IPSWICH Town are hopeful of bringing in a loan player in the next 24 hours.With Fabian Wilnis sidelined for up to a month with a shoulder injury and Chris Makin not likely to recover from his long-standing hip problem in the near future the Blues are looking to bring in defensive cover.

IPSWICH Town are hopeful of bringing in a loan player in the next 24 hours, writes Derek Davis.

With Fabian Wilnis sidelined for up to a month with a shoulder injury and Chris Makin not likely to recover from his long-standing hip problem in the near future the Blues are looking to bring in defensive cover.

While a full-back is the immediate priority, Royle is still searching for a loan striker to add to the attack which has harvested 54 league goals this season, the highest in the league. With Matt Jansen and Shaun Goater ruled out, Royle may have been alerted by the availability of Wolves striker Nathan Blake, who Nottingham Forest have asked about.

Although the Town share issue was hailed a success, Town can still not afford to buy players and will rely on free transfers and loans, as was shown when they ran the rule over Huddersfield Town striker Jon Stead, who joined Blackburn for an initial £750,000.

Royle quipped: "Stead is someone we were aware of but as soon as he got to £10 he was out of our range."

The Town manager has been casting something of an envious eye over his Division One rivals, including Saturday's opposing boss, Wigan's Paul Jewell.

He said: "I know Paul well, we are both from the same small fishing village on the Mersey, and he has done well.

"He has had money to spend and done it wisely on strikers, Nathan Ellington and Jason Roberts. It is also significant that the top two, West Brom and Norwich have spent heavily on strikers.

"That tells me what I have known all along – front men are the answer to winning games."

Although Royle has made it clear where he would like to strengthen, that insists that doesn't mean he has lost faith in the players he already has up front.

He added: "Our lads have done well enough. We are the division's leading scorers, which I'm proud of."