Royle adopting cautious approach

By Andrew McKenzie

Sheff Utd 0-2 Ipswich

Ipswich boss Joe Royle is refusing to get carried away by the prospect of automatic promotion.

Royle's side are five points clear at the top of the Championship table following their win away to promotion rivals Sheffield United at the weekend.

But Royle told BBC Sport: "If we start thinking and talking too much about the 'P word' we'll forget the job in hand.

"All we can think of at the moment is we have a very tough fixture against Leicester on Saturday."

The former Everton and Manchester City boss took control of Ipswich in October 2002, soon after their relegation from the top flight.

They have finished seventh and fifth in his two seasons in charge, but are in pole position to make a return to the top flight this campaign.

Royle said: "I would be lying if I said I hadn't dreamed of the Premiership, but I dreamed about it at the start of the season.

"I have great belief in these players. We're in a great position but we're not going to start talking about it because we're nowhere near.

"The minute we take our eye off the ball I'm sure we'll know about it.

"The players aren't using the 'P word' too much either - they are just looking at the next game."

ROYLE CAREER Oldham: July 1982 - Nov 1994 Everton: Nov 1994 - Mar 1997 Man City: Feb 1998 - May 2001 Ipswich: Oct 2002 - Present

Ipswich started the season as one of the sides tipped to be in the promotion shake-up, but to see them leading the way has come as a surprise.

"I thought we'd do well, I certainly never expected us to struggle," Royle admitted.

"My worries were with the numbers that we had in the squad which is not so now as we've brought a few in since then after starting so well."

One of the players drafted in was Darren Currie, a £250,000 buy from Brighton.

Currie's low-key arrival marked something of a turning point for a club who had fallen on tough times after relegation from the Premiership.

It was the first time they had spent money on a player in three years, but Royle has few regrets about the outlay following Currie's impact.

"He's come in and made a big impression," Royle said. "I think a lot of people had looked at him in the lower leagues and thought he was at his level but I'd always respected his ability.

"We saw him at close quarters against us and Brighton's previous two games and he was the star man in them.

"I was aware we needed another midfielder and a wide player because we didn't have one at the club and he's come in and grabbed his opportunity with both hands."

The other positive was keeping hold of their top players in the transfer window, with striker Darren Bent in particular linked with a move to the Premiership.

I've said many times the minute the hunger goes I'll disappear into the sunset and do something else Joe Royle

But Royle said: "I thought it was unlikely anyone would go because we didn't want to lose any players.

"It was quite different last year when money was still so tight. But obviously in our position it would have taken something pretty exceptional for us to even consider it.

"Things are still pretty tight but we're out of trouble. We brought in David Unsworth on a three-month loan which has eaten into a lot of our remaining budget.

"Providing we don't get any serious injuries we won't be doing anything else - this will be the squad for the last 15 games."

Royle has spent the majority of the last 23 years in management, since being appointed Oldham boss in the summer of 1982.

Over 1,000 games have passed since then and he has twice attempted retirement only to be lured back, but he sees Ipswich as his last stop.

"I've said many times the minute the hunger goes I'll disappear into the sunset and do something else," he said.

"But I'm still enjoying it. I've semi-retired twice before and missed it so much that I came back and I've no regrets.

"I've just signed a two-year extension to my contract and I wouldn't look too far beyond that, but then again I've retired twice before so I'm not a particularly good judge of these things."