Town manager Roy Keane says it’s not all doom and gloom at Portman Road despite three league defeats in a row. The Blues boss is looking for a reaction from his side when they take on Northampton in the fourth round of the Carling Cup at home this evening.

Keane said: “If we can win then we’re in the quarter-finals of the League Cup. We’re disappointed after three defeats but we’re three points away from sixth place in the Championship.

“So that’s where we are at the moment, it’s certainly not all doom and gloom. I’m happy with players, I’m happy with the staff, I’m happy with the support we’ve been getting and I’ll be happier on Tuesday night if we win a game of football.

“When we don’t win games we’re all upset, of course we are. But you’re going to lose football matches, it’s how you respond to it. The players are good lads, I enjoy working with them, I enjoy working with my staff and, as I keep saying, we’ll be OK.”

Keane says the recent run ought not to be overstated: “We’ve had a bad week, let’s look at it that way. There have been three games and we’ve given some poor goals away but we can’t do anything about the past. We can learn from it and make sure we do better, which I expect us to do against Northampton.”

The Blues boss says he was more annoyed not to pick up points against Coventry and Watford than against his old club Nottingham Forest at the weekend: “Forest were a strong team but the two previous defeats were hard to take. When you don’t win football matches that little bit of pressure can build.

“But a couple of weeks ago we were in the top six without playing particularly well, so we know how a couple of good results can get you up the table, just as two or three defeats can drop down.

“That’s life, that’s football and if we get the half-chances we’ve been creating we’ve got to take them. That has been a problem for us, we don’t score enough goals and if you don’t score enough goals it puts pressure on the team and particularly the back four.

“But we’re all keeping our heads and we’re getting ready for a good game. It’s a good game for us and a good game for Northampton.”

Meanwhile, Keane is amongst a number of celebrities photographed with their dogs in the Amazing Partnerships exhibition which is raising funds for Guide Dogs. Keane was pictured near his Woodbridge home with labrador Triggs and German shepherd Ossie by Adrian Houston.

The exhibition is open to the general public on November 5th and 6th at The Haunch of Venison Gallery, 6 Burlington Gardens, London, W1S 3ET (6:30pm - 9pm). Keane is a long-time supporter of guide dog charities both in the UK and Ireland.

Elsewhere, defender Damien Delaney says he’s yet to be offered a new contract by the Blues but would like to remain at Portman Road: “I would love a new contract. But they are not as easy to come by as they were in the past.”

Photo: Action Images

jpr_23 added 09:41 - Oct 26 Of course it's not all doom and gloom at the club, Keane is about to get his marching orders and the club can emerge from the disappointment of his time at the helm...
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bedsitfc added 09:45 - Oct 26 it may not be doom and gloom but we all want a reaction
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yorksblue added 09:59 - Oct 26 3 losses, followed by 3 straight wins, especially away at Sheff Utd.
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itfc4eva added 10:01 - Oct 26 i agree with yorksblue
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sonian_blue added 10:05 - Oct 26 Exactly, a bad week we all have them. People on here need to get real. Were Leeds booed off last night after another tonking, were they calling for the managers head...NO We are an average team ina competitive league but a chance tonight to reach the 1/4s of a major competition. Lets hope whatever the crowd we get behind the team. Probably we will be outsung by the Cobblers? This can still be a successful season...COYB Boys

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naa added 10:14 - Oct 26 At least he admits we were in the top six without playing well. But I do wish he'd stop going on about not scoring enough goals. I've seen us play enough times to know that he sets the team up to defend and not concede, THAT'S why we don't score enough goals. It's a two-way street Roy. Allow the team the flexibility to get forward and you might see more goals.
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Thetruth added 10:18 - Oct 26 Sure the roof will be lifted with a capacity crowd tonight!!! People need to turn this moaning into support, we need agressive atmosphere that pumps these lads up. Unfotunately we have the atmosphere you will find in the Sunday morning league! I agree with the last post, real supporters dont turn on their team, before these 3 defeats this board was full of posts about pushing for promotion and how well the season is going. The truth is we have some of the most fickle people supporting this club and rather than thinking this club has divine rights to Premier league status they should get down Portman Road and chant for 90 minutes and get these boys pumped up and playing. Our support is embaressing.........its that simple

