IPSWICH TOWN: Roy Keane must steady the ship this weekend at Nottingham Forest so that a current blip is not turned into a crisis.

And concerned Blues fans have been left wondering after just four points from the last five npower Championship games if the Town manager should not look to bring in a wise old head to work alongside him.

Keane regularly points out that he considers himself a rookie in the managerial stakes despite winning Sunderland a place in the Premier League at the first attempt and keeping them there.

He went out of his way at the end of a dreadfully disappointing 2009/10 campaign to emphasise that he wanted an experienced ex-manager to join his back room team.

This did not materialise and Keane now finds himself with the same people around him in coaches Tony Loughlan and Ian McParland and fitness coach Antonio Gomez with Loughlan and Gomez his chief allies.

Before fears that this season may crystallise into a re-run of the previous one become a reality should Keane go hunting for an aide who has Premier League and perhaps Champions League experience?

His selections continue to surprise and although his use of a 4-1-4-1 formation proved fruitful in August and September perhaps an influx of midfield loan players has clouded his vision?

There is no doubt that Keane has qualities to take Ipswich back to the top, and at the same time add weight to club owner Marcus Evans’ global business ventures.

But perhaps he now needs the help that he himself insisted he needed last May.

Ipswich fans will be wise however not to write this campaign off quite yet.

They have shown that they are happy to stay behind him despite his outburst earlier this week aimed at the Portman Road faithful’s lack of football knowledge.

We would have welcomed eighth place at the start of the season.

A win next Tuesday against Northampton Town and there will be smiles all round with a Carling Cup quarter-final to savour.

In hard-fought wins over Leeds, and Cardiff, Town have shown much more purpose and resolve than last season.

However, defeat at Nottingham Forest on Saturday could see them drop into the bottom half of the table, and then the knives would ready to come out with Evans known to work behind the scenes with Jim Magilton’s departure an on-going process several weeks before the previous Town manager knew anything about it.

Darren O’Dea’s injury absence has been a considerable blow with Ipswich looking sound for the opening eight or so games.

This has now changed and conceding poor goals and failing to score frequently at the other end is not a recipe for success.

Perhaps Keane needs some temporary help to get through what could well be looked back upon as a sticky spell?