IPSWICH Town manager Roy Keane has insisted on no let up for his players over the two-week international break.

Elvin King

By ELVIN KING

elvin.king@archant.co.uk

IPSWICH Town manager Roy Keane has insisted on no let up for his players over the two-week international break.

They have been given the weekend off, but have been going through their usual paces at the club's Playford Road training ground since the 2-1 defeat at Barnsley last Saturday.

And Keane will have his players in as usual next week as he looks to find a formula that will provide their first Championship victory of the season and lead to a move off the foot of the table.

Swansea are the visitors to Portman Road next weekend quickly followed by Watford three days later - games that Keane needs to win to put a smile back on the faces of Blues supporters.

And no stone is being left unturned to utilise the international break to good effect with the manager still hoping to bring in reinforcements before the visit of the Welsh Swans.

Keane was an interested spectator - sitting alone in the directors' box - at Tuesday's Portman Road game against a young West Ham XI.

This was arranged by Town reserve team manager Bryan Klug to fill a gap in fixtures and to provide meaningful opposition that the Combination league does not always provide.

The Blues management gained a great deal from a similar fixture at Chelsea's training ground last month, and these matches are played behind closed doors to avoid having to meet all Football Association guidelines.

A young Hammers side included a number of trialists, which they would have been unable to use if the Portman Road turnstiles had been open.

West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola was also an interested spectator in a game that Ipswich won 3-0 with goals from Connor Wickham, Pablo Counago and Lee Martin.

N (SQUARE) A FURTHER insight into Town manager Roy Keane's character has been provided by a new book 'Glory Glory' written by Andy Mitten that includes striker Andrew Cole's impressions of the midfielder.

“We didn't have a cross word,” said Cole. “He knew my character and I knew his. I called him 'Schiz' and got away with it so he must have liked me.

“We went to Spain one year to train. Schiz always ended up taking Quinton Fortune out with ferocious tackles. Manager Alex Ferguson told Roy to calm down.

“Roy told him to keep his oar out. The manager abandoned training. The lads couldn't believe what they were seeing.

“Schiz could be really, really cutting. He used to hammer Dwight Yorke during games. He'd hammer him for his touch. Yet he never did it to me.”