Ipswich Town’s greatest-ever player, Kevin Beattie, has urged Blues supporters to believe ahead of Sunday’s high stakes East Anglian derby at Carrow Road (2.05pm, Sky Sports).

With just 13 games to go in the Championship season, an already fierce regional rivalry has been given added spice due to the fact that both sides are vying for promotion to the Premier League.

Despite the fact that Mick McCarthy’s men are third in the table, their 4-2 home win over Birmingham City on Tuesday night a third victory in four, there is still a sense of trepidation among some fans though.

That’s because Norwich City are now up to fifth and just a point behind, a 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Blackburn in midweek making it seven successes in nine under new boss Alex Neil.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” enthused Beattie, Town’s legendary centre-back of the ‘70s and ‘80s. “I’ve spoken to a few fans that are worried, but I fancy us – I really do.

“They’re favourites, of course they are, but we’ve got two strikers in great form, we got a great result on Tuesday night and have one of the best managers in the business in Mick McCarthy.

“Mick will be saying to his players ‘you’re here on merit – just go out there and play your best’. If they do that then we could frustrate the home crowd.

“A draw would be a good result, but I’m hopeful we can take all three points. What a boost that would be heading into the last few games.”

Beattie added: “I used to love playing in these derby matches. I lost the first one, at Carrow Road, but I think my record ended up being something like 11 wins, four draws and three defeats.

“The boss (Sir Bobby Robson) used to just say to us, ‘who wants this the most today?’ That’s often the difference.”