BLUES owner Marcus Evans has revealed why appointing Roy Keane when he did was crucial for the club's future.

Derek Davis

BLUES owner Marcus Evans has revealed why appointing Roy Keane when he did was crucial for the club's future.

Evans has also promised Ipswich Town fans an interesting summer with much wheeling and dealing in the transfer market.

Jim Magilton was sacked with two games of the regular season to go when it was clear Town were going to finish no higher than ninth and Keane was appointed within hours of his dismissal.

It has already had an immediate impact - two wins out of two, an increase in season ticket sales of nearly 2,000, and an estimated 10,000 added to the gate against Coventry City - with an overwhelming feel-good factor.

Evans said: “Roy's appointment has created a renewed excitement for the last two games of the season. However, our promotion campaign finished when we could no longer make the play-offs.

“Bringing in a new manager just before the end of the season gave him a chance to have a look at the squad and formulate some opinions.

“The players will be off on holiday after this last match so these two weeks are crucial.”

Evans remains coy about how much Keane will have to spend on players but expects the current squad will be thinned out with 13 players out of contract in the summer.

He said: “We have talked about a transfer budget but we will keep that to ourselves. The club has a lot of players out of contract so Roy will evaluate those players and decide who will feature in his plans and who won't.

“I'm sure he will want to add to his squad and there will be new faces at the club for next season but we will have to wait and see what develops through the summer.

“I'm sure it will be an interesting time for everyone.”