Darren hopes for a quiet finish

THE one thing that Darren Currie is dreading about the rest of the season is that everything will come down to the final day - with Ipswich needing to win at old club Brighton.

With the Seagulls close to the relegation zone, defeat for them could be devastating but Currie is prepared to do whatever it takes for him to achieve his life-long dream.

He said: “It is looking that way at the moment. There are tough fixtures left for the top three teams, and there will be some more twists and turns, but for us it could be down to what we get at Brighton.

“In an ideal world, it won't have to go to that game and, by then, both Ipswich and Brighton will have got out of the season what they want.

“If it does, then I will be trying my utmost because we could be 90 minutes away from what we are all dreaming of, and that is Premiership football.”

The former West Ham youth player joined Town for £250,000 from Albion in December and sees this as his best-ever chance of finally playing in the Premiership.

He said: “It is tantalisingly close. I try not to think about it too much because, at the minute, it is still just a dream but it is a dream that is closer than it has ever been for me.

“I'm trying to keep my feet on the ground and focus and know that it is something that is there and, hopefully, we can take it.”

As someone who has spent the last 10 years or so subjected to a tattooist's needle - he has 13 separate works of body art - Currie is used to pain and also relishes the nerves that come with a promotion scrap.

He said: “You get that bit of fear in the belly but you know what the rewards are.

“Knowing myself as I do, I thrive on things like that and I try and make every game feel as important as these next seven are going to be.

“Whenever I go out, I'm looking to be the best player on the pitch, whether it is the first or last game of the season.”

Today's visit of fifth-placed Derby will get the adrenaline going, but Currie is not too concerned at the possibility of not collecting all three points.

He said: “It is going to be tense and not too many goals but the most important thing is the three points.

“We won't be going into the game just looking for a point but I don't feel, with seven games to go, that a draw will be such a bad thing.

“I'm not being negative but it is important that we keep a clean sheet again and we build from the past three games.

“There are still a lot of points to play for, so the important thing against Derby is not to lose.”

Currie has already been on the end of one hiding by the Rams, when Brighton were beaten 3-0 at Pride Park last November.

He recalls: “At the time, they ran out comfortable winners and they looked a good side. We gifted them a goal, and they grew from that, but we agreed that they were the best team we had come up against and they have gone on from that.

“They are a good passing side, and that is Ipswich's strength too, so it should be a good football match, if nothing else.

“They will come with a game-plan but we could find it easier to play our way against them, because they will come at us looking to win.”

Having spent the vast majority of his career with Brighton, Wycombe, Shrewsbury, Barnet, Plymouth and Orient, playing out wide, left or right, Currie has successfully moved into the centre of midfield in the past couple of games, a position he is relishing and sees a future for him.

He said: “I have only played in the centre about 10 times in my career but then I have never played with this quality of players before. They are all excellent, so it makes it easier to play in the centre than it has at other teams in the past.

“I'm enjoying it and can see myself playing in there all the time. Because I'm not a pacy player, I don't really play much different in the middle as I do on the wings. I have a set way of playing and I would probably stick with that whenever I played, even if I was a full-back.”

Big match preview - Pages 62 & 63