Roy Keane goes into tonight’s Carling Cup quarter-final against West Brom at Portman Road convinced that he’s capable of turning things around at Town despite the Blues having lost their last four games. The Irishman says he will know when he’s no longer able to bring success to the club he took control of in April 2009.

Keane says he is always analysing his own performance as Blues boss: “I ask myself every day whether I’m capable of turning things round and the answer is yes.

“But it might be tomorrow, it might be Thursday when I think that I’m not the one that can turn things around, then I’ll sit down with the owner and we can have that conversation. But I’ve not felt it’s got to that stage.”

Club owner Marcus Evans and Keane haven’t spoken since Sunday’s 4-1 derby defeat to Norwich City, but the Blues boss says that’s normal: “Our relationship doesn’t work like that, we don’t speak to one another on a daily basis. He lets me get on the job.

“It’s never worked that way. It’s not in my make up, I just try and get on with it and we don’t need texts or emails or phonecalls to know how disappointed everyone at the club will have been. You have to look forward to the next game and look to bounce back.”

The Blues boss is typically honest in his assessment of the club’s recent form but believes things will improve as more senior players return from injury and further additions are made to the squad: “Obviously, I’m not doing a good enough job at the moment.

“The way that things have panned out over the last month or two, in terms of the injuries and suspensions to experienced players, it is costing us. But we’ve got to keep our heads and hang in there and survive over the next few weeks and hopefully we’ll get into January, strengthen our squad and get some of our senior players back.”

Keane says he’s not one to leave football behind him when he goes home: “I think it’s hard to switch off. The day I go home and sleep well or relax after being beaten is the day I’ll get out of the game. Defeats are meant to hurt you. It hurts your pride, you’ve let supporters down.

“I think 4-1 was a bit harsh on the team on Sunday, we took a few gambles with 10 or 15 minutes to go, I have to take responsibility for that, but you want to try and get back in the game. However, the damage was done in the first half.

“You have to get on with it, we were back in on Monday morning and working for the game on Wednesday. And hopefully we can get a good result then.”

Overall though, Keane says he’s coping with the current pressure: “I’m surviving. Just about! It’s part of the job and part of life. An old Irish friend told me not long ago, ‘some days are about surviving, you’ve just got to hang in there’.

“I’ve seen other coaches and managers going through difficult spells and it’s about hanging in there and hopefully things will turn. You might get that bit of luck, someone might score from 30 yards tonight and turn the season around.

“But, if you continue to lose matches, the pressure builds and then ultimately the manager pays the price. That’s the industry we’re in.”

The Town manager feels that injuries to senior players have meant his youngsters have played more of a role than he had hoped: “We’ve been far too dependent on young players who are 18 years of age and learning their trade.

“And that includes the loan players. We’re grateful to the loan players, we were very dependent on loan players last year and it’s the same situation this year.

“If they’re missing, like they are Wednesday, or they get called back, then we’re back to selecting some of our young players, who I think are still learning their trade.

“There’s no hiding place in the Championship. I think the Championship is as hard a place as any for young players to learn their trade.

“If anything, it might be easier for some of our younger boys to be in the Premiership, which sounds mad, but the Championship is all about experience, knowledge and being streetwise.”

When all his senior players are fit, the 39-year-old believes he has a decent side: “I think when we have a full strength team we’re not a bad Championship outfit, but when we’re missing a few of our players, we find it difficult to win football matches.”

The travails of the last two seasons have caused Keane to revise his initial assessment of how long it might take him to return Town to the Premier League: “When you come in and you try and do things in two years, that probably isn’t enough time. I think you need a bit longer but, of course, when you don’t get that, pressure builds.”

Despite players such as Jon Stead having departed in the summer when Keane wanted them to stay and the club failing to land targets like Shaun Derry, the former Manchester United man says his relationship with Marcus Evans is fine: “I’ve no issue with the owner. When I had opportunities in the summer, I shouldn’t have allowed players that I’d been speaking to about joining the club to leave the training ground until they’d signed.

