Keane's side are two points off the play-off places

Ipswich Town boss Roy Keane has admitted an automatic promotion spot is not a realistic prospect for his side.

Back-to-back defeats have seen Town drop to eighth in the Championship, 10 points adrift of leaders QPR.

Keane told BBC Radio Suffolk: "That was always going to be hard for us and that's not me being defeatist.

"When you look at the squads QPR and Cardiff have, if I were a betting man, I'd say they're the two red hot favourites to go up."

After starting the season with a five-game unbeaten run in the league Ipswich have gone off the boil, securing just one win in their last five Championship outings.

That form has seen Keane's men drop out of the play-off zone but a top six finish remains the target.

"It's a massive battle for the other four but we've got to stay in that battle," he said.

Maybe I was guilty of over analysing the games that were coming up Ipswich boss Roy Keane

"We've slipped away in the last couple of games but we need to bounce back."

When looking for reasons to explain his side's indifferent form Keane admitted a lack of a settled line-up may have had an effect.

Keane made six changes to the side that lost to Coventry on Saturday for Tuesday's defeat by Watford, with only two of them forced by injury.

"Maybe I was guilty of over analysing the games that were coming up," he added.

"Having said that there were a few injuries of course and we want to be careful with one or two of our younger boys.

"Making six changes certainly doesn't help but some of them were forced on us."

Ipswich travel to Nottingham Forest on Saturday with goalkeeper Marton Fulop rated at 50-50 after missing the Watford defeat with a back injury.

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