 Friday, 18th Sep 2009 12:50 Town go into Saturday’s game at Doncaster Rovers still looking for their first win of the season and with Gareth McAuley suspended and with fitness doubts over new signings Carlos Edwards and Liam Rosenior. The Blues currently sit second bottom of the Championship on three points and Keane admits he was hoping for a better first few games: “At the start of every season, every club and every manager wants a decent start. Even back to the Coventry game I thought it was important that we got something out of it, which we didn’t do. “We’re disappointed with the start, we’re not here to fool anybody or con anybody, I wouldn’t be so disrespectful to Ipswich fans to do that. We’d like a better start, but it’s up to the players now to put it right. “What it does provide is a massive challenge for us. What I would say is judge us at the end of the season, not after seven games.” Keane is definitely without Gareth McAuley, who misses one game after his red card in midweek, with Pim Balkestein or Tommy Smith set to come into the centre of the defence alongside skipper Alex Bruce. At left-back, Damien Delaney will keep his place, but Liam Rosenior is a doubt with the swollen eye he suffered in the game at home to Nottingham Forest. The loanee from Reading will be assessed later today before a decision is made on whether he’ll play. Keane has confirmed that David Wright will replace him if he fails to make it: “David Wright did well in the reserve game at Chelsea on Wednesday and kept going to the end against a quality side put out by the Premier League club. If he trains well today I will have no problem playing David tomorrow.” In midfield, Carlos Edwards is unlikely to play after picking up a hamstring injury in the game against Forest and probably won’t be in the squad. Jaime Peters could come in for the former Sunderland man after dropping to sub in midweek. Grant Leadbitter and Alan Quinn did well in the centre of midfield on Tuesday and could again start, although Jack Colback will also be pressing for inclusion. Lee Martin is set to continue on the left. David Norris and Luciano Civelli are out of action until the end of the year with knee ligament injuries. Up front, Pablo Couñago was due to come on as a sub against Nottingham Forest before Edwards and Rosenior suffered injuries. The Spaniard could return in place of Jon Stead alongside Jon Walters with Tamás Priskin, who due to international commitments has trained only fleetingly with the Blues since his move from Watford, involved at a later stage. Connor Wickham is fit after his groin injury and played for the U18s at Aston Villa last Saturday and in the game at Chelsea, but may be left behind to play with the academy with Keane wanting the 16-year-old frontman to get a run of games under his belt in the next few weeks. Keane says he has been impressed with the job manager Sean O’Driscoll is doing at Doncaster: “I’ve bumped into him once or twice. They’re a very good team. The way they play the game is outstanding. They have as many passes as any team in the Championship. “In terms of it being a footballing game, I think it’ll be a very good match and our lads are in for a tough game and hopefully it will be the same for them. He’s a very good manager and he comes across well.” O’Driscoll, whose side sit in 16th place with a home record of won one and drawn two so far, will be without striker James Hayter due to a groin injury. Midfielder James Coppinger and defender Gareth Roberts, who scored with a cross-shot from around 40 yards at Portman Road last season, are both doubts. Striker Paul Heffernan could be back after being sidelined since the end of last month. O’Driscoll says he felt his side deserve more than a 3-1 defeat at West Brom in midweek: "We were disappointed with the fact that we didn't get something out of the West Brom game, so we've got to make sure that we get something out of tomorrow's game. "I watched Ipswich early doors against Coventry because we had Coventry coming up. Apart from conceding what they probably felt were two poor goals, they were by far the better team but still ended up losing 2-1. "We've experienced playing well in the Championship and having nothing to show for it. "Roy Keane has spent a lot of money and he's got a powerful squad. By their standards they have made a poor start, but you wouldn't bet against them being far off at the end of the season." Last season’s doubling of the Blues means that Rovers have the edge on Town in the few meetings between the teams over the years, having won three (one of those the only cup tie involving the clubs), drawn two and lost two. A goal from Shelton Martis, who was on loan from West Brom, gave Doncaster a 1-0 win in Town’s first ever game at the Keepmoat Stadium last November, while Gareth Roberts, Paul Heffernan and James Hayter were all on target for the visitors as they won 3-1 at Portman Road in April, Owen Garvan netting for the Blues. No current Doncaster player has been with the Blues, although midfielder Quinton Fortune, a former Manchester United team-mate of Roy Keane’s, was linked with a trial at Portman Road over the summer, although there was never any confirmation that this took place. No member of the Town squad has played for Doncaster. Saturday’s referee is Nigel Miller from County Durham, who has shown 17 yellow and two red cards in eight games so far this season. Miller’s most recent Town game was also in South Yorkshire, back in April when the Blues lost 2-0 at Sheffield United, Alan Quinn and Ben Thatcher receiving the game’s only yellow cards. Squad from: R Wright, Lee-Barrett, Rosenior, D Wright, Ainsley, Delaney, Bruce, Smith, Balkestein, Leadbitter, Quinn, Colback, Trotter, Peters, Martin, Upson, Walters, Couñago, Priskin, Stead.
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