“I’m the manager, it’s my job to try and attract players, although I don’t do the contracts. But I don’t want to go down that road today, it’s not about who we missed out on and what we should have done. That’s all about learning.”

Keane feels that things aren’t immediately going to become easier for his side - who are now 17th in the Championship - starting with this evening’s Carling Cup quarter-final: “The games coming up are as tough as the last few games. West Brom are a very good team, they’ve got a good squad. They’ve bought very well on the back of promotion.

“They’ve used their squad well in the Carling Cup, they had a good result at the weekend and there’s a chance for them to get in the semi-final of the Carling Cup. They’ll come down here and want to do a good job on us.

“No one’s going to do us any favours and when you don’t win football matches - four on the spin now - the pressure builds and the players have to deal with that, be brave in terms of dealing with the ball and cut out the silly mistakes.

“The mistakes we’re talking about are very, very basic and we need to cut them out because it’s costing us.”

Photo: Action Images

Surco72 added 10:44 - Dec 1 Sideshow as has been proved on many occasions Eastman is not a solid defender at right back and is painfully slow also .As we play with 5 midfielders most games an attacking full back should be a must .There is no point trying to sit back and defend with makeshift defenders against West Brom when we cannot do it against poor championship sides
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Gonefishing added 10:45 - Dec 1 Facts - when at the beginning of the season we had a very small squad and a settled side we won games. Since bringing in multiple loans and chopping and changing we have mostly lost. Keane is finished after tonight. We havn't had a decent pass and move manager since Mogga's very brief spell and havn't much enjoyed the football since Bent and Kuqi's goal fests. People who in any way compare the current situation with Mr Robsons early days are deluded. It took at lot longer to build sides in those days - Keane as bought in as many players in 18 months as Sir Bobby did in 13 years.

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SouperJim added 10:53 - Dec 1 If Keane is blaming lack of quality players and strength in depth then ultimately it is his failure in the transfer market that has got us in this mess. However, he seems to think that making a success of things is as simple as keep throwing money around for more players until he has a team. He needs to realise that he will never be successful as a manager until he can learn to work better with what he has got and help the players he does have to realise their potential. This is exactly why we have better players on paper than our bitter rivals, yet they have a far superior team. In short, at this point Keane is a very average football manager at best and Evans would be better off backing someone who knows what they are doing. "it might be tomorrow, it might be Thursday when I think that I'm not the one that can turn things around, then I'll sit down with the owner and we can have that conversation". Music to my ears. FORK!

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Ipswich24 added 10:54 - Dec 1 Football is about building partnerships all over the field a goalkeeper and his defence, the two centre midfielders the full back and wide midfielder and the two strikers. Fair enough players get injured but its no coincidence you dont get injuries when doing well people want to play whatever. What i'm trying to say is that we need a more or less settled team for ten matches in a row unless get injuries. So at the moment its Priskin and Scotland up front they never get chance to build up an understanding. O connor left back with Townsend left mid. Zuverloon and peters on right and stick with a cente mid partnership for heavens sake. and a very important area where a mistake is vital centre back it showed on sunday that there is no talk, no relationship there. Sort it out Evans now!!!!

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naa added 11:02 - Dec 1 SideShow: true, I do not know for a fact that he didn't try but it's poor management however you look at it. Having anyone who is actually a right-back is better than no-one. If he didn't have anyone lined up, offer Wright a one year extension. Obviously, I don't know all the details but I can't imagine that there are many other teams out there with a squad as big as ours without a single right-back amongst their numbers. At the end of the day RK has made many, many mistakes this year. And that's ignoring the fact that he thinks to get results in this division it's all about grind and not skill or entertainment. The results seem to be proving that one wrong. But Surco is also right (as usual) in that RK seems to think that the solution is always to keep getting players in until it works. That ISN'T how you manage a team. You get the best out of what you have, and RK has a pretty decent squad and he isn't getting anything like the best out of them. If ME does let him see out his contract I personally think he'd be mad to let him sign yet more players in January. His transfer record - here and at Sunderland - is nothing short of shocking.

