monday. It’s not easy. “I think it helped him that the contract was sorted out. I know we say that shouldn’t bother a player, but sometimes it can, particularly when there’s speculation. But he can now put that to bed, enjoy the last few games, have a good rest this summer and he’ll have a big part to play for us next season.” Keane says it ultimately up to a player himself whether he fulfils his potential: “With Connor and the other good young players we’ve got coming through, it’s up to the boys themselves. “I’ll have very little to do with it, trust me. We can be here to guide them and give them advice, fine them when they get in trouble or whatever it might be, but it’ll come down to the boy himself and his family. We can’t follow them 24 hours a day. “That’s where you’re hoping the family will come into it and Connor’s lucky, he’s got good people behind him.” The Town manager says he now has an idea of the players around which his side will be built for 2010/11: “There’s a core group there who can definitely give us a chance next season, but there are also a group of players that have maybe fallen by the wayside. Unfortunately it’s taken us seven or eight months to get there, but that’s the way it is. “Going to Forest, we’re certainly not relaxing. There are a couple of teams ahead of us we want to try and get past by the end of the season. “It’s been a long, tough season for us, I have to say, but we’ve managed to get away from the bottom and I think the players deserved that. The draws have killed our season really.” Despite identifying the core of his side, the Blues boss says consistency has continued to be a problem: “We’re still capable of shooting ourselves in the foot, let’s not kid ourselves. Over the last two or three months we’ve had more victories but then we’ve had the disappointments of Watford away, where we never got going, Peterborough, Plymouth at home. “On Monday I was happy with the group of players we had together, the spirit. It’s taken us seven or eight months to really learn about the players. I know that’s a long time but sometimes that’s what it takes and I’m pretty sure in my mindset now that we’ve got a core group of players who can give us a chance next year. “Let’s not kid ourselves, we weren’t brilliant on Monday, but we did well in terms of the other side of the game - closing people down, putting bodies on the line and we scored three goals away from home. “We’ve not done that for a while and the game should have been dead and buried at half-time, we had four great chances, so that’s still something we’ve got to work on.” Connor Wickham will probably be given another opportunity to take Town’s chances from the start against Forest, having clearly impressed his manager at Derby. Daryl Murphy has been slightly under par in recent weeks and so could make way for either Pablo Couñago or David Healy. The Northern Irishman could get a start so Keane can have more of a look at him in match action as he decides whether to make the Sunderland man’s loan signing a permanent deal in the summer. David Norris is likely to continue his central midfield partnership with Grant Leadbitter, with skipper Jon Walters on the right. The left-sided role will again probably to go to Jack Colback, one player who is unlikely to be at Portman Road next season with Sunderland expected to promote him to their first team squad for 2010/11. Brian Murphy will retain his place in goal with Arran Lee-Barrett continuing to keep Richard Wright out of the 18. Jaime Peters is expected to be fit despite receiving a blow to the head at Derby and could well be picked ahead of David Wright and Liam Rosenior at right-back. Shane O’Connor was praised by his manager at Pride Park and probably did enough to keep his place at left-back with Damien Delaney and Gareth McAuley in the centre. Tom Eastman could be handed a debut from the bench at some stage in the next few games, while Tommy Smith will also be hoping for some involvement. A win for third-placed Forest would practically guarantee them a play-off place, regardless of results elsewhere. Billy Davies’s men are currently 18 points ahead of the Blues on 72 with a fearsome home record of 16, drawn two and lost three. Davies says he isn’t taking reaching the play-offs for granted: "We've got to understand that football has thrown up some very strange things over the decades. "We've got to make sure we take care of our own games, try and win the remaining matches we've got and hopefully see one or two slip-ups. "But no one should forget that we're not yet guaranteed a play-off place. There's still some work to be done there. "There are all sorts of dog-fights going on in the Championship which makes for a few dangerous opponents. "We've got to make sure that our attitude and our approach to this game, and every other game we've got coming up, is spot on. "But if life is difficult for Nottingham Forest, imagine how it must feel for one or two other clubs." Davies says Town made the right decision in sticking with Roy Keane after the poor start to the season: "Roy was very well respected as a player at Forest and he had a wonderful playing career. "We all know that this season has been difficult for him but great credit to the board and everyone at Ipswich for standing by their manager, having patience they've shown and giving him the time that's required. "Hopefully he will be given a lot longer to go and prove what he can do and I'm sure he'll be very confident in doing that. "And then you throw into the mix a quiet guy called Charlie McParland, who sits beside him. "No doubt we'll hear him before we see him but they are a great combination - two real winners, two lads with excellent attitudes and I'm sure they will want to do well at the City Ground." Forest have doubts regarding winger Paul Anderson (achilles tendon) and striker Dele Adebola (thigh), a Town target in January, while captain Paul McKenna, Julian Bennett and Brendan Moloney (all knee) are definitely missing. Aside from manager Roy Keane having spent time at the City Ground, Lee Martin was on loan with the Tricky Trees last season and coach Tony Loughlan was a Nottingham Forest player between 1989 and 1993, injury limiting him to only two appearances and a goal scored after 36 seconds of his debut. Ian ‘Charlie’ McParland also worked at Forest as a coach and was caretaker-manager at the City Ground. No current Forest player has played for Town. Historically, the home side very much have the upper hand, winning 28 of the games between the two sides (25 in the league), 14 (13) ending in draws and Town winning 18 (17). In September, Forest left Portman Road with a 1-1 draw. The Blues took the lead in the opening minute via Grant Leadbitter, but sub Robert Earnshaw hit back in the second half immediately after coming on, while Gareth McAuley was red-carded close to the end for a professional foul. Last season, a Tommy Miller penalty gave the Blues a 1-1 draw at the City Ground, Garath McCleary having scored for Forest. At Portman Road, James Perch netted an own goal and David Wright added a second for the Blues before Nathan Tyson pulled a consolation back for the visitors. Saturday’s referee is Dave Foster from Newcastle, who has shown 65 yellow and five red cards in 23 games so far this season. Foster will be taking control of his first match involving Town. Squad from: B Murphy, Lee-Barrett, R Wright, D Wright, Rosenior, O’Connor, Peters, Delaney, McAuley, Smith, Eastman, Leadbitter, Norris, Colback, Garvan, Walters, Edwards, Martin, D Murphy, Couñago, Healy, Wickham.
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