Former chairman David Sheepshanks believes there is a ‘palpable’ level of excitement circling around Ipswich Town.

The club recently made their first signings of the summer, swooping for Troy Brown and Damien Delaney.

And they are expected to make another addition this week by bringing Manchester United winger Lee Martin to Portman Road.

It promises to be an eventful season, under the management of superstar Roy Keane, and Sheepshanks told the Gazette: “As a fan at heart, I can feel the anticipation among supporters.

“It’s palpable and you can sense it just from walking around the place.

“Roy’s appointment has been greeted with great excitement. People can’t wait.

“There’s always the burden of expectation, which can sometimes be a bad thing, but I know the supporters will get behind Roy.

“Marcus Evans wants to see the club back in the Premier League and hopefully they can achieve that under Roy Keane.”

Sheepshanks took over as Blues chairman in 1995 but now has as an unpaid non-executive role at the club, as well as being a board member of both the FA and Football League.

He was speaking at a recent presentation, during which – representing the FA – he handed Sir Alf Ramsey’s World Cup winner’s medal to former England right-back George Cohen.

Cohen, who played in the 1966 team that beat Germany at Wembley, was at Portman Road on behalf of Lady Ramsey.

Meanwhile, Sheepshanks has revealed his regret that he will be unable to attend Fabian Wilnis’ testimonial against Colchester United on July 25.

The Dutch defender was a prominent figure during his reign as chairman and during their time together they experienced promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs in 2000, two seasons in the UEFA Cup and a period of administration following relegation between February and May 2003.

However, he cannot attend on the big day due to a prior engagement.

“Fabian was a very good player and one of the nicest people to have ever played for this club,” said Sheepshanks.

“He was always very community minded, particularly latterly, and has done a huge amount for dispelling racial prejudice.

“I remember once how he had to deal with racial abuse during our UEFA Cup in Serbia.

“I was sitting in the stands and felt absolutely appalled.

“He’s been a great ambassador for the club and is a man of high standards both on and off the pitch.

“His passion for the club is huge.

“The fact he still comes back whenever he can and refers to Ipswich as ‘we’ speaks volumes. He’s a true Ipswich Town man.

“I hope Town fans will be able to turn out in huge numbers to support his testimonial and reward his efforts.”

l Wilnis has confirmed a list of former players who will appear as part of the All Stars team on his testimonial day – a feature that will follow the Town versus U’s game.

Among those rolling back the years are Kevin Beattie, John Wark, Kieron Dyer, Hermann Hreidarsson, Martijn Reuser, Darren Currie, Sylvain Legwinski, Gary Croft, Jason Dozzell, John McGreal and Simon Milton.