I’ll have to do a better job, says self-critical Keane

ROY KEANE admits he has to do better as Ipswich Town manager after his side were dumped out of the FA Cup by League One Southampton on Saturday.

Keane’s resurgent Championship team were disappointing as they lost 2-1 to Alan Pardew’s men at St Mary’s.

The former Ireland skipper says that while players often take the brunt of criticism, he should take some of the responsibility for Saturday’s defeat.

He admitted: “As much as I can look at the players and our preparation, I also have to look at myself.

“Maybe I should have done a better job on Saturday. We always speak about the players, but I always look at myself and on Saturday I didn’t do a good enough job, I think I should have done better. I won’t go into it, but I’m not happy with my own performance for a number of reasons.”

Keane says the best bosses in football are similarly self-critical. “I think if you want to be successful you got to analyse things and be critical, most top managers do that,’’ he said. “I’ve always been like that, whether it’s been as a player or as a manager. I’ve always been criticised for being hard on other people but trust me, I’m very quick to hammer myself.”

Prior to Saturday, Ipswich had lost only once in the previous 15 games and although they are 19th in the Championship table, the Tractor Boys boss says that good run may have led to some overconfidence in the squad.

He said: “Maybe everyone got on a bit of a high last week after the win against Coventry, got a bit carried away and thought we were a decent team. We’ve got a long way to go yet to catch up with teams like West Brom and Newcastle and I’m well aware of that.”

Keane, whose side face West Brom at Portman Road this evening, is looking for additions to his squad before the end of the month and hasn’t dismissed claims of a loan move for his ex-Ireland team-mate Kevin Kilbane, who has also been linked with Celtic and Bolton.

Keane continued: “We’ve put in enquiries to a number of clubs about different players and we’re getting different feedback and that will continue over the next couple of days.”

The former Manchester United skipper played down the row between ex-team-mate Gary Neville and Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez ahead of tomorrow’s Carling Cup semi-final second leg.

He said: “It’s no big deal. Gary’s a decent lad. You hope the players do their talking on the pitch. City are desperate to get to the final as much as United. I think it will be a cracking game and hopefully people will be talking about what goes on, on the pitch and not what goes on off it. I’m looking forward to watching it. They are the games you want to play in.”