IPSWICH Town boss Roy Keane again rued his side's inability to score goals, after a depressing 2-0 defeat at Preston this afternoon.

Carl Marston

IPSWICH Town boss Roy Keane again rued his side's inability to score goals, after a depressing 2-0 defeat at Preston this afternoon.

There have been rumours circulating that Keane might be targetting Cardiff's Michael Chopra in the transfer market, although the Town boss refused to confirm this.

However, he did say: "I don't know whether the club could afford him."

Town suffered only their second defeat in their last 16 league games, undone by second-half goals from Neill Collins and Danny Welbeck.

Keane rued: "If you don't take your chances, then you're not going anywhere fast.

"There's a thin line between winning and losing, and we're finishing on the wrong side of that line too many times this season.

"The game was panning out the way I thought it would. We had one or two chances and we were frustrating them. But our defending for the first goal was terrible."

Keane confirmed that he was still interested in signing another striker before the transfer deadline ends on Monday afternoon.

But he did not reveal whether Stern John would be leaving or staying - he wants to speak to the player first.

Preston boss Darren Ferguson enthused about his side's second goal, an exquisite chip from Manchester United loanee Welbeck.

Ferguson said: "It was one hell of a finish from Danny Welbeck. He showed great composure.

"He was the only person in the ground who could see it. But seeing it is one thing; doing it is another."