 Friday, 30th Apr 2010 13:57 Town boss Roy Keane could be without loan striker Daryl Murphy when Sheffield United come to Portman Road for the final game of the season on Sunday (KO 1pm). Murphy, whose spell comes to an end after Sunday's game, has a thigh strain with Keane unlikely to take a chance on the Sunderland man if he is in any doubt regarding his fitness. Murphy’s possible absence leaves the Blues short of strikers with David Healy having returned to the Stadium of Light due to his knee injury. If Murphy does miss out, then Pablo Couñago could come back into the side for what may be his final appearance for the club with the Spaniard, who has a year left on his contract, widely tipped to be amongst those Keane looks to offload in the summer. Connor Wickham was again hugely impressive at Newcastle a week ago and will keep his place in the Town attack. In midfield, David Norris and Grant Leadbitter will probably continue in the centre with Jack Colback making his final appearance before he returns to Sunderland on the left. Skipper Jon Walters will be on the right. At the back, David Wright could make his final appearance for the club at right-back after being told he will not be offered a new contract earlier in the week, while Liam Rosenior is unlikely to make an appearance as his loan spell from Reading comes to an end. Keane has confirmed that the full-back will not be offered a contract. Shane O’Connor, who is keen to accept his new two-year deal, will hope to take his left-back role from Jaime Peters, who replaced him at St James’ Park last week. Tommy Smith will continue to deputise for Damien Delaney at the centre of the defence alongside Gareth McAuley. Brian Murphy, who will hope to win his first Irish cap over the summer, will keep his place in goal. Richard Wright will probably be on the bench having been told he won’t be kept on at the end of the season earlier in the week. Keane says midfielder Billy Clark could be given another run out from the bench, while the likes of Tom Eastman, Troy Brown and Luke Hyam will be hoping to make their senior debuts. Ronan Murray may also be in with a chance of being involved if Daryl Murphy isn’t involved with Town short on striking options. Lee Martin, Carlos Edwards, fit again after chicken pox, Alan Quinn and Owen Garvan, two more who may leave in the summer, are also likely to be amongst the subs. The Blues boss wants his side to repeat last week’s performance at Newcastle: “We wanted to finish on a high. I thought last weekend we looked pretty sharp and the players looked like they weren’t switched off and we want the same on Sunday. “That’s the danger is for teams who can’t make the top six or who are saved from relegation, but the players didn’t show any signs of that last week or in their training sessions and we obviously want to finish the season strongly on Sunday. “They didn’t let us down last week. I thought we played some decent stuff and had some good chances. “I made the point after the game that maybe one or two of the Newcastle boys had switched off a little bit, which is understandable, but we have to focus on ourselves and we scored two good goals, probably should have scored one or two more, and the players expressed themselves well.” Keane admits that overall it’s been a disappointing 2009/10: “People will be sick of me saying it and I’m sick of saying it myself, it’s certainly been a season of frustration, but we’re hoping to finish the season strongly on Sunday and, hopefully, have a busy summer in terms of bringing in some reinforcements.” Like Keane, Blades boss Kevin Blackwell is determined that his side’s season shouldn’t end with a whimper: "That's not the way we do things here. It's not the character of this club just to give up or throw in the towel. "We can't get to where we want to be and that's a disappointment. But we have our own professional pride and the pride of our fans to think about. "That's why we'll be going out there determined to try and get a win. We want to finish on a positive note and in the best way possible. It's not acceptable if people think they can get away with anything less. "But, in fairness to the lads here, the one thing that can never be questioned is their attitude. They've always given their all even in the most difficult of circumstances." Sheffield United sit in ninth place in the Championship, five places and six points above the Blues, but with no chance of making the play-offs. The Blades have an away record of won four, drawn six and lost 12. Blackwell is likely to be without Alan Quinn’s brother Stephen due to an in-growing toenail, while striker Darius Henderson is set for surgery on a hamstring problem. Midfielder Lee Williamson is also out with a back injury, but keeper Paddy Kenny is back from his drugs ban. Full-back Andy Taylor (ankle ligament damage), Jordan Stewart, Ryan France (both knee) and Jamie Ward (hamstring) are all sidelined, while Ched Evans is on the way back from a broken collarbone. Town have had the better of the Blades over the years, winning 21 times (20 in the league), drawing 24 (21) and losing 18 (16) of the meetings between the sides. In September, a last-gasp Chris Morgan goal denied Town a deserved first win of the season as Sheffield United came from two behind to draw 3-3 at Bramall Lane. The Blades had gone ahead through a controversial Darius Henderson goal but the Blues struck back through Jon Walters, Grant Leadbitter and Gareth McAuley, before Henderson pulled one back and Morgan equalised at the death. Last season, goals from Greg Halford and Darius Henderson gave the Blades a 2-0 win at Bramall Lane, while the sides drew 1-1 at Portman Road, Tommy Miller and James Beattie, in the final minute, both netting from the penalty spot. Alan Quinn and Jon Stead have previously been Sheffield United players, while Lee Martin spent time on loan at Bramall Lane in 2008. No current Sheffield United player has been a member of the Town squad, although midfielder Ryan France spent time on trial with the Blues in 2003 when an Alfreton Town player. The game on Sunday is Town’s designated Help for Heroes Day with tickets given to soldiers and army displays at the match. The new chairman of the Football League, Greg Clarke, will also be in attendance as a guest of chief executive Simon Clegg. Sunday’s referee is Portman Road anti-hero Andy D’Urso from Billericay, who has shown 101 yellow and two red cards this season in 34 games. D’Urso’s last Town match was coincidentally the 0-0 draw with the Blades’ greatest foes Sheffield Wednesday back in November in which he showed yellow cards to three Owls and no Blues. Squad from: B Murphy, R Wright, D Wright, Rosenior, Peters, O’Connor, Smith, McAuley, Eastman, Leadbitter, Norris, Colback, Walters, Clark, Hyam, Martin, Garvan, Quinn, Wickham, D Murphy, Couñago, Murray.
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