Ipswich Town fan and aspiring sportswriter Scott Fraser is eagerly anticipating the Blues’ long-awaited return to the Championship play-offs after a decade. And, as he explains, he’d rather face old rivals Norwich in the semi-finals rather than the final...

In what has become the most eagerly anticipated final day in well over a decade for Town fans, the prospect of playing our neighbours from Norfolk in our quest to be playing Premier League football once again, looks ever more likely.

Having lost both derbies during this current season, in two very lacklustre derby day performances, the odds will be heavily stacked against us. However as Mick McCarthy would say, the Championship is ‘bonkers’ and anything could happen in the play-offs.

Many Town fans, like me, will currently be discussing their preferences for our play-off opponents, hopefully not too prematurely, and the feeling is that a play-off final victory against Norwich would make promotion all that bit sweeter.

The pain of losing that play-off final to our dear friends, would however be the hardest derby defeat to recover from.

We have a set of players who know what they are about, they know how to win games and important games at that.

A two-legged affair against Norwich might well be our best way to achieve our dream of promotion.

As things stand the first leg would be at Fortress Portman Road, and optimistically speaking we could take a slim lead up to Carrow Road a week later.

A typical dogged, workman like performance would be needed in the return leg in order to take us to Wembley, and you just would not bet against Mick and the boys pulling it off.

Most importantly however with one game to go we need to avoid defeat against Blackburn, and keeping the one that got away, Jordan Rhodes, quiet will be key to setting up the most important East Anglian derby fixtures in the history of this fierce rivalry.

Defeat against Norwich would be extremely hard to take at any stage of the play-offs, but my personal feeling is our best chance of defeating the old enemy would be over two legs.

A loss there might be that little easier to take than a final defeat at Wembley.

- What do you think? Have your say below!