Magilton is facing strike-force poser

By Elvin King

ALAN Lee today gave his Ipswich Town manager Jim Magilton a strike-force poser.

“The manager must have liked what he saw on Saturday,” said goal-thirsty Lee, who notched for a record-equalling 16th time in the

3-0 home Championship win over Plymouth.

“He saw that performance - now he must decide whether to make changes against Barnsley on Saturday.”

Francis Jeffers has extended his loan from Blackburn until the end of the season, and should have recovered from his hamstring strain by the time relegation-haunted Barnsley visit Portman Road.

The ex-England man made a huge impression in his brief previous appearances for Town last month, and is expected to feature against the Yorkshire side.

But the Lee/Jonathan Walters partnership sparkled against Plymouth and leaves Magilton with a selection headache.

“Franny's return has put us on our toes,” said Lee. “He is a great player and has already proved his worth with Ipswich.

“But I also enjoy playing with Jon. He is a gentleman and great to combine with.

“He is proving a great signing and did so many good things on Saturday including winning an early free-kick that saw Plymouth reduced to ten men.

“This dictated the tempo of the game.”

Lee, making his 50th Town league appearance (19 goals) was not all praise for his team-mate however. “Jon took one chance off my head when I was about to score.

“We should have scored more goals, but I am not going to complain about him too much.”

Lee is officially credited with scoring 15 goals in one season for Rotherham, but he swears it was 16, so he is still desperate to add to his tally - and to get up to his personal target of 20.

“We did not play so well in the second half, but we were always in control,” added Lee.

“We have come out of the match high on confidence and ready to gain as many points as we can in the final six games.

“Teams that finish one season well start the next one where they left off.”