International break keeps Lee sharp

By Elvin King

ALAN Lee today stressed the importance of the international breaks to keep his sharpness intact.

The 29-year-old striker scored a superb opening goal in Ipswich Town's 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Coca-Cola Championship at Portman Road on Saturday.

It was the seventh goal of the season for the Galway-born player who admits he has landed on his feet in Suffolk after previously being with Rotherham and Cardiff.

“I love the area and I love the club,” said Lee.

“Ipswich Town is my priority, and I have no desire to spend two weeks in a hotel room with the Republic of Ireland squad for perhaps five minutes of substitute action.

“If I was to start games it might be different, but as things are I am happy to use the international break as a resting time.

“I have time to freshen up and work on my game.”

Lee was the subject of a serious bid from Hull City in the summer, but Ipswich boss Jim Magilton came up with an increased contract to keep him at Portman Road.

And this is proving a wise move as Lee is scoring regularly and proved on Saturday his ability to score sensational goals.

He added: “I managed to stay on my feet and finish the goal.

“The lads in the dressing room ribbed me that it reminded them of a Marco van Basten effort for Holland.

“After the first 15 minutes you would not have seen a 3-0 scoreline to us, with Neil Alexander's early penalty save making a big difference.

“It gave us a lift in what was a big game. A defeat would seen as drop to mid-table, but the three points sees us up where we want to be.

Apart from the defeat at Hull City our away performances have not brought us the points we merited.

“Norwich would be a great place to claim our first away win and we have gained a lot of confidence from our home performances.”