STEVE Sedgley is ready to stake a fiver on Ipswich getting promoted at odds of 16-1. The former Blues midfielder was at the opening of a Better bookmaking shop in Ipswich when he decided to go mad and have a flutter.

Derek Davis

STEVE Sedgley is ready to stake a fiver on Ipswich getting promoted at odds of 16-1.

The former Blues midfielder was at the opening of a Better bookmaking shop in Ipswich when he decided to go mad and have a flutter.

He also fancies Birmingham (6-1) and Derby, at 14-1, to bounce straight back into the top flight.

Although the ex-Spurs, Coventry, Wolves and Town player spends his match days as a host at White Hart Lane, he keeps an eye out for Ipswich's results and watches them on television when he can.

He has seen enough of his old team to be confident of having a flutter on them to go up.

Sedgley said: “They have as good a chance as anyone. They play the right way. Jim was a good footballer and he wants to do it the right way and I'm a big believer in that.

“You can get out of the Championship by playing like Stoke did but I feel you will come undone in the Premier League.

“Tony Mowbray at West Brom is a great football man and he is doing it the right way and that is the way forward.”

Although Sedgley enjoys a game of poker, and has appeared on television tournaments, he admits he is not much of a gambler and was delighted to return to Ipswich to open the Better shop in Upper Brook Street, Ipswich.

His 13-year-old son Harry was born in the town and is now playing at Luton Town's development centre.

He also dismisses the idea that gambling is a particular problem to footballers after the recent high- profile cases of players getting debts of up to £1m.

Sedgley said: “It depends if you are that way inclined. You don't have to be a footballer to slip. Any person can get into gambling and it is how you deal with it.

“Footballers earn a lot of money and it is up to them how they spend it but anyone can get into gambling, people on the dole do it.

“We had the odd card school and I have seen big money change hands but many managers don't allow it on the coach.”

After packing in playing, Sedgley managed non-league Kingstonian before moving to Barbados for three years and returned to coach at Luton after gaining his UEFA coaching qualifications.

He said: “I enjoyed coaching the kids there but when Kevin Blackwell came in I got the sack, as you often do in football.

“I work in the hospitality suites at Spurs and enjoy that. It keeps you involved and it is a good day out.” The 40-year-old now runs a building business in the Home Counties when not making personal appearances.

The Better shop in Ipswich was the 34th branch opened after the original in King's Cross, London, appeared just two years ago and the company, betterbet.com, plan to open 200 in total by 2010.

Town legend John Wark won £174 for breast cancer from a charity bet after winning a quiz against Sedgley and former Braintree boss Graham Roberts at the grand opening of the Ipswich branch.