TONY Dinning is refusing to give up hope that he can do enough to convince Joe Royle he is worth keeping on beyond his initial two-month loan spell.The Blues gave the midfielder a chance after he was frozen out at Wigan, but he has not been able to force his way into a regular starting spot at Portman Road.

By Derek Davis

TONY Dinning is refusing to give up hope that he can do enough to convince Joe Royle he is worth keeping on beyond his initial two-month loan spell.

The Blues gave the midfielder a chance after he was frozen out at Wigan, but he has not been able to force his way into a regular starting spot at Portman Road.

He started against Nottingham Forest, Derby and Brentford, when Town were hit by injuries, but has moved to the bench since Jim Magilton's return from a thigh problem.

Now, halfway through his loan spell, Dinning admits he would love to stay at Ipswich, and is hoping he has already done enough to prompt Royle into offering him a new deal.

He said: “It has gone really well and things here are exactly as I heard they would be.

“It is great to feel part of a team again and to be given a chance to play.

“All I can do now is play as well as I can in reserve games and the times when I get on the pitch for the first team.

“I have done all I can in training and worked hard. I'm enjoying being part of the squad, but I'm not content with just settling for that.

“I want to take my chance when I get on and prove to the manager that I am worth keeping on for the rest of the season, or even longer.”

The Blues sit in third place this morning with their best start in four years and Dinning is convinced they can stay in the promotion hunt.

He added: “I'm not surprised that we are in third place, I fancied Ipswich to go up before I came here and the teams that have come down from the Premiership have not done as well as expected.

“All we can do at Ipswich now is carry on as we have been doing and we have a great chance of staying up around the top.”

Today's opponents Millwall play Hungarian side Ferencvaros on Thursday and could well have one eye on that UEFA Cup tie.

Dinning said: “I hope they do. They are a difficult team to play against but we have enough quality to get around them. We need to stop them getting the ball forward to the big lads and cut out their threat.

“Dennis Wise is a driving force for them but we have Jim Magilton back now and with Tommy Miller, Kevin Horlcok and Ian Westlake in our midfield we have enough quality and ability to win that battle.”

Town have the luxury of being able to field the same starting XI as they did in the wins over Rotherham and Wolves.

Matt Richards takes Scott Barron's place in the 16 but his foot injury has cost him his starting position for the time being.

Blues boss Joe Royle, though, has told the England Under-21 defender not to worry and added: “Matt has not been dropped, but the others have done well and I have to be fair as they deserve their chance to start together again.”

Even though Town were in form and buzzing with four league and cup wins in a row, Royle was pleased that the internationals allowed them almost a fortnight's rest.

He said: “We have a small squad and the little break has done us good. We went into it with good memories with a terrific performance and a win which is certainly better than going in to a break with a defeat on the mind.”

Blues fans are reminded that road works on the A12 will cause delays and that Russell Road, which leads to the ground, is closed.