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

katemoss added 17:14 - Dec 6 Ipswich are rubbish. If they're not going to do anything about stay away.
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Wickets added 17:15 - Dec 6 Yes he must go. we have inexoerience all through the club management, ME Clegg and RK All new to there positions within the club, perhaps if Roy had an experenced assistant it would have been a help, but his time has come.Cant see O'neil wanting the job as some have suggested, pity. Maybe Curbs is the next best option.
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SammyT added 17:23 - Dec 6 Yes please do stay away Katemoss. Thats not what supporters do... club can do without you. Obviously dont believe in "ipswich til I Die"... good times and bad times..
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 17:24 - Dec 6 I appreciate RK's sincerity and honesty, but that doesn't mean I think he's doing much of a job. We obviously need CONTINUITY in all areas of the club: getting rid of a diamond like Brian Klug and good coaches such as Steve Foley is bound to come back to haunt us - not to mention the tinkering that goes on with the team for every game. Players are human (most of them) and I don't think anyone is going to be able to keep up their motivation over a season if they play well one week and get dropped the next. Good teams try to field a similar side each week, unless you're Man. U. who seem to be one of the few teams that make rotation work reasonably well, although even they come unstuck with it occasionally. Continuity: from management, on the pitch and from the fans. And while they're at it they can drop the prices as well. COYB.

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itfchorry added 17:30 - Dec 6 Ray Wilkins would do nicely - Lots of experience and worked under some great managers- including King Bobby.
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I_8_NARWICH added 17:36 - Dec 6 Mr Evan's has got to think about this because if Keane is still in a job at the end of this season, how many season ticket sales are we going to be getting 8,000??? becuase fans are becoming more and more frustrated and arnt turning up 16,000 there on saturday and really considering we were getting 21-22,000 even when we were under Magilton Evans has got to relise that isnt good. If he is there at the start of next season...then god help us!!

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choprawontcome added 17:59 - Dec 6 same old excuses week in week out,FORK!!!!!!!!!!!
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Kuqicoo added 18:04 - Dec 6 The telling line....'At half time we thought that if we kept a clean sheet we were pretty confident we could nick a goal' Great!! We are at home and we play for a nil nil but hope to 'nick' a goal. Thats ambition for you. Under George, Joe and Jim we could tear teams apart on the odd occasion with our play. How many times have we done this under Roy? Im not daft enough to expect it week in week out, or to even win every game but now and again it would be nice! Im finding it so deflating...surely things will change very soon?

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katemoss added 18:04 - Dec 6 If we had started the season with a run of 8 defeats out of 10, Roy Keane would have been sackded. What are supposed to turn up for? It's another dead season.
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bluelady added 18:20 - Dec 6 would he katemoss? not sure, think his PR is too good for M.E. thats the reason he got him in and the reason he wont sack him, he is always in the news be he doing well or failing as he is now. For ME any publicity is good publicity. Lets face it any other team and he would have gone and this has got Squit do with our past patience with managers, its all about the faceless cowards at the top that wont come forward and be honest about their intentions...... The sad truth is Mr Keane and all the fans are just puppets in the Evans show

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hamster153 added 18:46 - Dec 6 MARTIN ONEIL NEXT TOWN BOSS. I think thats possoble and if we dont get promotion then we should prob dispatch and watch other teams. :) Also Marcus Evans should throw money if we get him.
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bigfish added 18:53 - Dec 6 League one next year then.
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dirtydingusmagee added 19:34 - Dec 6 Unbelievable Houghton is sacked ,Keane is still sitting tight.Last season most of us thought we would go down and wave to the scum as they came up,this season its worse we could go down ,they could well get into prem ,thanks Roy,''Demolishion Man'' Keane stay on till the foundations are destroyed why dont you .
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gloucester_tractor added 19:37 - Dec 6 The interesting thing to come out of this season has been that when Mr kEANE only has a resricted number of players to pick from and its seems that we are short he puts a team together thats atractive wins games and works hard ie early season and west brom. may be we should cut the squad and have less selection head ache {joke} But it is so he has had good results when limited choice

