ROY Keane has not given up hope of reaching the play-offs, even though his Ipswich Town side remain a daunting 12 points adrift of the top six.

Carl Marston

ROY Keane has not given up hope of reaching the play-offs, even though his Ipswich Town side remain a daunting 12 points adrift of the top six.

Town rattled up their 13th draw from 24 league games this season, which is the prime reason why they remain stuck in the lower reaches of the Championship table.

"You have to dream, and I'm a dreamer," insisted Keane.

"I still think we can challenge for the play-offs, though its victories we need.

"We can still have a good season, whatever that might mean. There are always eight to 10 teams who end up chasing those top six places.

"Not scoring enough goals is the thing that is holding us back. The onus is on the strikers.

"As for getting another new striker, because of the position we are in, I say - are we going to be able to attract a top-quality striker in January? It's a big "if," but if there's one around then I'll have a look at it.

"Steady (Jon Stead) was in a rich vein of form until his suspension.

But now our top goalscorer is lying on a beach in Dubai!" added Keane, with reference to six-goal man Stead, who has now served two matches of a four-game ban.

Leicester boss Nigel Pearson said: "We didn't look as solid as we have been in recent games. We were too open and Ipswich enjoyed some potentially dangerous situations."