IPSWICH Town boss Roy Keane remains in the hunt for new players, and powerhouse defender Danny Shittu could be the man to plug the gaps at the back.

Carl Marston

IPSWICH Town boss Roy Keane remains in the hunt for new players, and powerhouse defender Danny Shittu could be the man to plug the gaps at the back.

Keane refused to comment on speculation linking Shittu, a Nigerian international, with a loan move to Portman Road, but the 28-year-old is available.

Bolton Wanderers boss Gary Megson made it clear only last week that he was prepared to let Shittu leave the Reebok Stadium.

The ex-QPR and Watford defender was on the verge of signing for Portsmouth last month, along with Trotters team-mate Gavin McCann, but that move fell through.

However, Shittu is well down the pecking order of defenders at Wanderers, and he has still not made a first team appearance for the Premier League outfit this season.

Keane confirmed that no new signings would be completed before tonight's home game against Nottingham Forest. But the Town supremo admitted that he wanted to “strengthen certain areas.”

And that would surely mean at the heart of defence, where Town have struggled so far - they conceded three more goals in the 3-1 defeat at Middlesbrough over the weekend.

“I won't comment on players who aren't at this club,” insisted Keane.

“But I'm still very hopeful of bringing in two more loan players. We'll be making a few more calls over the next few days.

“I'd like one or two more players and we are short in one or two areas,” added Keane.

Big defender Shittu has made 16 appearances for Nigeria. He made a name for himself at QPR (169 league games) and Watford (69 appearances) before his �2m switch to Bolton just over a year ago.

However, a stumbling-block to a potential loan move to Portman Road might be the player's wages. He signed a three-year deal at Bolton just over a year ago.

Keane added: “There's just one or two areas where we are coming up short at the moment. It just happens that they are both very important. First, it's defending properly, and second, it's not scoring enough goals.”

Town will be hoping for “lucky seven” this evening - they have failed to win any of their first six league games, and are currently second from bottom with just Barnsley keeping them off the basement.