AN Ipswich Town fan is celebrating after netting a contract to design the cover for the forthcoming autobiography of one of its past stars. Ex-Ipswich Town star John Wark enlisted club fan and Ipswich-based White Space Design managing director Neil Prentice to produce a novel front cover for his forthcoming autobiography.

AN Ipswich Town fan is celebrating after netting a contract to design the cover for the forthcoming autobiography of one of its past stars.

Ex-Ipswich Town star John Wark enlisted club fan and Ipswich-based White Space Design managing director Neil Prentice to produce a novel front cover for his forthcoming autobiography.

Mr Prentice admitted that being responsible for the cover design for the autobiography of one of the side's greatest player's was very special.

“John is one of the players that did so much to give Ipswich Town such a proud heritage. He is one of my personal all-time favourite players and in the modern game his value would be many millions of pounds,” he said.

Wark won the FA Cup and UEFA Cup in the first of his three spells with Ipswich and in 1981 also earned one of football's biggest individual accolades, the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year trophy.

In 1984 he was signed by Liverpool, the reigning European champions, and the following year he was in their team for the European Cup Final tragically overshadowed by the Heysel Stadium disaster.

Mr Prentice explained that the design needed to take into account the book's appeal to fans of both Ipswich and Liverpool, which set the White Space team a major challenge.

It was eventually met by designing a fully wrapped cover which will allow the book to be flipped on the shelf to reveal whichever image is appropriate, depending on its location.

Former Scotland star Wark, who still lives in Suffolk, said: “Writing an autobiography is obviously a very personal thing, and the cover is an aspect of the book that I needed to feel really comfortable with.

“What White Space Design has created for my book is spot-on. Their choice of images for the cover has captured some great times from my career and will hopefully make the book stand out on the shelves.”

Wark On has been written in association with local freelance journalist Mel Henderson, who knows Wark well from his time as Ipswich Town's public relations officer back in the Bobby Robson years. The pair have remained good friends ever since.

Mr Henderson said: “The one attribute that was most associated with Warky was his unique talent to score goals from midfield, and both the Ipswich and Liverpool covers show him celebrating this ability, while also capturing the era in which he played.”

Wark's autobiography, Wark On, will be launched with a signing session in Ipswich book store Waterstone's on Thursday, April 9.