JOE Royle yesterday issued a warning to Ipswich Town fans - don't get carried away.The Blues boss is currently on a short sunshine break, with this weekend's World Cup qualifying games putting a stop to all Coca-Cola Championship matches.

JOE Royle yesterday issued a warning to Ipswich Town fans - don't get carried away.

The Blues boss is currently on a short sunshine break, with this weekend's World Cup qualifying games putting a stop to all Coca-Cola Championship matches.

“We have started well, but there is still a long, long way to go,” said the wily Royle. “I am not getting carried away, and will start to get excited if we are in this position with half-a-dozen games to go.”

Ipswich have won four of their opening six games and are third in the table with 13 points. The promising beginning has created a feel-good factor around the club and fans are looking ahead with growing anticipation to a return to the Premiership.

Royle does not want to knock this, and he has been buoyed by the board's decision to reject a £3million bid by Charlton for Darren Bent. But he wants everybody to keep their feet on the ground.

“The financial position may be improving, but the bottom line is that the club cannot afford a larger squad,” said Royle, whose side return to action on Sunday week with a home game against Millwall.

“We have got to get on with it and if we suffer a couple of injuries it would not exactly be a panic situation, but it would be a worry.

“We have a budget to bring in loan players and this is a path that we may go down. Tony Dinning has come in from Wigan for two months and we will be looking at him carefully. But earlier in the season, when Jim Magilton was injured, we were virtually forced into playing 4-3-3 because of a lack of midfield players.”

The Ipswich squad have been given extra time off this week although the reserves have a home match against Watford on Monday when the manager will be back.

“The break has been timely,” said Royle. “We have one or two players who are carrying knocks and bruises and a fortnight between games will freshen things up.”

Meanwhile, Bent was yesterday reduced to two goals for the season when the Football League officially gave Monday's first goal against Wolverhampton at Portman Road as an own goal.

A Football League spokesman said: “We had to slow down the video dramatically and we have notified both clubs that it was an own goal.

“It looks as though the ball came off the Wolves No. 6 Jody Craddock and that is why it bobbled slowly over the line.”