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corunnaviking1759 added 11:03 - Dec 1 History: BR's initial couple of years did not go well, the fans calling for his head, BR expecting the sack etc, he was given time at PR and turned it around into the Glory Years! Who knows what RK can and hopefully do!!! Please COYB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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naa added 11:11 - Dec 1 corunnaviking1759: I wish people would stop trotting that one out. Times have changed. Sure, RK may come good. But this season has shown that he learned none of the lessons from last year's horror-show. If you can't learn your lessons then you aren't going to succeed. As has already been pointed out, RR didn't have much chance to build a team in those first years - RK has already signed out 20 players! Plus, RR played decent football and didn't think he was God's gift to football.

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corunnaviking1759 added 11:15 - Dec 1 The thing that annoys me most, too many armchair/PR seat managers here, could we do a better job? I doubt not!! However we are all entitled to an opinion. Time will tell, I hope it all comes good.............................
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blue_em_away added 11:16 - Dec 1 RK's best option is to go with attacking full backs and the attitude "we'll score more than you" Better to loose 4-3 than a same old same old 1-0 bore. Fulop Peters Delaney Smith O'Dea Leadbitter Edwards Civelli or Murray Norris Priskin Scotland
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Bergholtblue added 11:23 - Dec 1 Surely Keane has been in the job long enough for us not to be in a position where it needs to be turned around! If he was any good we would be looking to make the next step up, not turn around FFS.
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PimsNumber1 added 11:37 - Dec 1 kEANE SHOWS NO ACUMEN FOR THE JOB OF MANAGER.Im not saying i or any of the fans could do better but he just seems clueless and out of his depth. Ive lost all faith in him now.I just dont think he is any good. Maybe its his backroom staff but he employed them.
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Holdsteady added 11:40 - Dec 1 Keane, I would like you to turn round and walk out the exit door, then we can employ a decent manager.
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bluelady added 11:45 - Dec 1 Keanish love it!!!!!
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Bluetone added 12:20 - Dec 1 So Keane thinks he can turn things around at Town. I begin to doubt he could a Mini around on an empty car park.
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Seasider added 12:21 - Dec 1 It is true it took the late Sir Bob 3 yrs to improve performances;but a) he was managing in the top tier and b)his teams always entertained.It was a bit agricultural at times I admit with Derek(chopper)Jefferson and Bobby Bell as centre backs but I only recall the crowd getting really hostile once when on Sept 8th 1971 Man Utd beat us 3-1 at Portman Rd in a League Cup 2nd round game,and immediately he went out and swapped Bobby Bell valued at £25000 for Big Al with an additional £60k going to Blackburn Rovers for the international centre back.Oh happy days which I fear may never return in my lifetime with the present regime.It was most evident on Sunday with the community club of Norwich City who owe about 23million with the directors all supporters ,against Ipswich Town with the football club(not to be confused with the PLC)being run by a faceless individual with no connection to the town or county who considered taking over Southampton before settling on Ipswich.The debt the football club now owes has risen to £38m with all but £2m owed to the Marcus Evans Group;so the debt has not gone away just been taken over by the Marcus Evans group of companies so its anyones guess what will happen if we go down to league one.

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moomoosereni added 12:26 - Dec 1 Sideshow: seems like you are trying to argue with some of us for the hell of it! Don't think that the others genuinely thought there was going to be a riot, just a figure of speech me thinks! Whoever it was yesterday who posted a stat about our current squad has it spot on. Keane has brought in including loan signings, something like 19 players and where has it got us? How many other clubs in 18 months have brought in that many players? Not many I would imagine. The man has no contacts in the game. Feared as a player and as a result very well respected. A lot changes when you take off those boots and put on a trackie. Keane might have known how to motivate his players when he was one, but he is proving that it is a much harder job when you're manager. He's going to have to go on a hell of a run to change my opinion right now.

