IPSWICH are hopeful of a double loan swoop in the next week, boss Jim Magilton admitted today.The Town boss wants to add a defender to his squad, hopefully before Sheffield Wednesday's visit to Portman Road on Saturday.

By Mel Henderson

IPSWICH are hopeful of a double loan swoop in the next week, boss Jim Magilton admitted today.

The Town boss wants to add a defender to his squad, hopefully before Sheffield Wednesday's visit to Portman Road on Saturday.

And he confirmed that ex-favourite Tommy Miller could be on his way back from current club Sunderland.

Magilton and his staff covered a wide range of games over the weekend, with the manager jetting north of the border to take in Dundee United's shock defeat of Rangers in the Scottish Premier League on Sunday.

He said: “We were all out and about checking on players and we are trying our very best to get someone in before Saturday's game.

“I hope we can do it because I have felt for some time that we could do with an extra body at the back, someone who might be able to play in more than one position.

“But, as always, it depends on who is available.

“There are plenty of players out there who we like, but it is sometimes a very different story when you contact their clubs.”

Magilton was interested in signing Reading's versatile defender, John Halls, but the ex-Arsenal and Stoke player suffered an achilles injury in training.

The Town boss added: “We have sent Ian Miller out on loan and that will be good for him.

“He still has a big future at this club and moving to Boston is part of his education.

“But we could do with adding a bit of experience at the back and there are players we have in mind. Something might happen in the next few days.”

Miller, meanwhile, has been a target since the summer and Magilton remains hopeful that the high-scoring midfielder will return to Portman Road, initially on loan.

He added: “Nothing has happened on that front as yet but our interest is on-going and I would love to bring Tommy back.

“He's a player I have always liked and with him not being in Sunderland's plans I hope we can come to some arrangement.

“Tommy has had quite a lot on his mind these past few months with his wife recently giving birth to twins and he was keen to get things sorted out domestically.

“For that reason we haven't followed up our interest in taking him on loan but, again, we could do that fairly soon.”

Town see 27-year-old Miller, who moved to his native North East in the summer of 2005, as an ideal replacement for West Ham's Mark Noble, who will return to Upton Park after the weekend.

But a lot will also depend on how Gavin Williams and Owen Garvan recover from injury and illness respectively, with both players making progress.

Williams is back in training after surgery to repair a groin problem, while Garvan lasted 73 minutes of yesterday's 3-0 reserve win over Norwich City reserves.

It was the Irish teenager's second comeback game after he was diagnosed in the summer with post-viral fatigue syndrome following a bout of shingles and he has yet to appear in the first team so far this season.