Town striker Will Keane is adamant the club can win automatic promotion back to the Championship this season as they prepare to take on close rivals Peterborough, currently one place and just two points below the third-placed Blues in the League One table, at Portman Road tomorrow.

Keane, 27, insisted: “I’m still confident about us getting automatic promotion — definitely. That’s the aim; we want to go up automatically.

“We’ve always been striving for that and we’re confident that if we can continue on a good run of form there’s no reason why we can’t do it.”

Another important reason for Keane and his colleagues being so upbeat is that today’s midnight transfer deadline looks like passing with sought-after pair Luke Woolfenden and Flynn Downes both staying put at Portman Road, at least for the remainder of the current campaign.

Keane added: “When you hear some of the rumours about the lads being linked with Premier League clubs it’s a huge compliment to how they have been playing this season.

“Those two, in particular, have been brilliant for us this season. They are both only 21 but they play as if they have been around for years.

“Flynn has been so strong in midfield, driving us on, while Woolfy has been strong at the back and is so comfortable and composed on the ball.

“He has been a great outlet for us recently with the formation we have been using. Hopefully these two lads will keep pushing on and continue to do what they have been doing. In due course they’ll get their just rewards.”

Town are looking to bounce back from Tuesday’s narrow 1-0 defeat at Rotherham, which saw them surrender the League One leadership to the Millers and ended a four-game unbeaten run that had seen them collect 10 points from a possible 12.

Asked if the Rotherham game, which saw Town play second fiddle to the hosts’ direct, physical playing style, made it difficult for Keane and his team-mates to get going, the six-goal striker added: “Yes and especially for me personally. Compared to the game at home against Lincoln, when I was constantly involved and on the ball a lot, trying to make things happen, at Rotherham it was very stop-start.

“It was difficult to get into the flow of it and it seemed I was only getting a touch every five or 10 minutes. When you’re on the periphery like that it’s very frustrating.

“Before Tuesday we had been dominating games but you just have to keep going and hope that the opportunity comes along.

“We didn’t manage to create a great deal, which makes it frustrating all round, but that’s what Rotherham look to do with their approach.

“They are very effective at it but we know we should have done more, maybe play round them, make the pitch a bit bigger and make their players move around a bit more.

“We didn’t manage to do that. They pressed us quite high and squeezed the game. Their approach is designed to make it difficult for their opponents and we’re not the only team who have struggled with it this season.

“In the previous game against Lincoln we played out from the back and even if we weren’t able to get forward we kept possession and moved their players around. Us keeping the ball at the back might have loosened them up a bit and dragged players out of position.

“Maybe at times on Tuesday we were a little bit impatient, trying to score straight away and being a bit too direct rather than building up the play and progressing up the pitch. We need to get back at it tomorrow and put in a good performance.”

Meanwhile, Keane remains on the radar of Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy and he sent his assistant Terry Connor, also his right-hand man at Town, to check on the player at Oxford recently, although the atrocious weather at the Kassam Stadium limited every player’s chance to impress.

Keane said: “I haven’t heard anything directly but I’ve heard a few rumours that they have been at a couple of games. I’m looking to impress and just keep doing what I’m doing really.

“I can only focus on my form here and if we keep doing well, and I can stay fit, contribute and score a few goals, I might be in contention.

“Judgey is still keen to get involved and I know they’ll be keeping an eye on him. Dropping down to League One hasn’t affected his chances and I just need to keep doing my thing and see if anything develops.”

Photo: Pagepix

Trac70 added 13:59 - Jan 31 With the greatest of respect he's not going to say anything other than that. What he says and what he believes could be two very different things!!
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Barty added 16:45 - Jan 31 Fine - prove it by beating Posh tomorrow
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Dolphinblue added 16:51 - Jan 31 16 cup finals starts tomorrow Coyb
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ThaiBlue added 17:45 - Jan 31 Very true trac70 he aint gonna say we are not going up.
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blueboy1981 added 09:23 - Feb 1 To do that Keane we'll need a bit more from you, and a few more, than what we saw at Rotherham - just a reminder that your feet are allowed to leave the ground when going for a header, just saying, in case you'd forgotten !
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Dissboyitfc added 10:55 - Feb 1 Would be disappointed if he said anything different, with the squad we have and the games left it is very doable. Starting with all three points today please!
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chorltonskylineblue added 12:17 - Feb 1 Keane's comments (in another article) about Jackson doing some of the running for him and his comments in this about only getting a touch every 5 or 10 mins against Rotherham tell us something. This is League One son. It's a dogfight against a lot of teams. You're clearly a classy player for this level, but you need to be able to adapt your game and get stuck in when we play teams that want to disrupt our style. Rotherham and Wycombe being the top two teams in the league at present shows you what wins games.

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