MILLION-pound man Tamas Priskin is yet to find his feet at Ipswich Town, but manager Roy Keane is not surprised.

Carl Marston

Priskin gets support

MILLION-pound man Tamas Priskin is yet to find his feet at Ipswich Town, but manager Roy Keane is not surprised.

Target man Priskin, a �1.7m purchase from Watford over the summer, has managed just one league goal in Town's winless 14 games this term.

And the Hungarian international was not even in the 18-man squad for last weekend's 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers Plymouth.

However, Keane remains convinced that Priskin will come good this season. To that end, the 23-year-old looks sure to return to the squad for this afternoon's crunch home game against Derby County.

“It's not fair to say that I've been disappointed in Tamas (Priskin). Certain players just need longer to settle,” insisted Keane.

“Tamas is obviously one of them. He's a very talented boy, and the recent run of internationals, when he was been away for two or three weeks, has not helped the boy.

“He will certainly be involved tomorrow (this afternoon).

“I always thought that he would take longer to settle in at this club than some of the others,” added Keane.

Slovakian-born Priskin made a big name himself at Watford last season, either playing as a lone striker or alongside Grzegorz Rasiak. He bagged 14 goals in all competitions, particularly benefiting from the attacking prowess of wide-man Tommy Smith.

But he has started just five of Town's 14 league games, and appeared as a substitute in five others. He celebrated his first goal in the Carling Cup defeat at Peterborough, where he also missed a penalty, and headed home his first league goal in the exciting 3-3 draw at Doncaster Rovers.

Priskin is one of four strikers vying for the two places up for grabs. Jon Walters and Pablo Counago started against Plymouth, with Jon Stead on the bench.

Substitute Stead netted the equaliser in the second half, and so might be rewarded with a start against Derby. But Priskin looks sure to be on the bench, at the very least.

Town are rock bottom of the Championship with just eight points. Visiting Derby, who are six points better off, have lost their last two games at Middlesbrough and at home to QPR.

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