DON'T get carried away. That is the message from Ipswich Town boss Roy Keane.

by Carl Marston

DON'T get carried away. That is the message from Ipswich Town boss Roy Keane.

The Championship table is so ridiculously tight this season, that the vast majority of clubs don't know whether to look up or down the table.

In fact, a mere 11 points separate Leicester City, who are in the play-off zone, from Reading, who are still stuck in the bottom three.

Town's 2-1 victory at QPR on Tuesday night, courtesy of a rousing first half display and then a backs-to-the-wall second period, did not actually see them pull any further away from the relegation zone, in terms of points.

Keane's men are still just one point clear of third-from-bottom Reading, who grabbed an injury-time winner against fellow strugglers Plymouth.

No wonder, then, that the Irishman is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.

"We have three more important games coming up, so it's tough going,"

admitted Keane.

"We're disappointed with the position that we are in, but the table does not lie.

"It probably doesn't reflect our performances, but we've had to grind out a result at QPR.

"It was an important night for us, but we have more ones coming up, the lads are well aware of that," added Keane.

Town have a blank weekend, due to Cardiff City's continued involvement in the FA Cup, but they then face three more tricky away games, against fellow relegation strugglers Peterborough (next Tuesday), Sheffield Wednesday and Scunthorpe United.

First-half goals from David Norris and Daryl Murphy set Town on the path to only their sixth win of the season at Loftus Road.

The result lifted them one place up the Championship table, above Scunthorpe on goal difference.

But whereas Town are still just one point off the bottom three, they have now lost just two of their last 18 league games, and are in fact only 10 points adrift of the play-offs.

The six clubs hovering just above the relegation zone, including Town and Tuesday night's hosts QPR, are separated by just one point That's how thin the line is between extreme danger and mid-table safety.

Certainly, when Jay Simpson bundled home a goal for QPR, with 23 minutes still to play, Town were fearing yet another late disappointment - they have conceded six goals in injury-time already this season.

Keane confirmed: "It's about taking your chances, and we almost suffered for it (at QPR) by not getting the third goal, but we've managed to do it.

"QPR made some changes (at half-time), bringing on some talented players who were prepared to gamble and stay up the pitch, and they caused us problems.

"We should have kept the ball better, but we haven't had that many victories and that sometimes comes into the mentality.

"Overall, I'm fairly pleased with the players."

Keane also revealed that centre-half Gareth McAuley had taken a knock to the head, with 15 minutes remaining, but had persevered to see the game through.