Kennedy relishing playing for Keane

FORMER Ireland international Mark Kennedy says playing for old team-mate Roy Keane was one of the primary reasons for swapping Cardiff City for Ipswich Town this summer.

Kennedy, 34, joined Keane’s Tractor Boys for a fee of £75,000 a week ago, signing a two-year contract.

The former Liverpool, Man City and Wolves man, paraded along with fellow new signing Márton Fülöp at Portman Road yesterday, says the chance to be reunited with Keane was too good to turn down. “The opportunity for me to work under Roy as a manager was of huge importance.

“The club speaks for itself and its history speaks for itself, but having the opportunity to come and work with Roy at the stage I’m at in my career is good one.”

Kennedy says he shares the same aims as his new boss: “I’ve only been here a week and I know everybody is absolutely fascinated with Roy Keane, but he’s an everyday guy. He’s a winner, a leader, he wants to be successful and that’s why he’s here and I’m no different.”

The Dubliner says Portman Road has always been one of his favourite grounds: “There are plenty of places I hated going for different reasons, but it’s a place I always enjoyed going. The pitch is always fantastic, the atmosphere’s great and I’ve had a couple of decent results here as well!.”

That’s not to say that the winger-turned-left-back is glad to be leaving Wales: “Cardiff was a fantastic club. I had two great years there and had a fantastic rapport with the manager, the players and the fans. I can highly recommend it to anybody, but the flip side is that this was something which really, really interested me.”

As for Town’s prospects in their opening Championship fixture at Middlesbrough, Kennedy is philosophical: “The season’s 46 games and if you want to get promoted you have to get results at places like Middlesbrough.”