Boss Roy Keane says he still hopes to see out his Town contract despite Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Swansea taking the Blues’ league losing streak to five matches. The former Manchester United skipper is due to remain at Portman Road until June next year.

Keane said: “I’m under contract until the summer and I’d love to finish that. We’ve had a difficult few months in terms of decisions like we saw [on Saturday], injuries and setbacks like our captain David Norris being sick at the weekend.

“Having said that, we can’t keep making too many excuses and as the manager I take full responsibility and if I’m not given that time I’ll have no one to blame but myself.

“I’m always frustrated when we lose matches but the challenge is there and I want to try and see the job out at least until the summer. If you’re losing matches, the pressure builds and ultimately the person that pays the price is the manager.”

The Irishman accused his defenders of making basic mistakes during Saturday’s defeat but was also less than impressed with his strikers, who he felt ought to have taken their chances: “They were schoolboy errors and it was the same last weekend with the first two goals we gave away there.

“We can focus on the defenders, but we’ve got to try and score more goals as well. We’re constantly under pressure because we don’t score goals. I’d be as critical of my strikers as I would my defenders for not clearing their lines.”

Keane was at a loss to explain what his players were up to at times on Saturday but reiterated that the overall responsibility is his: “I could be here until midnight and I wouldn’t be able to explain some of the decision-making which went on.

“That’s not blaming the players, I pick the team, I pick the players, I bring players in on loan, I brought players in in the summer. It’s not me passing the buck. If anything I need to receive criticism because ultimately it’s me picking the team. It has to stop with the manager.

“[Saturday] was really disappointing, I have to say. I think the effort was fine, I actually thought we played OK. In the first half we were under pressure in terms of possession, but possession doesn’t win you football matches.

“We created chances and players missed opportunities. I still can’t understand how a player can miss the target and get a round of applause. You’ve got to be clinical and ruthless. It was the same the other night, but we got away with it against West Brom.”

Keane felt his friend Brendan Rodgers and his team will have returned to Wales having been given a helping hand by Town: “I don’t think Swansea had to work too hard for their goals. That’s the hard part for me to take — we gifted them two goals. OK, the third was a decent finish, I’ve no problem with that, but the last thing we need is to be gifting goals to teams like Swansea who are flying high anyway.”

The Blues boss felt there were at least some positives to be taken from the match: “I thought there were one or two very good performances. I thought Grant and Jack did well up against their three in the middle. I thought defensively we were doing OK in the first half in terms of our team shape when I think Murph had one save to make.

“At half-time we thought that if we could keep a clean sheet we were pretty confident we could nick a goal. We did that and the game plan was going OK for us, then we gave away a poor freekick and we didn’t defend a set piece once again.”

Meanwhile, Keane has put his Cheshire home up for sale. Chantry Dane, which sits in 1.2 acres of land near Hale, is available for £9.5 million, having undergone extensive renovations since Keane and his wife Theresa bought it for £3.2 million in 2005. The Town manager and his family now live in Woodbridge.

Elsewhere, former Premier League referee Graham Poll says his one-time colleague Andy D'Urso ought to have awarded the Blues that penalty on Saturday.

Photo: Action Images

denhamblue added 12:56 - Dec 6 lots of people here saying we definately wont go down,to good ect.AS a previous post stated,based on what?I think with evens and clegg its money,and revenue,profits ect which will get keane the boot.No one in their right mind would think evens will put up with attendenances of 13 or 14000.If he does then hes either so wealthy and the club can survive on that,or hes got a screw loose.

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ITFC1985 added 13:00 - Dec 6 I think the board need to make a major decision in the next couple of weeks on whether they want to keep Keane on till the end of his contract or get someone in for the remaining months of the season and try to turn us round, come May with Keane in charge things could be very very bleak, we are no better now than we were when he took over. Marcus you need to think about where you want this club to be next season

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julesbda added 13:07 - Dec 6 He's got most things wrong in the past 20 months ..let's hope this is another !! He needs to go now ..so we can try and salvage the season before it's too late ... remember these words Roy ???...on a possible comeback (2009) "Alex Ferguson comes out and says, 'You never know what he is going to do next.' What did he think I was going to do? Go backpacking around Mexico? I have five kids. Football is in my blood, I'd just had enough at Sunderland. Things had changed. End of bloody story." I hear MEXICO CITY CALLING ROY !!!!

