 Tuesday, 9th Nov 2010 10:19 Town boss Roy Keane is pleased to be back in the top six but says it counts for nothing unless his side can stay there until May. The Blues face fourth-placed Derby County at Portman Road this evening with skipper David Norris, fellow midfielder Grant Leadbitter and defender Tom Eastman all injury doubts. Keane said: “It’s nice to be back in the top six but as I keep saying, the most important time to be there is at the end of the season. A few weeks ago as were second or third, then seven days later we were 14th. “As much we had to keep our heads a few weeks ago after the bad run, we need to keep our heads now and get ready for another tough game at home to Derby. “That’s the Championship, there aren’t many points between fourth and 14th, so we just have to keep going, keep doing our best and see where it takes us. “For us to get a result against Derby we know we have to play very well because they’re in very good form themselves.” The Blues boss says last season’s corresponding fixtures were close: “We had two tough games against them last year. Nigel’s made a few changes and I’ve made some here, but judging by the games last year it should be set up for a good night. “I thought Derby would do well this year with people like Kris Commons and Robbie Savage. They’ve had one or two injuries, but they’ve got a settled team now. They play with a lot of energy, they play good football, they score goals and they’ve got some good young kids. “He’s brought one or two lads in from the lower leagues, who are all doing well for him. He’s got a good mix, people like Robbie Savage, who has played most of his career in the Premiership. “They’ve got players with a lot of Premier League experience, international players. But as much as it’s going to be a tough game for us, we hope it’s going to be a tough game for Derby.” Keane is grateful to have played under Rams boss Nigel Clough’s father Brian at Nottingham Forest and says his one-time team-mate is making his own mark in management: “We were both very lucky to play for a great manager like that. I count my blessings every day that I played under Brian Clough. “But having said that, it’s unfair to keep [making comparisons]. Nigel’s his own man and he’s trying to build his own club at Derby and he’s certainly making progress. “I know his dad was such a great manager, but Nigel and his staff deserve credit because they’re doing very good jobs themselves.” The Town manager is pleased that his squad is currently giving him selection headaches: “Competition’s stronger than it was last year. Every manager wants competition rather than the team picking itself. “We’ve got one or two boys coming back from injury and they’ll have to understand that the players in the starting XI haven’t done much wrong over the last few weeks. “And the lads in the starting XI know that if they have any sort of bad game or suspension or injury, they might have to bide their time to get back. “Tom Eastman’s never let us down at right-back, but if Tom isn’t fit for the Derby game, he might have to bide his time. Luke Hyam’s never let us down, he’s having to bide his time. “Connor picked up an injury and he’s striving to get back in the starting XI. It’s a good headache for me to have.” The Blues boss says he’ll be taking no risks with players coming back from injury or those who have picked up knocks: “There are a lot of games ahead and as much as we want to win the game against Derby we can’t take chances with some of the players. “There are 30-odd games to go, the Championship is a marathon. We’re in the mix, but we want to be in the mix at the end of the season.” Having made it back to sixth after the recent run of three consecutive league defeats, Keane says his side now need to push on: “We’ve had opportunities since I’ve been here when we’ve had games coming up and we’ve looked to kick on and we’ve not really done it. Coventry at home a few weeks back, we couldn’t kick on and we went from second or third to 14th. That’s the nature of the Championship. “It’s an important game for both clubs and you want to do well because it’s so tight. From fourth to 14th there’s probably five or six points difference. It’s very, very tight.” At yesterday’s press conference Keane hinted that the 50/50-rated David Norris (ankle) and Tom Eastman (hip) were less likely to be fit than Grant Leadbitter, who was feeling his hamstring at the end of Saturday’s victory at Sheffield United. If that’s the case, Jake Livermore is likely to keep his place in the centre of the midfield against his former loan club alongside Leadbitter with Jack Colback probably moving into the middle if the former Sunderland man also misses out. Andros Townsend is pressing for a return on the left of midfield even if Colback isn’t required in the centre, while Carlos Edwards will continue on the right. Troy Brown and Jaime Peters are the most obvious options should Eastman fail to make it, although Keane has suggested Tommy Smith could potentially swap flanks, with Mark Kennedy or Darren O’Dea coming in on the left. But with Keane feeling that the Irish pair aren’t quite ready for a return, Brown or Peters are more likely to come into the side with Smith staying on the left. Márton Fülöp will continue in goal with Gareth McAuley and Damien Delaney at the centre of the defence. Up front, Tamás Priskin will keep his place having scored his fifth goal of the season on Saturday, while Keane says he will not be looking to rest Jason Scotland but may anyway switch the Trinidadian for Connor Wickham, who impressed after coming off the bench on Saturday. Keane says he will pick his side after this morning’s light training session. Derby, who are only ahead of the Blues on goal difference, will be without central defender Dean Leacock, who has reached five bookings. Fellow defenders Russell Anderson (groin) and Jake Buxton (back) are also out. Better news for the Rams is that another defender Miles Addison has returned to the squad after 10 months out with a foot injury, although he is unlikely to start. Frontmen Alberto Bueno and Luke Moore - reportedly a player targeted by the Blues before he joined Derby on loan from West Brom - are also unavailable due to ankle and hamstring injuries respectively. Steve Davies (cruciate) Chris Porter (hip) and Stephen Bywater (wrist) have also recently missed out. Rams coach Johnny Metgod, who scored against the Blues for AZ Alkmaar in the 1981 UEFA Cup final, says Derby need to match teams physically in order to play their football: "I think we are the sort of side who, if we can compete and battle at the same level as the opposition, then we have quite a decent team when it comes down to playing football. "So we have a decent chance of beating any team but we have to make sure we compete. Everyone realises now that if we have time and space, we are good footballing side and so teams will try to stop us playing." Historically, Town have had the better of Derby, winning 29 games (27 in the league), drawing 18 (16) and losing 22 (21). The Rams have lost their last seven games at Portman Road stretching back to 2002. In April, goals from Gareth McAuley, Carlos Edwards and Connor Wickham took the Blues to a 3-1 win at Pride Park. McAuley put Town in front in the third minute, Edwards added the second on 80, two minutes before Rob Hulse pulled one back for the home side. Rams midfielder Stephen Pearson was shown a straight red card for foul and abusive language late on, before Wickham sealed the result in injury time. Last October, the Blues finally got their first victory of the 2009/10 season against the Rams at Portman Road at the 15th attempt, full-back David Wright netting the only goal of the game in the 66th minute. Former Town striker Shekfi Kuqi is currently on loan at Derby from Swansea, while keeper Stephen Bywater was at Portman Road for a similar spell in 2007/08. Midfielder Jake Livermore, currently on loan with the Blues, spent a similar spell at Pride Park last season, scoring once in 11 starts and five sub appearances, while frontman Kevin Lisbie, who is with Millwall for the season, was on loan at Pride Park in 2006. Managers Roy Keane and Nigel Clough were at Nottingham Forest together under the Derby boss’s father, as was Town coach Tony Loughlan. The heavy rain over the last couple of days is not expected to put the game in doubt. Tuesday’s referee is Roger East from Salisbury, who has shown 43 yellow cards and one red in 11 games so far this season. It will be East’s first ever Town game. Squad from: Fülöp, Murphy, Eastman, Peters, Brown, Smith, Kennedy, O’Dea, McAuley, Delaney, Norris, Leadbitter, Livermore, Hyam, Edwards, Colback, Townsend, Lambe, Priskin, Scotland, Wickham, Murray.
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