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cobbold_fanatic added 20:15 - Dec 6 Bring in Ray Wilkins and Chris Hughton in a joint managerial role now that would be interesting!!!
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bluelady added 20:15 - Dec 6 dirtyding talk on five live sports of him comming here!!!! hmm a really nice guy, lowish profile, gets on with fans and players doesnt fit Evans job description does it!
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Daniel added 20:28 - Dec 6 All you're Keane moaners must stop! We have to think about our support for the team! I saw the match on tv on saturday, and our fans are awful! You cant win a football match if you're supporters are not behind the team. Hope our trend turns around, and i'm right behind the team no matter what! COYB!!!!!
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dirtydingusmagee added 20:36 - Dec 6 Bluelady.......we can hope ! and he is more likely to come to Town ,than O'Neil that really is a non starter.Just hope if its going to happen its sooner rather than later .
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ipswichtown1978 added 20:44 - Dec 6 Daniel don't moan about are support if you watched the game on the tele. Not O'niel he is so boring and also played and managed Naaarich, Chris Hughton however, now there's a shout
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bobble added 21:16 - Dec 6 so after the disaster last season and the just managing to get the club to mid table we are back to losing ..sliding down the table. keane with his weekly excuse release . 7-8000 fans not turning up for games anymore .99% of the fans wanting him gone. he himself knowing that he cant cut the mustard. players making more stupid mistakes weekly . he stills get to finish his contract and finish the club by taking us down you really have to wonder about the business sense of the owner

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bluelady added 21:28 - Dec 6 Daniel if you are that worried about the support why not come down rather than watch on the TV?
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Calmingwind added 21:59 - Dec 6 Daniel everyone is behind the team, we may disagree on some things but we all want what we think is best for the club - we wouldnt be on here otherwise
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WarkyWonderLand added 21:59 - Dec 6 Was RK talking about his own decision making when he said he would be there til midnight!! No wonder our strikers are scared to shoot if he hates applause if they miss. Talk about boosting confidence at a time when the whole team appears fragile. And as someone has already said, he thinks we could have "nicked a goal". Says it all. It surprises me that some people appear to be fascinated by RK's aura and past and not look at the FACTS which I have stated before which are:- 10 of the 11 players who started Saturday were signed by RK 19 of the current squad (incl loanees) were signed by RK He has spent the most money of any championship manager (excl Gordon Strachan and he walked) The only 4 teams to have lost more than us are the bottom 4 We have lost 10 games already, we lost 14 last season. I am sure that Sunderland fans are well chuffed he walked given where they are now. How many of RK's signings are in that team now. If anyone thinks "it won't happen to us" look at the stats and our form. Average goals per game 1.18, that will never win matches. In his post match interview on Saturday he looked a beaten man, why not do what Strachan did? He has had 18 months and look where we are and poor Chris Hughton, in the job 14 months, wins the championship and gains promotion and now sacked. I am sorry to say that if ME does not "relieve him of his duties" or he walks I really fear for OUR CLUB AND TEAM. This is not fantasy football manager, this is reality.

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Lightningboy added 22:13 - Dec 6 Just been looking at poor old Chris Hughton's stats at newcastle: in 70 games he lost just 14.. compare that with keane who has lost 8 of his last "10"! ...plus I still can't believe it's well over a year ago that many fans (myself included) wanted keane out and we were being told to give him until xmas to turn things around...lol!..yes folks ,that was xmas 2009,it's now xmas 2010 and we're still stuck with him,back in the lower half of the table..shall we give him 'til xmas 2011?!!.....

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Bergholtblue added 22:16 - Dec 6 Does anyone remember, when we last played Norwich at PR, we were all singing 'we'll never play you again". 18 months on and it has a ring of truth about it. Unless the chairman acts now!
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