The topsy-turvy season that Ipswich are having under the tutelage of Roy Keane has put the Irish midfield legend on the precipice of losing his job.

The chief executive at Ipswich rolled out the “I am behind you Roy” line on Monday, but the reality is that after a brutal start to the season followed by too many drawn games, the club is not where it had planned to be at this stage of the season.

Though Ipswich are not in the throes of a relegation battle, they are only nine points above the drop zone, and in Championship football that is not a safe margin.

Keane is taking a philosophical view on the whole affair.

"If the club wants to move me on, then they'll move me on and there's very little I can do about it. This sort of talk doesn't keep me awake at night and my players shouldn't take any notice of it either.

"If I lose my job, I lose my job. There's always speculation about lots of managers in the Premier League and Championship so it's nothing new.

"We want to aim for consistency between now and the end of the season, but if the club wants to move me on, they will move me on."

And if he moves on, will Celtic, who employed Keane as a player in the last days of his career, come a calling?

The story in East Anglia will have to play out before any further speculation on that score can be made, but you can be sure that the suits at Celtic Park will be monitoring the situation carefully.