IPSWICH Town manager Roy Keane is expected to unleash his new poacher when the Blues play Middlesbrough in the Coca-Cola Championship at Portman Road tomorrow (kick-off 3pm).

Elvin King

IPSWICH Town manager Roy Keane is expected to unleash his new poacher when the Blues play Middlesbrough in the Coca-Cola Championship at Portman Road tomorrow (kick-off 3pm).

Keane is looking for new loan signing David Healy to poach the goals that will lift Ipswich up the table from their current precarious fourth-from-bottom perch.

A lack of fire power is the main reason Keane finds himself with a relegation fight on his hands.

The lack of a natural finisher has attributed to this, and Keane can see Healy fitting the bill.

“At Preston last weekend, balls were going across their six-yard box, and our players were standing still,” said Keane.

“We haven't had anyone putting the ball in the net on a regular basis.

“David's a poacher and he's come here to score goals.

“He would be on to those chances and I'm pretty sure if he gets chances he'll take them.

“But we shouldn't expect miracles from David or Daryl Murphy. We still have to create chances for them.

“We certainly hope they're going to score goals for us, particularly David.

“He's more of a goal-scorer than Murph, although Murph scored goals for me in the Championship.”

Both Healy and Murphy look short-term Ipswich players as they have contracts at Sunderland that go into next year and are on Premier League wages.

But this will be looked at in the summer when the current loans end.

Healy says that he can handle having extra weight put on his shoulders, and his track record of having netted on his debut a number of times sees him raring to go.

“Scoring is about confidence and I enjoy feeding off a 'big man' partner,” said Healy. “It may take a little while to get up to speed after not playing first-team football, but hopefully not.

“I've played with Daryl a number of times - cup games, reserve games and head tennis in training!

“We're mates, and the manager has brought me here to score goals and I'm looking to repay him.”

Keane says that he will take onboard the fitness of his new loan signings before naming his team for tomorrow, but such is his desperate need for goals it is expected that Healy - and Murphy - will feature at some stage if not from the start.

“Hopefully these two will come in and offer something a little different to the other strikers we have,” added Keane.

“After last weekend I thought we had to shake things up and make one or two changes.”