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steed added 13:23 - Dec 6 You have to blame Clegg and Evans for the mess we are in Keane was told to get rid of the high earners and clear the decks Keane done his bit and stated he did not want loan players like last season. So either clegg and evans cant sort out contracts or we are not being told the truth about what is happening at are club.You can not have a team of kids playing and that is what we have in defence at the moment, should ban the loan system anyway and have players who really want to play for your club. Plus we need a proper public figure at portman road not Clegg who doesnt talk to the media or fans as much i didnt like sheepshanks at least we new he was there.

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ITFCKeano added 13:35 - Dec 6 Players fault. You get paid a big big wage to do your job. If I didnt do my job properly I'd get sacked, not my manager. If the manager employed me to dig a ditch and then told me to fly a plane, I'd expect some sympathy, but if I'm employed to dig ditches in a JCB, and I have to pick up a shovel every so often, I'd expect to be able to adjust a bit. Any player should be expected to slot into any position and do the job, especially for the wage they get. Not good enough from the players at times. Unfortunatley part of the modern game. Oh how different things were when players were plumbers or brick layers for a job during the week and at the weekend kicked a ball around for a bob or two & love of the game, and playing for your team & country made you proud, not rich.

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Help added 13:37 - Dec 6 if we are talking coaching staff. When did Steve Foley leave. has this downturn coincided with that? lets talk about no no:2 why? Does he really think he knows it all, after all we all moan at his substitutions. The statements of we will not play 2 up front, nobody does. But they play attacking wide men who get forward. We play 4 central defenders, 4 central midfielders. If he is going to bring on a target man, dont then remove the attacking players to support him. Kind of backwards to me.

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Seasonticketsteve added 14:07 - Dec 6 Am I alone in thinking that the only reason we are sticking with Keane for the moment is because we are having drawn out discussions with some other manager or club, maybe Curbs is negotiating, maybe Donny wont let us speak to O'Driscoll? Until we have another manager lined up, Keane is a publicity cow for Evans and will continue to be the face of ITFC. As much as it pains me though, with no assistant manager we cant just fire Keane with out having some lined up as we have no one to come in, Klug would have been the usual man to fill the void but even he has gone, surely we couldnt hand it over to Kiwomya! Patience people, I am sure alot is going on behind the scenes that we arent aware of-might explain Cleggs recent absence!

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Karlosfandangal added 14:08 - Dec 6 naa Your point on Keanes contract. I think he should see it out as my point earlier. I know there is alot of we are only 4 points off religation but we are only 8 points off the play off. so if Evans have set the target of Play off's by the end of the season then until its impossible to make this Keane should stay IMO. Where as we blame Keane for the results failure, Evans will have to take the blame for the appointment of Keane. on the flip side, Evans must know after 18 months if Keane is the man for the job. So does he cut his losses and start looking for a new manager, so the new man can look at the current squard and decided who he would like to keep out of the 21 players who's contract runs out at the end of the season,bring in some new faces in Jan and try to get a more settled squard and try to get us in the prem within the next 2 years Robson had 2 very difficult years before he got it right (not that i put Keane in the same class as Sir Bobby) my point being is that how much time do you give a manager.

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whoppit added 14:18 - Dec 6 I miss the muppets on here who used to end their post with "In Keano We Trust" Keano for Norwich anyone?? He is well popular there already !!!!
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captain_fantastic added 14:32 - Dec 6 I admire Keane's honesty, but he knows this simply isn't good enough and something has to change pronto. Our woeful defending and our strikers unable to convert chances, simply isn't helping matters, 11 goals conceded in the past 4 games, scored 3. That's relegation form. Simple as that. I've never been a Keane fan, player or manager, however the guy is a born winner and this must situation must be a massive dent in his pride and arrogance level's. I hoped like everyone else Keane would suceed, but it's simply not working out for him here. Move on Roy, do yourself a favour and our club before things get out of hand. Bad result at Preston and I feel that will be it for him.

