IPSWICH Town manager Roy Keane was encouraged by much of what he saw in last night's 1-1 home Championship draw with Nottingham Forest.

Elvin King

IPSWICH Town manager Roy Keane was encouraged by much of what he saw in last night's 1-1 home Championship draw with Nottingham Forest.

But he was left scratching his head over the defending that led to Gareth McAuley being sent off in the 90th minute.

“We had the ball in our half, yet it ends up a yard outside our penalty area,” said Keane.

“I would like to know what goes on in our heads sometimes.

“And we also have to look at our defending for the equalising goal.

“It was a good move by two talented strikers, and the lad took the chance well. But it was not great defending and meant we had to dig in for the final 25 minutes or so.

“We got just the start we needed and then suffered injuries to Carlos Edwards and Liam Rosenior in the second half.

“And the sending off sums up our season.

“A couple of players will be struggling to be fit for Saturday and there could be a few other changes as well.

“The two injuries disrupted us but overall I enjoyed it.

“There are signs of encouragement. Now we want some wins to back that up.

“The effort was there and we played some decent stuff.

Meanwhile, Sheffield United boss Kevin Blackwell is facing a wait on an answer from Bolton centre half Danny Shittu - after he stalled on a loan move to the Blades.

Shittu was due to join Blackwell's club yesterday in time for their trip to Coventry, but he wants a bit more time to consider his options.

Newcastle and Ipswich have also shown interest in Shittu, but the Blades are the only club who have agreed to pick up his wages in full for the next three months.