SOCCER NEWS:THE IPSWICH Town fans who booed Roy Keane after the 4-0 home defeat by Newcastle on Sunday have found an unlikely ally – the manager himself. When Keane was abused by Sunderland supporters towards the end of his spell at the Stadium of Light, he condemned their "lack of respect" but this time he has declared fans were right to jeer him and admitted he has so far failed to achieve at Portman Road.
“Since I’ve been involved in football I’ve always brought something to the clubs I’ve been involved with but I’ve not brought anything to Ipswich,” said Keane with characteristic bluntness. Brought in last May to deliver promotion from the Championship within two years, the 38-year-old has yet to produce a league win in nine matches, presiding over the worst start in Ipswich’s 73-year history.
The club’s owner, Marcus Evans, seldom speaks publicly and has not made any statement, but with another game looming at Sheffield United tonight, Keane raised the prospect he may be sacked. “If I was a supporter, looking at our results, I would be booing me. It’s part and parcel of the game. The bottom line is, if results don’t improve, I’m sure there will be changes. I’ll be losing my job.”
Coming a day after confessing he may have been “found out” and wondering whether Ipswich’s woes suggested luck had been responsible for the success he enjoyed at Sunderland, whom he guided to promotion from the Championship in 2007 and survival in the Premier League the following year, Keane’s words reflect a realist who may be wrestling with self-doubt. “Like my players I am doing my best,” he said. “If it’s not good enough, so be it. I’ll be the one losing my job. That’s life and we’ll have to get on with it.”
If Keane is losing confidence in himself it is only after losing it in many of his players. Over the summer he had insisted the pursuit of promotion would not entail overhauling a squad that had finished ninth last season, but by the time the transfer window closed he had offloaded 12 players and brought in 11 for net expenditure of €7.6m.
Still the side continues to leak goals – the joint-most in their division – and, partially because centreback Alex Bruce has been ruled out for at least two weeks with a groin injury, he is attempting to sign two more defenders on loan, one of whom may be Sol Campbell.
“There are two targets I have in mind. We’re working very hard but there’s a bit to go yet in the negotiations. There has been progress in the last 24 hours and I’m a bit more hopeful of something happening before the weekend.”
Talk of new signings is unlikely to trigger much anticipation in Ipswich, since none of Keane’s recruits so far have been big hits. Indeed, some of the manager’s signings have mystified fans – Colin Healy was bought from Cork City in July but already seems to have been jettisoned, while striker Tamas Priskin has scored one league goal since joining from Watford.
Keane has stuck to a 4-5-1 formation since the start of the season in which one midfielder holds while the other four seem to roam freely. The appeal of such a scheme is its fluidity, the drawback that it takes time for players to familiarise themselves with it and each other.
Keane does not yet appear sure which of his charges it is more likely to suit, as he regularly switches personnel. The sole acquisition who has so far looked better than average has been former Manchester United reserve Lee Martin but, confusingly, he has recently been omitted, while two favourites from last year, midfielder Owen Garvan and fullback David Wright, have hardly appeared.
At Sunderland Keane was acclaimed for the professionalism he instilled and at Ipswich he has overseen similar progress. Fingerprint sensors now restrict entry to the club’s training ground, for instance, and gym facilities have been enhanced.
Keane plays a more active role in training than he did at Sunderland, having moved to Suffolk rather than commute from Cheshire. Nonetheless, some of the shortcomings of which he was accused at Sunderland may also have resurfaced. There key relationships unravelled and now there are widespread reports - all denied by the players – of discontent with Keane’s man-management.
It is understood the manager retains the trust of his employer – for however long remains to be seen.
GuardianService.
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