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SammyT added 10:53 - Oct 26 Its simple...if you hear someone singing. Join in!! 100+ people post on some of these articles, if every poster agrees to do that will make a difference. Who is with me? COYB!!!!!
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Karlosfandangal added 11:00 - Oct 26 Agree with Thetruth We are far better than last year. This time last year we were bottom of the league and out of the cup and scoring less goals and conceding more. As soon as we lose its Keane out, no one called for his head after the first 6 games of the season. We are an average side who are building for the future, money does not buy succsess. How much have Man City spent and they just lost at home to Arsenal are they calling for the managers head....................No !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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jayessess added 11:13 - Oct 26 Jesus, how low are some people's expectations? "We're an average, no god-given right to premier league football" bla bla bla. List of clubs with less resources than us, currently above us in the table: Swansea, Norwich, Watford, Coventry, Millwall, Doncaster and Pompey (probably Derby, Reading and Forest have about our resources too). Of the teams above us, only 4 have higher average attendances (that even after years of being rubbish have seen us slide down that table). Are you really saying it's outrageous to think the aim of a club like this should be top 6?

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Papa added 11:51 - Oct 26 I've got to ask the few people who are backing Keane by saying we're only an average side and we should support the boys. Do you think being an average side with the amount of money he has spent to be satisfactory? Don't get me wrong, I support Ipswich. Never in my 25 years of going have I ever booed my own team or been negative. But I have to say, for the money Keane has spent, 14th after 13 games is failure. To say that's because we're an average team is laughable.

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whoppit added 12:21 - Oct 26 This is Ipswich vs Northampton. I expect to win Mr Keane. In normal time without the need for extra time or penalties either. We have a good enough team to beat Northampton by 2 or 3 goals. If we muck this up you really need to reconsider your position Roy !!!!!!
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naa added 12:21 - Oct 26 Karlosfandangal: at this time last year we'd played 14 games and scored 15, at the moment we've played 13 games and scored 15. Not exactly a massive improvement! We are conceding fewer, I agree but I'd bloody hope so given how far back we sit and how little support we give to the striker (singular). At the end of the day I don't care where we are in the league at this very moment, my issue is with the massively dull football we are being served up with no sign of the ethos changing under Keane at all and I just can't believe that so many of you are happy with it. It's boring, boring, boring. If it was getting results I'd still be pretty disappointed in the style but it's not even doing that! Obviously I'm not saying I'd rather see us bottom but playing attractive football, but with the players we have and the money we've spent we should have a team capable of playing attractive football. This idea that we have to grind our way out of this division is utter rubbish frankly, as so many teams above us are proving.

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Mark added 12:24 - Oct 26 I don't think it was just a bad week unfortunately. We have scored only 7 goals since August in 9 league matches, that is the problem and nothing has been done about it. As Keane said, when we were in the top-six we were not playing well, and we have rarely played well since he has been in charge in my opinion. As Papa wrote, with the money spent we should be up there competing. We were average under Magilton and the whole point of bringing Keane in and giving him millions to spend was to improve on that. The results have not improved and the performances are more dull than before.

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FifeITFC added 12:38 - Oct 26 I'm not a Keane fan, but boy some of our fans are embarrassing. Keane will never win over some people no matter what, but people really need to back off a little and criticise every little thing he says/does. I don't recall our fans ever giving any other manager quite as much flak or so quick to turn on him. One minute he's doing OK, but when we lose so many people are quick to jump on him. This is not the "Ipswich way". Sad to say, Keane will never win whatever he does. I don't like the man, personally, but I can see he'll never succeed with regards to our fans - no matter what he does.

