JON Dyer may be an Ipswich Town fan but he does not let his heart rule his head when there's money to be made.The 42-year-old stands to win more than £2,000 tomorrow if Norwich succeed in their bid for Premiership survival.

JON Dyer may be an Ipswich Town fan but he does not let his heart rule his head when there's money to be made.

The 42-year-old stands to win more than £2,000 tomorrow if Norwich succeed in their bid for Premiership survival.

Last month Mr Dyer, a season-ticket holder at Portman Road, backed the Canaries at 250-1 to beat Manchester United and then took odds for them to go on to secure their top flight status.

He said: "I don't bet a lot - and I don't bet big amounts, but I felt the odds of 250-1 were ridiculously long."

Mr Dyer, 42, placed the bet after his friend Milton Lindsay, a deputy sports editor with the Evening Star's counterpart in Norwich, the Evening News, brought his attention to the paper's betting advice. He now stands to make a massive return on an accumulator bet of just £4.

He said: "I suppose I'll have to buy Milton a pint if it comes in. My girlfriend has already picked out the car she wants, although it won't be yellow and green.

"I suppose most of my Ipswich friends would say they hope Norwich don't stay up, but will be in the queue for beer from me if they do.

"Whereas I'm hoping the Norwich fans I know are going to be buying me drinks as I am sure they have shown the same faith in their team as I have!"

If the Canaries win their crunch game at Fulham tomorrow, they are guaranteed Premiership survival - although all four clubs involved in the relegation dogfight could still scramble to safety.

Mr Dyer, who lives in Suffolk, but often goes to Norwich for his work as a self-employed IT engineer, admitted he would not be completely disheartened if his bet failed.

He said: "I'm sure I'd be able to find some solace in that.

"At the moment I think City have got more chance of being in the Premiership next season than Town - working on the principle that they have only got to get one result."

Mr Lindsey said: "I'm not normally in the habit of helping Ipswich Town fans but Jon's been a mate for many years and in this case I was happy to make an exception.

"Why didn't I snap up the 250-1 myself? I guess that's the 64,000 dollar question!

"It seemed too good to be true and in my experience most things like that normally are.

"But after Norwich beat Manchester United I started putting money on them to stay up, albeit at much reduced odds, and let's just say my bank manager will be pretty pleased if they do."

n. Do you know anyone else who is set to strike gold if Ipswich or Norwich are successful? Let the Evening Star news team know on 01473 324788