BEN Thatcher, Ipswich Town's forgotten man, has certainly been forgotten by Roy Keane.The Town boss has no intention, at least for the foreseeable future, of bringing the 34-year-old defender into his squad, regardless of whether he is fit or not.

Carl Marston

BEN Thatcher, Ipswich Town's forgotten man, has certainly been forgotten by Roy Keane.

The Town boss has no intention, at least for the foreseeable future, of bringing the 34-year-old defender into his squad, regardless of whether he is fit or not.

Thatcher has not featured since damaging his knee in the East Anglian derby against Norwich towards the end of last season. Keane has not been impressed by the player's insistence on travelling vast distances from his home to training, rather than having a more permanent base closer to the club.

"Asked about Thatcher's fitness, and availability, at yesterday's Portman Road press conference, Keane gave this response.

"You'll have to ask him that, if he's fit or not," said Keane.

"I don't know if he's training. He might come in if he fancies it, if the traffic is not too bad. But he's training with nobody.

"And we won't be settling up his contract."