Clarke 'can be Town difference-maker' in promotion bid

Ipswich midfielder Dan Neil says his old Sunderland team-mate Jack Clarke could prove the difference in their quest for automatic promotion. The 25-year-old winger stole the show in Saturday's draw with promotion rivals Millwall at Portman Road, breaking the deadlock with his 14th goal of the Championship season, only for the Lions to hit back in the second half. Neil played 97 times alongside Clarke across four seasons at Sunderland and has now had eight games with him in the Ipswich side after joining on loan from the Black Cats in January.

"That was probably the best Jack Clarke performance I have seen since I got back playing with him," Neil told BBC Radio Suffolk. "He was direct, the right-back was almost a bit scared when he was getting it. "When he's on it, he's by far the best winger in this league, bar none, and you saw that.

"We need to keep feeding him the ball in dangerous areas between now and the end of the season and he can be the difference-maker for us. " Neil admitted that overall Ipswich felt the draw was "two points dropped" despite staying above Millwall on goal difference , two points behind Middlesbrough in the second automatic promotion place. "With Middlesbrough drawing it feels an opportunity missed but it's another point on the board, we still have the game in hand so we're still in a good position," he added.

"The old cliché is taking one game at a time. Saturday was the best atmosphere I have heard since I've been here. Eight games to go, we're going to need everybody, players, staff, fans, to try and get us over the line.