A DEFIANT Owen Garvan last night revealed that Ipswich Town had set out to garner seven points from three games in eight days, and they are still on target to collect.

By Derek Davis

A DEFIANT Owen Garvan last night revealed that Ipswich Town had set out to garner seven points from three games in eight days, and they are still on target to collect.

Although the Blues dropped two points to Millwall in a 1-1 draw, they know they have to win at Preston and Crystal Palace this week to achieve their short-term goal.

Garvan gave the Blues a fifth-minute lead, but that was wiped out five minutes from time by Lions skipper David Livermore, and Town are now four places and seven points behind sixth-placed Wolves, who have gone above Preston.

Town go to Deepdale tomorrow and then to fifth-placed Palace on Saturday, knowing anything less than six points will effectively end their play-off chances.

But Garvan has warned that Town intend to be in prime position for when any team slips up.

He said: “Millwall should have been the easiest game given their position, but it wasn't to be so now we have to go to Preston, who slipped up, and try and make up for it there.

“We wanted seven points out of nine so now we know what we have to do to achieve that, and in a way that can be a good thing.

“Teams are slipping up and, as we have seen with Millwall, others are fighting for their lives and picking up points that you would not expect them too and will hurt other teams.

“If teams do slip up then we want to be there ready.”

Garvan grabbed his third goal of the season with a superbly-struck 25-yeard finish which looked for a long time as if it was going to be the winner, just the day after signing an extension to his Town contract, keeping him at Portman Road until the summer of 2009.

The 18-year-old said: “I was always going to sign a new deal and there was no rush because I had two years remaining anyway.

“It is only an extra year, because that was what was offered, and I was more than happy to accept.

“It would have been a great way to celebrate but it wasn't to be. We are all very disappointed but we just have to get on with it and put this behind us.

“We have two more important games coming up this week, which we are looking forward to, and winning at Preston tomorrow would make up for dropping these points.”

Preston's draw at Brighton on Saturday was their third 0-0 in four league games and they have now been overtaken in sixth place by Wolves, who beat eighth-placed Cardiff 2-0. The Lilywhites still have two games in hand though.

Although snow and freezing conditions have affected the north-west over the weekend, the forecast is for slightly warmer weather and rain by tomorrow, which should mean the Deepdale pitch being passed fit to play.