DAVID Healy admitted last night that he let his standards drop before leaving Sunderland to join Ipswich Town on loan at the start of this month.

Elvin King

DAVID Healy admitted last night that he let his standards drop before leaving Sunderland to join Ipswich Town on loan at the start of this month.

The striker scored his first league goal for over a year when he equalised in the Blues' 1-1 Championship draw at Scunthorpe on Tuesday.

He wants that to herald the start of a new era in his career and for it to become the first of many goals for his current club.

Healy, who is set to play for Northern Ireland in a friendly in Armenia next week, said: “When I was training with Sunderland this season I knew deep down that I wasn't going to play.

“It's easy to let your standards drop in those circumstances although I shouldn't have let it happen.

“I let myself down a little bit, but I'd been out in the cold for so long.

“The manager brought Daryl Murphy and myself to Ipswich to score goals - and it took Daryl 23 seconds or so.

“It has taken me four games but I was basically blowing away the cobwebs in my first two games and then my Peterborough contribution was not one of my better games.

“I missed out at Sheffield Wednesday and that was not perhaps my type of game with plenty of huffing and puffing.

“The manager said that our substitutes could make an impact at Scunthorpe and although my goal did not prove to be a winner it was worth a deserved point.”

Healy has no doubt that Ipswich will move up the table in the remaining weeks of the season, and that he has joined a club equipped to advance.

“You only have to look at the manager and players to see what Ipswich is capable of,” added Healy.

“I'm convinced we will not be in trouble by the end of the season.

“It's been a nightmare couple of weeks for our fans with so much travelling to see four consecutive away matches.

“It must have hit their pockets, but they deserve a lot of credit.

“Apart from the Peterborough game we have done okay in this difficult sequence, and hopefully we can reward them with a good display at Portman Road against Bristol City on Saturday.

Healy was brought in on loan to the end of the season to 'poach' goals, and he did just that at Glanford Park with a neat tap-in.

He looked back and added: “Jon Walters did what Jon does - a bit of harrying and hassling and the ball dropped for me and I was able to put it away.

“Once a goalscorer always a goalscorer.

“Fans and players like 30 yard specials arrowing into the net, but managers like the 'ugly' goals - they all count the same.“