Middlesbrough 1-3 Ipswich: Daily Mirror match report

Roy Keane has evolved since quitting as the tough-talking, headline-grabbing, personality cult of the Stadium of Light.

This is Keane’s fifth start to a season as a boss. Three with Sunderland, two at Ipswich, and he says he is learning to deal with the “hits” and mistakes that can derail an inexperienced young boss of 38.

He is favourite to be first manager sacked in the ­Championship. He is wrestling, trademark steely glint in his eye, with the daily hassles and personal pressure of reviving a club with history.

And he is learning the ­managerial trade many rungs below his playing peak, reputation on the line, and being chipped away at with every missed chance from players ultimately beyond your control.

And with Keane the triumphs, like this surprise but deserved win, are fleeting, before he thinks of the next challenge, or problem to solve.

You may ask why, with his medals in the bank and a fortune amassed, does he bother? Why not join his peers killing time in TV studios, on the golf course or lazing at the villa in Portugal?

It was refreshing to hear Keane’s answer as a new season dawned.

“Don’t take away from the fact that I do love football,” he said, standing on a draughty concrete stadium concourse in ­Middlesbrough, with injury problems mounting, and the transfer market testing his patience. “People keep missing that point. I love the challenges. My motivation is simply to do as well as I can.”

He is learning from ­experience. This season he says he will not be talking up Ipswich as ­promotion candidates this season: “Last summer there was too much talk about promotion and all of that came from me.

“This time particularly with your younger players it is a case of let’s wait and see what happens.”

He won’t be getting himself wound up about being bookies favourite for the sack. What about the whirl of rumours that accompany his managerial reign: “Part of the game, ­speculation follows me.”

Keane says he will not be rushing in to the transfer market and stocking his squad with players he’s not convinced about just because they are available – a mistake he made at ­Sunderland.

“I could have bought ten this week, but I’ll hold out for two or three I really want,” he added.

And he won’t be walking away from a new tighter ship at Portman Road in a huff, despite having nowhere near the £8million to spend from his first season. Owner Marcus Evans is demanding value signings.

Isn’t that what Ellis Short also wanted at Sunderland?

This win relieved the pressure. Ipswich were fresh, full of running and had a determined spirit to come back from one down. Grant Leadbitter and David Norris excelled. Relief all round that there will be no repeat of last season’s 14 game wait for a first victory.

Keane added: “I hope I have changed as a manager since my time at Sunderland I would like to think so.

“We are all different but you learn from all your experiences and I am enjoying working for Ipswich.

“People are quick to talk about other stuff, off-the-field stuff, family stuff, relationships with owners, and a lot of lies can be said. I experienced that at Sunderland.

“A lot of lies were said about my position and it is just nonsense. I am battling on like every other manager on the planet.

“Pressure on me is all part of the game. There is always speculation about you. I have been involved at a decent level of football for many years and I take it with a pinch of salt.”

Gordon Strachan will also now have to deal with ­pressure. Boro, expensively assembled and with six Old Firm old boys, flopped badly after leading through a Scott McDonald goal before the break.

They lacked invention, fitness, defensive solidity, and failed to take a couple of key chances. And Willo Flood is ruled out for months after ­dislocating his knee.

McDonald tapped in the opener but Ipswich hit back in the second half with a deflected Tommy Smith shot, a Tamas Priskin header and a Jon Stead volley.

Keane is backing Boro to ­challenge. He added: ­“Middlesbrough may have been touted as favourites to win this league but it takes time.

“You bring players in but they need time to gel. Forget about the money they have spent they have got quality and they’ve got characters.”