Ipswich Town Football Club have officially confirmed the departure of Roy Keane as manager, with coach Ian McParland taking temporary charge of the club.
Chief Executive Simon Clegg made the announcement at a press conference at Portman Road on Friday morning, stating that Keane’s contract had been “amicably terminated”. However, Clegg refused to be drawn on reports that Paul Jewell is to replace the Irishman.
Clegg told reporters in an Official Statement: “I have enjoyed working with Roy over the past two seasons and I would like to thank him for his tremendous dedication and professionalism during that period. Regrettably though, we have not made the progress that we had all expected over the last 20 months and this season in particular with the side slipping to 19th place in the Championship table.”
Keane first arrived at Portman Road in April 2009 with much hope and expectation of the Blues mounting a serious promotion push. Despite spending considerable funds over the summer of that year however, Town did not win their first match of the campaign until the end of October. Pressure quickly mounted on Keane, who had been a controversial appointment from the very beginning, though he was able to turn things around sufficiently for Ipswich to finish in 15th place last season.
However, following further signings and an impressive start to the 2010/11 campaign, results took a nosedive during November and December as the Blues plummeted to 19th place in the Championship. Keane’s last game in charge was a 1-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest on Monday, making it 10 defeats in 14 matches. Despite a run to the Carling Cup semi-finals, Town’s continued poor form in the Championship seems to have prompted Clegg and owner Marcus Evans to bring Keane’s tenure to an end, with the club hoping to confirm the appointment of a replacement “as soon as possible”.
Evans released the following statement on the Club’s Official Website: “I would like to put on record my thanks to Roy for his commitment to try and bring success to Ipswich Town Football Club during his time at Portman Road. I would like to wish him every success for the future.”
Obviously Keane was very disappointment by the decision, but responded with the honesty and frankness that has so characterised his tenure.
“I’m hugely disappointed to be leaving Portman Road,” said Keane in a statement quoted on the Club’s Website. “Results haven’t been as good as I’d have hoped so far this season and when results aren’t good the manager gets the sack, that’s the game.”
The departing boss said that he believed the team was progressing under his leadership, shown not least by the Blues’ progression to the Carling Cup semi-finals, but was confident of a turnaround and offered his best wishes to the club for the future. “I have loved my time at Ipswich, living locally to the Club with my family, and have a massive respect for the club, its staff, the fans and the community and I wish them well.”
In total, Keane won 28 of his 81 matches in charge but suffered an equal number of defeats – nearly half of which have come this season. The record equates to a win percentage of just under 35%, rating him below previous boss Jim Magilton.
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