ALAN Lee insists he will have no qualms about celebrating at Portman Road if he scores for new club Norwich City next month.

Derek Davis

ALAN Lee insists he will have no qualms about celebrating at Portman Road if he scores for new club Norwich City next month.

The 30-year-old has joined the Canaries until the end of the season on loan from Crystal Palace and could face his former team-mates in the big East Anglian derby on Sunday April 19.

It could be a vital encounter for City who are battling to avoid relegation and Lee's involvement will add further spice.

The Irishman said: “I will be thinking about the game and I will be looking forward to the games.

“I know Norwich and Ipswich have got to play and I will be looking forward to it.

“I will celebrate any goal I score in football, for any team so long as it counts to helping us win the game.

“That's what I am paid to do, that's what I love doing, so of course.

“I scored 36 goals in 90-odd starts for Ipswich and I will be happy if I have that sort of ratio here.”

Lee joins a list of 13 players to have appeared for both teams and not all have enjoyed harmony and Lee knows being an ex-Ipswich player could well work against him.

He said: “I knew I was going to have to face a lot of questions, but I'm sure if I score the goals and work hard the Norwich fans won't mind.

“Goals, work rate, results - and I think fans appreciate that.”

Lee joined Palace in a �600,000 move after two and a half years at Ipswich but three goals in 19 games and falling behind Shefki Kuqi in the pecking order at Selhurst Park, saw him looking for a loan move away.

He should make his Canaries debut tomorrow at Birmingham and he revealed he could have gone elsewhere have a cushy life in mid-Championship - with Sheffield Wednesday thought to have been closer to agreeing a deal before City stepped in.

Lee said: “I could have gone to a couple of other clubs in the Championship, good clubs, but I felt I can come here and make a difference.

“Rather than playing the time out in mid-table I can go somewhere and really contribute to a season.

“It hasn't been working out particularly well at Crystal Palace so I've got the opportunity to come to a big club that plays under full capacity and to live at home as well, which is another advantage, but I am really looking forward to it.

“I live on the Suffolk-Essex border, so my girlfriend was delighted that I came home last night and she cooked for me and couldn't believe I was lying on the sofa as usual, so that was nice and it will be nice to go back there after training because I love living in East Anglia.”

Lee has good memories of Carrow Road - his last visit saw him score the opener in a 2-2 draw in Glenn Roeder's first game in charge and he has always performed well against City teams.

“It's a pitch I like playing on,” he said. “It always tends to be a good pitch and having a full house every week and that sort of atmosphere really lifts me as a player.”

Lee and City manager Bryan Gunn completed the formalities of the move yesterday morning before a training session at Colney.

Gunn said: “I've been speaking to (Palace boss) Neil Warnock and Alan's name came up the other day, which surprised me, so it was one to act on fairly quickly.

“There was certainly one other Championship club in the mix and in a healthier position than we are and he decided he wanted to come to Norwich and finish the season and that shows me commitment and passion to what we are trying to do at this club.

“I have no qualms about him being an ex-Ipswich player. The fact that he chose to come here over another Championship club in a better position shows me that he wants to come here and make a difference, so that will do for me.”

derek.davis@eadt.co.uk