By Aston
March 19 2010

Town take on Barnsley at Portman Road tomorrow afternoon, in search of three points to move further away from the relegation zone following the 2-1 defeat against Watford on Tuesday night. Town have just the one injury concern, long term absentee Luca Civelli.

Town manager Roy Keane: "I knew what was wrong with the performance at Watford on the night and my view hasn't changed, I learnt about different players. You are always learning about the group, particularly away from home. We have got to put it behind us now though. The players have to learn from the experience and move on.

"We need a reaction from the players again on Saturday. They need to put in a performance for the fans and for themselves. I can fully understand why the fans are so frustrated but take it from me, I'm a million times more frustrated.

"The inconsistency of the team is frightening. We have started giving bad goals away and that's what you get with inconsistent teams. We had a decent run a while back when we looked quite solid but it's crept back into our play again.

"Looking back on Watford, people can rightly ask why I changed a winning team. We play a lot of games so you need to freshen it up in midfield and attack, but there are key areas where you need that consistency so I have to take that on board.

"I can promise you there will be changes for Saturday. It's about getting the right balance between having a settled team and keeping everyone fresh.

"They have a striker (Daniel Bogdanovic) in form and they will come to our place looking up and full of confidence, they are where we want to be. We are fighting for our lives and like I said, we need a performance from the players."

Barnsley will be missing Adam Hammill, Rob Kozluk and Carl Dickinson.

Barnsley manager Mark Robins: "We will be without Carl Dickinson again tomorrow for the game at Ipswich. Carl has returned to Stoke City and will have an exploratory operation on his knee next week to determine the extent of the injury. We will find out more then but it is probably looking like he will miss the rest of the season.

"It looks as though we are saying goodbye to Carl and hopefully it will not be a serious problem. It is a blow for Carl and a blow for us because he has been great during his time here. He obviously goes back with our best wishes and hopefully we will see him again soon.

"Luke Potter has come into the side and done very, very well for us. We have to decide whether to bring someone in on loan - and that normally means that their club wants them to play - or look to our own. I think our squad is big enough, barring any injuries, and we want to give our own players the opportunity. That is certainly the case with Luke.

"Darren Moore is back in the squad this weekend after being away on compassionate leave, which is good news, and Rob Kozluk is also nearing the end of his rehab programme. Rob could be back in with us next week so, although the next two matches might be too soon, he could be back after then.

"Although safety in this division was our primary target when we came in, that is not good enough for me. I want to us to kick on and win as many games out of the final ten as we can. If anyone thinks it is job done then they are sadly mistaken.

"Ipswich are a different proposition at Portman Road and I went to watch their match against Cardiff City last week when they played very well. They have only lost two matches there all season and do not concede many goals. They have had a lot of draws but are not a bad side and they have some very good players.

"We need to be focussed and ready for them. We cannot afford to have our minds on anything else apart from Ipswich. My players are professional and we want to finish the season properly. I want us to go out and see what we can achieve. There is still the opportunity to do something pretty special this season.

"We have had a great spell up until now and we have to make sure that we finish the season off in the same way".

Preview: Town – Barnsley

Discussion started by Singing The Blues (IP Logged), 19/03/2010 20:48

Singing The Blues
19/03/2010 20:48

What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.

Reply Quote Report

Forum List Message List Search Log In

Your Name:
Subject:

We record all IP addresses on the Sportnetwork message boards which may be required by the authorities in case of defamatory or abusive comment. We seek to monitor the Message Boards at regular intervals. We do not associate Sportnetwork with any of the comments and do not take responsibility for any statements or opinions expressed on the Message Boards. If you have any cause for concern over any material posted here please let us know as soon as possible by e-mailing abuse@sportnetwork.net