Town manager Roy Keane says he is looking for his players to score more often from set pieces and says his midfield players need to chip in with their fair share of goals, particularly when the Blues are operating with a lone striker.

Keane said: “I think we can do a lot better at set pieces. You see other teams - Stoke last Sunday, for example - they had two set pieces against Newcastle and won 2-1.

"I’m happy with that or a 1-0. In terms of clean sheets we’ve looked pretty solid. I don’t think any team other than QPR has done a good job on us.

“Aside from that, we’ve not looked like we want to give away much, but of course when we go forward we’ve got to take our chances.”

Keane, who has generally played one lone central striker this season, says that it’s not so much about the number of opportunities which are being created but the quality of those chances: “It doesn’t concern me in terms of the system and how we’re set up.

“We’re not scoring as many as we’d like, but we didn’t score as many as we’d like last year and we played two up front in a lot of games then.

“It’s about creating those clear-cut chances. At Scunthorpe in the second half, we couldn’t have created clearer chances than one or two that we had there."

The Blues boss says he’s generally happy with his frontmen: “We’ve got to take it easy with Connor, but in terms of Tamás and Jason I think they’ll score goals for us.

“You’ll always want more from different players and, particularly when we play one up front, it’s up to the two widemen and the two lads in the middle of the park to get forward and get goals. It’s not illegal. I won’t be too upset if my midfielders get me double figures.

“Sometimes that's the sacrifice you make for your one striker, you find that he’s linking play up and it’s the other lads who have got to be getting in behind teams. It’s not just on the strikers to score goals.”

Meanwhile, Keane has again been named as English football’s second richest manager behind England boss Fabio Capello in FourFourTwo’s annual Football Rich List. Keane’s wealth, largely earned during his time as a Manchester United player, is estimated at £28 million.

Photo: Action Images

ITFCKeano added 13:46 - Oct 6 I hear Bluey has a decent kick on him. Can we get him taking corners?
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comeonthegoodtimes added 13:57 - Oct 6 If not, why not Peters? were not going to miss his hight in the middle are we?
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Fatboy added 14:10 - Oct 6 Wickham, McAuley, Delaney and Smith are all 6'2", which is plenty tall enough to win a share of headers from corners against most teams. The problem is clearly with the delivery. If Leadbitter is not getting it past the first defender, why not put a man in front of him to flick it on? Another point: one man should always go looking for the short corner as this draws 2 defenders out of the box.

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itfc4eva added 14:40 - Oct 6 lets hope it works. im sick and tired of our corners headed away by the 1st man
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Ipswich24 added 15:21 - Oct 6 I play footy for my sunday side and take corners from both sides with my right foot i usually aim to the big guy at far post or whip in towards six yard box with pace as any touch could go in! it really is not that hard we are talking about professional footballers for crying out loud getting payed a lot of money surely they can miss 1st man its a bit of a joke to be honest. It is not just the delivery you have actually want to score so its about attacking the ball far too often see our players like statues in the box we have players who should be scoring from set pieces so come on sort it out Keano!!!!

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Acen added 16:48 - Oct 6 Oh really.
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dirtydingusmagee added 17:00 - Oct 6 you doing anything on Saturdays Ipswich24 ?
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Back_The_Boss added 17:06 - Oct 6 When keane says this he has to be focusing on leadbitter's attrocious corners.
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jas0999 added 17:18 - Oct 6 Like many have already said - it's difficult to score with the poor delivery from Leadbitter. Edwards or Townsend should take up the duty.
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Bluetone added 17:49 - Oct 6 Height is only a small factor from corners and set pieces Zola was damn dangerous in the these situations and he was a shortarse.
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corshamblue added 18:33 - Oct 6 A total ban on Leadbitter set pieces and see if Edwards, Hyam, Townsend, Livermore or Peters have more to offer. Doesn't Kennedy hit a belter? Leadbitter is an option but if he fancies himself as the New Beckham he should try hitting the target after training a few thousand times... COYB
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Bluetone added 19:31 - Oct 6 corshamblue banjos and barn doors come to mind
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RAH4 added 20:58 - Oct 6 Like so many others don't let Leadbitter near corner kicks.He simply can't get beyond the front post. His free kicks aren't much better but he can add variety.
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bedsitfc added 22:03 - Oct 6 Dont worry i cant see leadbitter starting after livermore performance on saturday.
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under_the_sun666 added 22:27 - Oct 6 Leadbitter is way too gready! stop letting him take corners and let someone good take them!! this has been going on far too long now!!!
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big_gaz67 added 00:01 - Oct 7 How about (as you face the goal) a left footed player taking it from the right and a right footed player taking it from the left - or is that too logical?
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suffolkpoker added 08:21 - Oct 7 I think Kennedy is our best set piece taker by a country mile. He should be taking ALL corners imo
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