ROY Keane is setting an example to his players and hopes to move into an imposing house less than one mile from the training ground.

Derek Davis

Roy sets example

to playing squad

NEW HOME: Boss looks to buy close to training ground

By Derek Davis

ROY Keane is setting an example to his players and hopes to move into an imposing house less than a mile from the Ipswich Town training ground.

The Blues boss is uprooting his family from their specially adapted house in Cheshire and has viewed a �1 million plus home on the outskirts of Ipswich close to the Playford Road training centre.

Keane wants to settle in his wife, five children and two dogs, as swiftly as possible and made buying a house and finding schools for his offspring a priority, although that has not stopped him taking in games as far apart as Hungary, Ireland, Scotland and Wembley.

Keane has insisted that all players and coaching staff must live within easy reach of the training ground at Playford Road, and that has not gone down well with all the Town stars with striker Kevin Lisbie already saying he was not prepared to move his family from London.

But skipper Gareth McAuley, who has bought a house in Suffolk after moving from Leicester last summer, feels the edict makes sense.

He said: “I don't have a problem with it.

“We spend a lot of time on the road travelling to games as it is, so being in a car or whatever travelling more than an hour to get in for training can't be a good thing.

“It also helps for us to be closer together. We can socialise easier while a lot of the lads have kids and families can meet up, which all helps create a closer team spirit “

The Blues training ground is undergoing a facelift during the close season as Keane looks to make the area more secure and self-contained.

He is having an office built within the existing building and a new security system, which includes swipe cards, is being put in place.

The EADT reported last month how Keane was surprised that the manager did not have his own office at the complex and how open it was for casual access.

The refurbishment and decorating is expected to be completed this summer but will not cost anywhere in the region of �400,000 as recently reported.

An Ipswich Town spokesman said: “The club can confirm that the training ground is undergoing part refurbishment and redecoration, the first such improvements since opening the centre in 2001"

derek.davis@eadt.co.uk