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vulcher added 12:46 - Oct 26 any1 know if mike bassett is still looking for another managers job after leaving england a few years ago?! x
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meekreech added 13:08 - Oct 26 Vulcher why dont you join Whoppit and Chambers in their hole in the ground or support the team ! The time to judge RK is the end of the season not as he is getting young players blooded in a very tough league ! This time last year we sat at the bottom with very few points , now we have dropped a few points the whingers start again , so lets admit we are better placed albeit with a young raw squad !

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brittaniaman added 13:09 - Oct 26 Thank god Leeds did not win last night, that would have been another team above us , the way Cardiff played they are way out ahead of us especially now they have Chopra back (and scoring) since we played Cardiff they have gone forward and we have gone in reverse. We must win tonight to relieve some pressure off Keano and the lads, still say he needs an experianced assistant, wonder where we would have been if Bendan Rogers had have came here instead of Swansea who by the way are now sitting 3rd , still awin as well on sat will help also COYB !!!!!!!

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vulcher added 13:24 - Oct 26 meekreach is having a nibble :-). very much doubt the whole team and keane go on twtd every night to see what is said about them, i get behind the team when im at the game, so no harm in me having an opinion on a forum!. anyway meekreach we shouldnt be in the position of having a young and un-experienced team, keane had the funds to build a decent team.
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meekreech added 13:33 - Oct 26 Vulcher how many times have we seen signings fall through because the top brass did not do the deals !
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Karlosfandangal added 13:44 - Oct 26 naa i understand your point,However Man City have soent a fortune and still no succsess, so it not just about money. The main point is all the negitivity on here as we have lost 3 games in a row. No one was complaining about Keane or the style of football we played. We played lovely football when we were winning now its boring and crap (comments on here) Keane will be a god if he gets us in the Prem and then we will moan and groan at the crap manager and football being played when we are bottom of the Prem. Would we not then pefer a side flerting with the play off and playing nice football or a side top of the table and playing crap. I know i will get slagged off for saying this and told not a true fan. but the last game i went to was the 4-0 home defeat by Newcastle. as to me enough is enough the football was boring and costs an arm and a leg (250 mile round trip) I enjoy my football and will only go back when we start to entertain. I want value for money and not bothered what division we are in. We will never compete in the Prem as we are an average side with small gates. Crystal Palace are struggling with haldf of our old players so for me Keane has got rid of the dead wood (Counago's Stead Garvan the 2 Wrights etc) the side is still gelling and only 3 points off play off, next year I would expect (depending on who stays and goes and who is brought in and if Keane is still in charge) for us to be in the top 2. Rant over no offence to anyone come on you blues

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dirtydingusmagee added 13:48 - Oct 26 it will be an ''acid test'' tonight,Northampton will be well up for it, we SHOULD have the players to do a good job on them though, surely we should be able to get a few goals tonight , COYB
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vulcher added 13:52 - Oct 26 Well the only deal which I know fell through was shaun derry, a lot of the others were speculation. I just think keane has brought in enough player now to have the squad depth he should have
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TractorBeezer added 14:08 - Oct 26 "There have been three games and we've given some poor goals away but we can't do anything about the past. We can learn from it and make sure we do better, which I expect us to do against Northampton.” The key here is...what has been learnt? Along with some moaning and slagging there have actually been some very constructive points made by the fans on TWTD during the past week. I doubt very much that Keano has this site bookmarked but hopefully one of his staff is desgnated to take a look to filter out the meaningful observations and suggestions.

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Big_Foot_Blue added 14:16 - Oct 26 Personally I think every poster so far has missed the interesting bit of Phil's article! At the very bottom Damien Delaney commented that he would love a new deal but they are not as easy to comeby as they used to! This is an area where I Keane cannot be critiscised but I know some of you will try! Under Magilton massive contracts were handed to average players which left us with the likes of Counago and Lisbie bleeding the club dry! Under Keane players know they have to work very hard for their contracts and with the exception of Lee Martin I cant think of any keane players who are doing that at the moment?

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