WILL Ipswich's heart-on-sleeve boss Jim Magilton be smiling or scowling at the final whistle tomorrow?Early days, perhaps, but the visit of Hull to Portman Road is as important a fixture as Town have faced in their recent troubled times.

By Mel Henderson

WILL Ipswich's heart-on-sleeve boss Jim Magilton be smiling or scowling at the final whistle

tomorrow?

Early days, perhaps, but the visit of Hull to Portman Road is as important a fixture as Town have faced in their recent

troubled times.

Not as big, perhaps, as the play-off clashes against West Ham in 2004 and 2005, but still a crunch game they will want to win and avoid a new, unwanted club record.

Magilton will certainly not want to be known as the

manager who led Town to four straight defeats at the start of a season for the first time in their history.

Oddly enough, to add spice to this basement battle, new Hull boss Phil Parkinson - the man the Ipswich board initially wanted to

replace Joe Royle - is seeking to avoid a similar blot on his own cv.

Already this season the strain has started to show on Magilton, at 37 the Champion-ship's youngest manager.

There is no more enthusiastic, passionate boss and all supporters are willing him to succeed in what we all know is an extremely tough assisgnment.

But this is the results business and, as he seeks the breakthrough to kick-start Town's season, there is no doubt the strain is already beginning to show.

Just six days ago Magilton was involved in an unsavoury touchline bust-up with an opposition coach as he watched his team crash to the bottom of the table with a 3-1 defeat at Leicester.

That followed losses to Crystal Palace and Wolves, leaving Town pointless and desperate to register their first win of the new campaign at the expense of another side without a single point.

Too early for a six-pointer? Don't you believe it.