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Mark added 12:29 - Dec 1 I just don't understand this talk of us having to rely on 18-year-olds. Keane inherited a team that was just short of the play offs and spent multi-millions of pounds on bringing in new players, so how come we are reliant on 18-year-olds and who are they? Eastman is the only teenager playing regularly for the first team and if we had kept Wright we wouldn't need to rely on him. About the discussion on right-backs, I remember Keane saying he was happy with what he had in the summer, which I took to mean Peters and Ainsley. He then said a couple of weeks ago that he did not need a right-back and was not looking for one.

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Legend added 12:29 - Dec 1 Keanish you would not have the guts to walk to the dugout to sack keane. he would have you on your arse before you even got to open your mouth! If you were that good at picking teams and management, why are you sitting in the stands and not at the helm of some top club? Keane was right what he said about our fans!!!!
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naa added 12:33 - Dec 1 corunnaviking1759: to criticise fans for being armchair managers is just naive in the extreme. All fans, in all sports will criticise the players or manager if something is wrong. Some will suggest why they think it is wrong and try to suggest what should be done instead. Call that armchair managing if you like, but surely it's better to try to suggest what is wrong rather than just moan but without any ideas yourself. It's called constructive criticism and it's a good thing. It's also interesting to see that the vast majority on here can see what is wrong with the team selection and tactics, yet our manager can't. After all, how long had we been calling for 2 up front before our manager finally changed it? Sadly, because of his ego he has to have a go at fans rather than just make the change himself. Ho hum... I hope things all work out too, obviously, but RK has shown no sign whatsoever in his time here that he is going to make anything better. Only worse, sadly.

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BlueVelvet added 12:51 - Dec 1 Well, whether ME sacks RK or not is not all about what happens in 90 mins. RK and Cleggy are with us for the bigger picture, particulalry Cleggy. So Keanish, as you walk from your seat to the dug out tonight, and before you point that finger and spout those immortal words "Youre fired" think of the consequences, and instead cry out "I'm an ITFC fan, get me out of here", we can then all wave you goodbye and sing cheerio, cheerio, cheerio, and then get on with the game

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Mungo added 13:10 - Dec 1 4-1 was not a harsh result. On the contrary, we were very lucky that it was only 4! If Norwich had had anything special about them, it could easily have been 7 or 8 (or more!)
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Keaneish added 13:19 - Dec 1 Bluevelvet, as i was actually going to adopt a non-violent approach and explain to Mr. Keane why i had in my possession a bag of plastic forks for him and simply explain what the expression fork meant. Legend...are you siding with Keane over us supporters? Glad you're happy with a 4-1 defeat to the scum, 17th in the league, 10 million quid spent and inept management decisions (If you don't think they've been inept then go away and have another think) Is all that being fickle which is what Keane alluded to!!? Nah...

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Walk_the_Wark added 13:24 - Dec 1 Sideshow-.. obvious- Peters
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Legend added 13:41 - Dec 1 Im not siding with anyone. Yes the 4-1 hurt like hell and im not happy with it at all. I believe in giving people a chance. Keane will sack himself if he feels he has to! He is not in it for the money, i can see some good and some bad in him but be fair it was the players who let us down no the pitch on sunday and it was Keane for the strange subs! Oh dea should have stuck that ball in row Z!! You know it, Keane knows it and so does he. They lacked the passion that day and let us down! I know Keane has his faults but take at look at the players on the pitch. And yes i know he brought then in. Just because we loose football matches is not always the fault of the manager!! Goals always come from a mistake on the pitch one way or another, be it a sliced clearance or bad pass further up the pitch. The only players that showed any guts on Sunday were Priskin and Norris...The whole club owes us fans BIG TIME!!! Not just the manager! Even if he does get sacked or walks the new gaffer will still be left with the same players and injuries and problems and league position. Either Evans must back the manager either by coming out and addressing the media and fans or sack him. either way he needs to inform us fans what the clubs goals and ambitions are.

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Suffolk_n_Good added 13:43 - Dec 1 You've had your chance to turn things around Keane, your on ya way son!! My guess is that come Monday morning, a press conference will be called.....
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