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naa added 14:38 - Dec 6 Karlosfandangal: thing is, as has been pointed out, we have a lot of players who can talk to other clubs in January. If they don't know who the manager is going to be next season will they re-sign? Also, come January, will RK be given anything to spend? What's the point if he's only got half a season left? Having a manager in this position just isn't viable. He either goes or he stays properly (not 6 months). And where do we draw the line regarding play-offs? Sure we're only 8 points off, but even the bottom 3 are mathematically capable of making the play-offs until about March. Doesn't mean they aren't going down. Our form is the worst in the division (8 defeats in 10 is absolutely shocking and people talk abotu luck but that really only applies here and there and not as a whole over that run) and at the moment relegation is far more likely than promotion - or even mid-table. We have too many youngsters and too many loan players. And while that isn't all Keane's fault he was still given plenty of money to spend in at the start that he didn't make good use of. He also has players like Peters and Civelli who he won't give a fair crack to (particularly Civelli). I'm firmly in the 'time for a change' camp, even if it is just to get us out of this current rut. But if people think it makes sense to let RK just see his contract out then I think we could be heading for serious trouble.

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yorksblue added 14:55 - Dec 6 Don't bother on my account, Keane. You're a muppet. I'd put the £9m sale of your house up North on hold for a couple of weeks if I were you.
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Lightningboy added 15:12 - Dec 6 I see Newcastle have just sacked Hughton...maybe,just maybe this'll spark our owner into a decision here.....
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brian_a_mul added 15:15 - Dec 6 I think ME may be feeling a little guilty right now. He appointed Keane (of course) and maybe diddnt back him as much as he could have during this summer. We have a two legged semi against Arsenal in January with a Chelsea FA cup game in there too. ME may feel he owes Keane a full term on the back of this. Norris will be back for the Preston game and I would expect to see a really fired up team. Baring the silly mistakes we played generally well on Saturday. If we cut out the silly mistakes and play positively, we can get a win against Preston. With two home games to follow, we may be able to build a little momentum. Its only the beginning of December, the league is very tight and nothing is ever decided in December! Its an alarming run of results but Im sure the team can turn it around! How often do we see a team in the lower half of the league put together great runs and shoot up the league? We can do it but I think it will be more down to the players than the manager. We have talanted young players and I hope this tough period has been a steep learning curve for them. CMON Ipswich!! Do the business. Norris, Edwards & Leadbitter, its time to stand up and be counted!

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BecclesBlue500 added 15:29 - Dec 6 Please don't let's kid ourselves that these are the wrods of a principled man wanting to see his contract through until it expires, seemingly in the best interests of us all; this is the ugly cynical side of money in football - my guess is that he either get's a big fat contract completion bonus, or it's the usual principle of resign and get nowt; get 'sacked' and get a decent comprimise agreement. Quite obviously the honourable thing to do is quit (in a Strachan-Stylie) basically admitting that he just coudln't get it to work; it's no surprise that Keane is in the top-5 wealthiest footballing folk in the country - he will not quit purely for ££ reasons. He has the look of a man who simply cannot wait to be put out of his misery and go back to his Cheshire. So why hasn't he been terminated??? and have Clegg have to admit that he was wrong?? and force Evans hand over ownership in the short, medium and long term?? We'll stay as we are for a wee while then......

