Clegg: why Keane had to go

IPSWICH TOWN chief executive Simon Clegg confirmed Roy Keane’s departure from the Suffolk club at a Portman Road press conference yesterday morning, the 39-year-old’s contract having been “amicably terminated”.

Clegg says Keane was given ample opportunity to put the Tractor Boys on the road back to the Premier League but after 20 months of his two-year contract, too little progress had been made.

“In the best traditions of the club, we wanted to give Roy Keane sufficient time to get things right and to improve the situation,’’ Clegg said. “However, as he said himself on a number of occasions, the performances on the pitch since November simply haven’t been good enough. Despite investment in the playing staff, there was a lack of improvement on the pitch and the results speak to themselves.