Armstrong not allowed to face Town
ALUN Armstrong has been told he will not be allowed to face his mother club Ipswich Town when Bradford City visit Portman Road on Saturday.
ALUN Armstrong has been told he will not be allowed to face his mother club Ipswich Town when Bradford City visit Portman Road on Saturday, writes Derek Davis.
A clause in his loan deal means Armstrong will not be given the chance to embarrass the Blues as the Bantams look for an East Anglian double.
Royle has not ruled out the possibility of recalling Armstrong as he looks to strengthen up front but continues to be frustrated by his failure to land a loan signing.
The Town boss will also continue to try and bring in a defender this week with Fabian Wilnis and Chris Makin out for at least a month.
Armstrong hit the winner against Norwich City on his Bradford debut at the end of December.
Royle said: "We have stipulated that Alun cannot play against us on Saturday. We would be allowed to recall Alun if we wanted to but we would have to think about that."
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City will be without five players on Saturday as Ipswich look to bounce back from their televised 3-1 defeat by Wigan on Saturday evening.
Keeper Alan Combe, Simon Francis, Ben Muirhead and Jason Gavin are all suspended and will join Armstrong for a day off.
The Latics handed Town their first defeat double of the season with goals from Jason Roberts, Nathan Ellington and Gary Teal, with Shefki Kuqi giving the scoreline a hint of respectability.
If Royle fails to land a new defender, the Blues may look to give 18-year-old Scott Mitchell his second run-out in the first team.
Mitchell is expected to line up for the Town reserves against Arsenal's second string at Barnet tonight.
The Ely-born defender-cum-midfielder was used in the last couple of minutes in Town's 2-2 draw at Derby County back in November.
Steve McCall will name his squad this morning when it is clear which of the first-team squad will be added to the usual sprinkle of youngsters.