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whoppit added 15:42 - Dec 6 Hughton in, Muppet & Cleggy out !!!! Also Marcus, nobody is impressed by your mystery man tactics. Seriously. The rest of us gave up playing James Bond when we were teenagers. Nobody really cares what you do but you are giving the impression that you don't care about ITFC either.
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Facefacts added 15:45 - Dec 6 I still think the players are trying very hard. They are just not good enough. Tamas Priskin now works hard, but he is short of what's needed to move us up the league. Roy Keane has made some terrible signings, especially the Irish contingent, plus Martin and Priskin, I'm afraid. The legacy of naive splashing out in the early days takes years to work its way out of the system, and it's depressing to see high earners who can't get near the team. Those are the mistakes that will eventually mean letting Roy Keane go. I cannot see him staying beyond this season. It's only the cost of sacking him that's keeping him here. On the goalkeeping front, we were unlucky Rangers wanted Neil Alexander (I know this was a while ago, but we're now buying and playing keepers who are not in his class). We're unlucky that Gareth Macauley is injured. We're unlucky that Connor Wickham is injured(?). If Civelli is still the player he was before he got injured, then why doesn't he walk back into the team? So Civelli's an unknown till he gets his place back. The West Brom win did give the players confidence. We are giving bad goals away in every league game. But there are a few things that are not clear, including Civelli's position, and we're probably not going to find everything out, we end up just having to guess. Has Connor Wickham been unlucky with injuries all this season, or is there a smokescreen there because he is going to be sold in January? I said in an earlier post that Roy Keane should be building the team around Connor Wickham, and I hope he stays, but you also need a coach who is patient with him, he is still very young. If he is injured, then, fair enough. If he is injury prone, let him go in January, after the cup games. Rory Fallon looks a League One player at best. In January we play Chelsea then Arsenal, it's depressing that I'm not looking forward to these games with any optimism. Can we get any kind of result against them and gain any confidence for the long league battle ahead? I actually think if we can hold on to Connor Wickham, get him fit for these games, and just get him as much service as possible, you can play 4-5-1 if you're used to the system and get forward to support him and get him service, he can do something against the best defences (hardly Arsenal and Chelsea at the moment HA!). If we can get him say one on one for strength against even John Terry that would be interesting, get him maybe 4 or 5 chances in each of those games he may score 1 or even 2. Or against one of those jokers who clashed heads for Arsenal against Fulham on Saturday. These games will at least be good for the income they generate for the club. Connor Wickham won't be getting into Arsenal or Spurs 1st team so being cup-tied is not a problem. We should be looking forward with enthusiasm to these games. I did end up seeing the rest of the derby on iplayer at the weekend, and we did try right through to the end, we were actually unlucky. The sound is not working on my computer at home, and as I saw Holt walk over to the referee to get booked, he looked like a scared rabbit, as if he thought he was going to be sent off. That gave him a huge lift only to see yellow. Also the challenge was in the opposite corner of the field to where the Town fans were. In the opposite corner he may well have got a red because all the Town fans should have been screaming OFF OFF OFF right next to the referee's ear. That's how close things can be, and how lucky Holt was. Same with the penalty on Saturday, same old Andy D'Urso again. That was a stonewall penalty, there's no excuse for D'Urso. Then it's two-two and we probably go on to win the game, against a team near the top.

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jas0999 added 15:51 - Dec 6 Brutely honest. I feel ME will keep Roy on. Too expensive to pay him off.
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Bluroo added 16:15 - Dec 6 Sack Keane get O'Neil in???? No wonder so many of you want Keane sacked, you think the game is a piece of cake, you just hire whatever manager you want, he signs the players he wants, money isn't a problem, everyone just says yes, the team plays like Barcelona, noone ever gets suspended, injured or loses form. What is this, Football Manager Level 1? Pfff.
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itfchorry added 16:15 - Dec 6 Can't keep saying it enough - This clown is bringing Our great football club to it's knees. How could he drop Jamie Peters who was our best player on Wednesday ? Keane OUT
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whoppit added 16:25 - Dec 6 O'Neill won't come to us. Fact. O'Neill has reportedly turned down 2 Championship clubs in the past. (One club was Sunderland in 2006 before they wasted 3 years under Keane and the other was "undisclosed) The reason? He wants to manage a Premier League club. Let's face it, we are looking at Gordon Strachan/Phil Brown or Ian Dowie when the Muppet is sacked/walks. And Terry Butcher can stay where he is. Legend but an absolute $hit manager wherever he has been !!!

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yorksblue added 16:39 - Dec 6 "Rory Fallon at best a Div 1 player" - exactly!
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bluelady added 16:43 - Dec 6 cant believe that Houghton has been sacked after a run of bad form, good grief, we put up with 2 seasons of bad results!!! he got them promoted for goodness sake!
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tractaboy added 16:57 - Dec 6 I personally feel thats it's a selfish comment to make at the moment. Where will tghe club be at that time, and he can just walk away and let someone else deal with the mess. I'm quite happy for him to stay IF he can turn it around. But lets face it, the guy is 3/4 of the way into his contract and we're no better off that that shambles of a season last year.If he's not turned it around by now i don't think he will. Surely it wont cost too much to pay off the remaining 6 months of his contract. He should look at Houghton has been treated and see how lucky he has been. Anyone fancy a flutter that he'll be our new manager?

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cobbolds added 17:03 - Dec 6 looks like he'll see out my season ticket - that'll save me a few quid next year
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