DARREN Currie has hailed his Ipswich Town Player of the Year success as the highest accolade of his career so far.The Blues winger, who leads the Championship in crosses, picked up the prestigious Powergen/EADT player of the Year prize at a glittering end-of-season dinner and awards night at a top Suffolk hotel last night.

By Derek Davis

DARREN Currie has hailed his Ipswich Town Player of the Year success as the highest accolade of his career so far.

The Blues winger, who leads the Championship in crosses, picked up the prestigious Powergen/EADT player of the Year prize at a glittering end-of-season dinner and awards night at a top Suffolk hotel last night.

Jason de Vos picked up the sought-after Players' Player of the Year, Danny Haynes was handed the Most Improved Player title by manager Joe Royle, while Chris Casement had earlier received the Dale Roberts' Memorial Trophy as the Academy Player of the Year.

Fabian Wilnis was presented with the Supporters' Player of Year trophy by supporters last Saturday.

Currie had previously won Player of the Year at Shrewsbury, was runner-up at Wycombe Wanderers and was voted scorer of the best goal of the season three years running at Barnet. But the former West Ham apprentice was delighted with his latest accolade.

Currie said: “I have won awards at my previous clubs but to win Player of the Year at a club like Ipswich is just phenomenal. Nothing compares with this and the best thing is it shows I have played with consistency over the 50-odd games of the season.

“Of course there have been half-a-dozen iffy games for me among those but on the whole I do feel that I have contributed.”

Currie's consistency has seen him pick up the Powergen/EADT monthly awards in October and December and win the man of the match vote eight times.

The Blues No. 10 has weighed in with 12 assists and has scored five of their 52 league goals. Only Reading's Glen Little, with 14, has set up more goals and Reading have scored 97 goals this season.

Along with a trophy to keep Currie wins £1,000-worth of sports equipment from sponsors Powergen. That was presented to Sidegate School in Ipswich, and collected by bursar Karl Pearce. Charlotte Meekham, Powergen's sponsorship executive, said: “On behalf of Powergen, I'd like to congratulate Darren and thank him for choosing to dedicate his award to Sidegate Primary School.

“I'd also like to thank all the players who have this season donated their Player of the Month awards to local schools.

“The sports equipment they've received has made a real difference to their pupils and we hope that Sidegate Primary School enjoys its award from Darren.”

Each monthly award for the players has been in the form of £100-worth of sporting gear, which have benefitted eight schools around the East Anglian region.

Blues skipper-in-waiting De Vos was voted Players' Player of the Year by his team-mates with the Canadian finishing ahead of Richard Naylor and Supporters' Player of the Year Wilnis.

Although De Vos missed half-a-dozen games at the beginning of the season after suffering cracked ribs in the opening-day victory over Cardiff, the centre-half has been a colossus at the back ever since.

EADT columnist De Vos also picked up five man of the match awards and won the Powergen/EADT Player of the Month prize outright in February and jointly with Naylor in September and Wilnis in March.

The whole first team squad attended last night's celebrations at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Copdock, for a gala evening with Bob 'The Cat' Bevan proving to be an outstanding guest speaker.