CHEW BETTER TOUGHEN UP; Keane tells his Ipswich nice guys: Get ready to win ugly.

Byline: KEN GORMAN 

THEY may be known as the Tractor Boys, but Roy Keane plans to turn Ipswich into the Championship's Panzer Brigade next season! Keane hasn't ordered battle helmets - not yet anyway. But he did warn that the team from sleepy Suffolk will be no longer be a soft touch.

"Maybe this team have been accused over the past few years of not doing the dirty things well. That's got to change," he said.

"The great teams can do the ugly side of the game when they have to - that's what makes them great. And that's what I want to see here.

"Maybe I didn't have this on my coaching course, but what pleases me most as a manager is to see my side get stuck in.

"I am happy right now because my players did that job well today. Now they have to keep doing it.

"We have quality in this squad - if they keep producing the dirty stuff that I used to do." It was a clear statement of intent from Keane, back in football for the first time since he walked out on Sunderland five months ago - and ready to stamp his immediate mark on his new club.

If the Ipswich players - 15 of whom are seeking new contracts next season - had any doubts about the hardness of the new boss, they are all too aware of it now.

"I don't think Roy has changed much since his days at Sunderland," said striker Jon Stead, who was sold by Keane to Sheffield United a couple of years ago.

"He's still the same man around the training ground, he sits and watches a lot," said Stead.

"And if he feels he needs to say something he does. I supposed he's hard, but he's fair. You know exactly where you stand. That's all you can ask." Ironically it was Stead - confined to the bench at the start - who transformed Keane's first game in charge from a shaky beginning into a triumphant afternoon.

Cardiff, playing their final league game at Ninian Park and needing just a point to secure their play-off place, had dominated the opening halfhour.

Only a missed penalty after 11 minutes from Ross McCormack, whose spot-kick was brilliantly saved by Richard Wright, had kept the Welsh side from forging ahead.

Having watched his five-man backline start to wilt, Keane reacted when Alex Bruce limped off injured in the 27th minute by throwing on front man Stead to give them more balance and fire-power. Stead, with his own point to prove, set up Pablo Counago for Ipswich's first seven minutes later.

Stead then created the chance for David Norris (below, left) to blast home their second after 51 minutes. He scored their third himself - his 12th of the season - seconds from the end after Ivan Campo's free-kick had struck a post.

It was all too much for Cardiff manager Dave Jones, who was too angry to face the media after blasting his team in the dressing room. The result meant Cardiff had blown their chance of automatic promotion and have now collected one point and shipped 11 goals in their last three games.

With Preston breathing down their necks they still need a point from their final game at Sheffield Wednesday to ensure the top-six spot they have occupied for all bar one week of the last six months.

CAPTION(S):

LOVELY BUBBLY Roy Keane watches as Jon Stead fires home