JOE Royle slammed his strike force after they gave an inept display in last night's 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest.The Town boss said: “We were giving the ball away up front and compared to Forest's front two our front two were unable to shine.

By Elvin King

JOE Royle slammed his strike force after they gave an inept display in last night's 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest.

The Town boss said: “We were giving the ball away up front and compared to Forest's front two our front two were unable to shine.

“Once we equalised I was looking for us to move forward, but it did not happen.

“One or two were told at half-time that it was not good enough. Although I have to be very pleased with the excellent showings of Kelvin Davis and Drissa Diallo and satisfied with the debut of Tony Dinning, I was looking at the rest and hoping they could step up.”

Royle admitted that he was delighted in the circumstances with a point.

He said: “We did not play in the second half and it was hard to see a goal coming.

“But we should have had a penalty in the first period when Darren Bent was pushed from behind and this set the trend of the officials for the night.

“If I was to say what I really thought about them I would probably get a three-year touchline ban.

“Jason De Vos was booked when their player had a fly kick at him and Drissa Diallo was fortunate not to suffer a broken leg following a dreadful challenge by David Johnson.”

Royle revealed why he left talented striker Dean Bowditch on the bench.

“Playing three up front against the better teams is not a viable proposition as the forwards we had against Gillingham are not defensive-minded players.

“We now have Tony Dinning in the squad and were able to go back to the 4-4-2 formation that served us well last season.”

Forest boss Joe Kinnear said: “We still have not lost at home since I took over.

“I was delighted with the way we played in a match that we dominated.

“I never thought at any point that we were in trouble and Ipswich's goal and their only other chance both came from corners.

“Andy Reid was excellent but the chairman has agreed with the player that he can leave if we get a bid of at least £5million. This will be a shame as he is vital to us and I want to keep him.”