Roeder's target is to top Town

By CHRIS LAKEY

Glenn Roeder has issued a warning to City's bitterest rivals, Ipswich Town - we're coming to get you.

The City boss began his Carrow Road career with a derby clash - and now wants to rein in the Blues by the time the pair clash again, at Portman Road in mid-April.

By then it could be a matter of winner takes all - with a crack at the play-offs at stake.

City's remarkable revival has taken them to within four points of Ipswich's sixth-place - and Roeder is itching to close the gap.

“We want to gather them in - that would be a target for me personally,” he said.

“I say to the lads, 'you all have to have different reasons and different goals, because different things turn you on', but for me personally there are a few games at the end of the season now - I am desperate to win any game but there's a couple that mean a bit more to me.

“To finish above Ipswich would be one of them for me, and I am sure our supporters would endorse that goal.”

City skipper Mark Fotheringham says he knows how important it is to finish above Ipswich.

“They are our great rivals so we are always looking to catch them,” he said. “It would be nice to finish above them, it is really important for the fans so they get bragging rights and it is important for us as players as well because if you have got that competitive nature you want to always finish above your rivals.”

City recovered from 2-0 down at half-time to rescue a point in a 2-2 draw against their rivals on November 4, but it wasn't enough to lift them off the bottom, where they were rooted 20 places and 13 points and behind Town.

But once Roeder got his claws into the Canaries the tide began to turn, and now the gap is down to a mere four points after City's 2-1 win at Cardiff on Saturday, which extended the unbeaten run to 12 games.