TOMMY Miller is proud of his penalty record for Ipswich. And it earned Town three precious points in their quest for an automatic promotion place at Cardiff last night.

TOMMY Miller is proud of his penalty record for Ipswich.

And it earned Town three precious points in their quest for an automatic promotion place at Cardiff last night.

The midfielder fired home a 62nd minute spot-kick to settle the contest at Ninian Park.

Miller has yet to miss a penalty for Ipswich and this was his sixth successful conversion this season.

“I am proud of my record from the spot and I do not want it to end,” he admitted today.

“I have watched on television as the likes of Alan Shearer and David Beckham have missed penalties and it is a record that I want to keep.

“Some people tell me it's not easy to place the ball into the goal in a pressure situation, but I have my routine and was determined to make it work again last night.

“I decided to place the ball to the goalkeeper's left and although Neil Alexander dived the right way I'd put enough pace on it to beat his attempt at a save.”

Miller also scored from the spot in Saturday's 6-0 victory over Nottingham Forest. He has now scored 12 goals this season.

He is catching up leading scorers Shefki Kuqi (16 goals) and Darren Bent (15) and is proving a vital element in Town's quest for a top two finish.

With both Wigan and Sunderland also winning last night, Miller's penalty was important to keep the Blues in hot pursuit.

Miller added: “It was a definite penalty. Their player brought me down as I swivelled past him just inside the area.

“I admit I was a bit nervous about the day coming when I might miss, but it's satisfying to keep the run going - and to beat a keeper who dived the right way.”

There was no unique goal celebration from Miller this time. He explained: “They normally involve Shefki Kuqi, including the one on Saturday when I grabbed the corner flag as we normally play snooker together.

“Shefki wasn't on the field at the time last night - and anyway, we had nothing planned.”

Miller also revealed that neither he nor his team-mates were aware of the Wigan and Sunderland scores until the end.

He said: “We didn't want to know. There are plenty of games left and it's all about what we are able to achieve.

“We controlled the game and deserved the points and we must now continue in the same vein at Gillingham on Saturday.”

Miller had praise for referee Ray Olivier, who turned down a strong Cardiff penalty claim in the later stages.

Miller added: “The ball hit me flush in my face and the referee did well to see it. Many officials would have penalised an away team in a similar incident.”

Town picked up no fresh injury worries, although skipper Jim Magilton missed the game. His calf injury already makes him a doubt for Saturday's game at Gillingham.