ROY Keane is ready to make changes at Portman Road in order to make significant improvement.

Derek Davis

ROY Keane is ready to make changes at Portman Road in order to make significant improvement.

The new Blues boss has been in charge of Ipswich Town for a month now and has identified where he can make things better.

Although Keane made it clear to staff and players when he first arrived that he was not looking to be popular or would socialise with them, he is determined to make the training ground a more enjoyable place to be.

The former Sunderland boss is also looking at how to lessen the impact of so much travelling, a problem previous managers of the East Anglian club have recognised.

Keane said: “It's massively important to get every aspect right at this club. I've not come down here on half measures.

“I'm looking at every detail of the club, the players, the staff, the training facilities, the mentality of the players.

“I had the Cardiff game to look at the way the team prepared for away matches and the travelling that goes with it.

“The two weeks I had with the team helped. I think there are a lot of ways I can help improve the club.”

Keane has already implemented his own rules but adheres to two basic principles: be on time and give 100 per cent at all times.

He said: “There are small details that people might see as trivial, things like time keeping, eating properly, but small details add up to the bigger picture. It's my job to make sure we are all focused on that.

“It's very important for me to get the right environment, particularly at the training ground. You've got to come to work looking to enjoy it, looking to work with your team-mates and looking to improve every day.”

After learning from the likes of Brian Clough, Sir Alex Ferguson and Gordon Strachan, Keane admits to being something of a paradox as he looks to mix the best of the old with the new.

He said: “I have moved with the times in terms of the scientific approach and what's available now but I'm also old school in the way I look at pre-season as well. It's about getting the right balance.”

Keane has still to decide on the future of two players, Liam Trotter and Dan Harding.

The Town boss watched Trotter play an important part of Scunthorpe's win over MK Dons last week but will wait until after this weekend's play-off final before speaking with the 20-year-old midfielder who has impressed at Glandford Park. Reading and Southend United are keeping tabs on Harding's situation which should be resolved this week.