AS IPSWICH TOWN’S players attempt to halt their alarming slide down the Championship table, Roy Keane is nowhere to be seen.

Club captain David Norris said that the squad held a clear-the-air meeting yesterday, but the Corkman was conspicuous in his absence.

“We haven’t seen the manager since the game,” said Norris, “we were only in for training this morning.”

I think the manager was especially disappointed after the weekend. I think it was a good chance for us to turn it around and we haven’t done that.

At the moment it’s tough for everybody.

Norris says the players are still fully behind their boss: “We all get asked to do press and all the lads are saying the same things and backing the manager.

“And if anybody has any doubts about the authenticity of this they only have to look at our recent games.”

No one can accuse us of not playing for our manager. The effort is there, if not the quality at the moment.

The Tractor Boys are currently on a terrible run of results with the defeat to basement side Preston their sixth straight league defeat.

But Norris says everyone at Portman Road is under pressure, not just the manager.

When you’re on a run like we are, everyone’s going to be under pressure, particularly the manager.

He’s happy to take the flak and deflect the pressure of the results on to himself to take the pressure off us so we can continue to try play our game.

But we’re feeling it as well, we’re having discussions between ourselves, we know it’s got to change and we’re trying everything we can to try and change it.