LET’S get at them!

LET’S get at them!

Ipswich Town boss Roy Keane is setting up his team to go out on the attack at Norwich City in this lunchtime kick-off (1.15pm).

And that could result in the Irishman ditching his lone striker policy, which failed to yield more than one effort on target throughout the previous weekend’s bleak 1-0 defeat at Hull City.

So you can forget the negative, defensive tactics. Town are planning to take the game to their deadly rivals.

“We need to get the balance right. I didn’t think we got that right last week,” confessed Keane, who will be tasting his first ever East Anglian derby.

“We were pretty solid, but we didn’t look much of a goal threat, and we won’t be able to defend for long periods like we did last weekend.

“We have to do more going forward, just to give our back four a breather.”

To that end, new loan recruit Rory Fallon is set to make his Town debut at Carrow Road, either from the start or from the bench. Fallon arrived on loan from Plymouth during Friday’s deadline for emergency loans, as did West Brom right-back Gianni Zuiverloon, who looks certain to start.

But the Irishman will have to cope without the services of teenage striker Connor Wickham, who will be sidelined for a fortnight with a thigh problem sustained during an outing for the reserves against Tottenham in midweek. Also on the injury list are centre-half Gareth McAuley, fellow defender Tom Eastman, midfielder Luke Hyam and left-back Mark Kennedy.

Both Hyam and Kennedy are nursing hamstring injuries, and Eastman will be out for a week or two with a groin injury. McAuley underwent an operation on his troublesome Achilles tendon at the start of the week and could be out of action for two months.

Furthermore, Keane will be sweating on the availability of defender Darren O’Dea, who has been up in Glasgow all week to support his girlfriend, who is due to give birth. It is hoped that the baby will be born in time for the Celtic loanee to make a late dash down to East Anglia for the local derby.

But whatever his final team, Keane is determined to give Town’s long-suffering fans something to cheer about.

“This is the game the fans have been looking forward to since the start of the season, and if we get it right on Sunday our supporters might forgive our little bad spell, that we are going through,” continued Keane.

“I think our supporters could do with a boost. It’s been a frustrating, not just few weeks, but a frustrating few years, and they need something to shout about.

“You’ve got to hang in there and grind out some results. But we certainly need to do better than we did last weekend,” added Keane.

Town have lost six of their last eight league games, and endured three defeats on the spin, but they are still only three points behind hosts Norwich, who are level on points with sixth-placed Nottingham Forest. And the Canaries have themselves only mustered four points from a possible 15, with four draws and a defeat in their last five fixtures.