UNLESS a loan striker is signed in the next three days, Nicky Forster will be pressed into action sooner than anticipated as Joe Royle looks to find a genuine goal threat.

By Derek Davis

UNLESS a loan striker is signed in the next three days, Nicky Forster will be pressed into action sooner than anticipated as Joe Royle looks to find a genuine goal threat.

The Blues boss was fuming at Ipswich's inability to seriously test Burnley keeper Brian Jensen at Turf Moor last night, as Town went down by three goals to the team that started the night second from bottom in the Championship.

Although Town had the better of the first half, they could not break the deadlock, while Burnley's James O'Connor netted the all-important first goal, aided by an unfortunate deflection off Jason De Vos.

Royle said: “The first goal was cruel and it was crucial.

“The second came from a silly free kick and, by the time they scored their third, they were cruising. We would not have scored if Burnley had left the pitch.

“We were well on top, passing the ball everywhere as we do, without really threatening goal.

“We have had pretty patterns, while they have had shots, and scoring goals is what football is about,” he said.

The loss was all the more disappointing after getting such a good result at Leeds but Royle took some satisfaction from the week's work.

He said: “We would have settled for three points from two away games and a few players looked leggy.”

Royle is now looking for improvement and strengthening his attacking options in time for Saturday's home match with Crewe.

He said: “We have limited options at the moment but we may have Nicky Forster available for some part of the game on Saturday and that will be important.

“We have missed a forward running player who gets behind people and, no matter what we try, it has not worked.”

Forster has recovered from a cartilage operation and was not expected to figure in Town's first team until after he had played a couple of reserve games and be ready for the visit to Reading in mid-October.

Dean Bowditch was again sacrificed, as Danny Haynes and Jaime Peters tried to get Town back in the game, but the move backfired.

Royle said: “We tried bringing a couple of young lads on but no sooner than we did we go 2-0 down and that is hard for them.

“We have been beaten 3-0 in a game that we were unfortunate to even be a goal down at half-time.”

Burnley boss Steve Cotterill accepted that a tactical switch helped, by starting with Ade Akinbiyi up front and Graham Branch playing deep, and heaped praise on the home crowd.

“We changed our system and it worked. It stopped Ipswich, which we thought it would.

“We got a bit of fortune for the first goal but we needed a bit of luck and, if it comes from a deflection, then we will take it.

“No one will take the mick out of that free-kick and it was great strike from Garreth. And it was great for Chris McCann to come on and head in his first goal.

“The crowd drove our team on for that win. I asked them to cheer every tackle, every pass, every shot and they did hand the players responded.”