IPSWICH Town fans heading for the club's second league UEFA Cup match against Slovan Liberec next week have been warned to take care in the Czech city.

IPSWICH Town fans heading for the club's second league UEFA Cup match against Slovan Liberec next week have been warned to take care in the Czech city.

The football club has sold out its allocation of 650 tickets to supporters travelling on official tours to the central European state.

But the relatively high cost of these tours has tempted some fans to seek cheap flights in the hope of buying tickets for the match on the night.

And police intelligence sources are concerned that these fans could end up near a hard-core of Liberec fans who have developed a notorious reputation.

The "Dead Boys of Liberec" are the club's hardcore hooligan fans and have struck terror into opponents in the Czech league.

Members of this group are said to look forward to the arrival of western European fans into their city.

Officials at Ipswich Town have been warned about the threat from the hooligans, but fans on organised tours are not thought to be in as much danger as those who are making their own way to Liberec, which is only a short distance from the German border.

A spokesman for the football club said officials from Portman Road had travelled to the Czech Republic to discuss the match with officials from Slovan and local police there.

"We have heard about concerns and would urge our supporters to be careful, but we think the description of the Liberec fans might have been changed a bit in translation," he said.

"The indications we have had after talking to our FA and officials in Liberec is that if our supporters behave themselves there should be no trouble.

"Ipswich Town fans have a wonderful reputation in Europe and we are not anticipating any problems."