Town midfielder Cole Skuse has expressed his willingness to step up and take a penalty if Saturday's play-off semi-final at Norwich ends all-square after extra-time.

If a shoot-out is required to decide who advances to the Wembley final on May 25th Skuse promised: “I wouldn’t shy away from that. If the manager wants me to take one I’d take it.

“My very first career goal was a penalty for Bristol City against Gillingham when I grabbed the ball off the normal penalty taker and took it.”

Skuse reflected on his two years at Portman Road, in which he has scored once in 86 first team appearances, and added: “The manager has done a lot for me in my time here. It was a big step for me leaving Bristol because I was there for 17 years in total and not just for me but my family.

“I had another couple of options but straight after I spoke to the manager on the phone I knew I was going to come here. From the first day I walked through the door it felt as if I had played for him before. It was so comfortable and he has matured me as a player.

“I’ve got a few more grey hairs and I’m definitely getting older but I feel a far more rounded player now, which is down to the manager and TC really.”

Skuse has never played at Wembley before but he was there earlier in the season to cheer on his former club to victory over Walsall in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final.

He said: “I’ve been there to see a few other games and I was involved in the Bristol City squad that lost the Championship play-off final to Hull in 2008 but I didn’t play.

“If someone had said to me at the start of the season that you can go up automatically I’d have taken it. But the next best thing is to go up at Wembley and do it in front of such a big crowd and live on TV. I think it’s an unbelievable way to go up.

“If I had played in the final in 2008 and we’d gone up I’m guessing that I wouldn’t have featured too much at that stage of my career.

“I’m not getting any younger so I’m not going to get too many chances to play in the Premier League. It would be a great honour and privilege to be there, not just for me but also my family. It would be a massive sense of achievement for all of us.

“There has been quite a clamour for tickets but it’s quite a trek from Bristol to Norwich. There have been a few people on the phone looking for tickets but they are like gold dust.

"I’ve had to tell them they will have to stay at home, sit on the sofa and watch it on the box. All the lads are after a lot of tickets.

“Going back to that game in 2008 there is a nagging sense of regret about missing out. Obviously we came so close, losing to Hull 1-0, and to be that close it feels as if there is a little bit of unfinished business.

“I want to go back and finish off what we didn’t finish with Bristol City many years ago. I want to get the job done with Ipswich.

“I wasn’t expecting to play in the game. It was a frustrating season for me because I didn’t start too many games. The manager found a midfield pairing that he liked and stuck with so I wasn’t expecting to start the game but it still ranks as one of the biggest disappointments of my career.”

Photo: Action Images

truckertractorboy added 14:10 - May 15 Please my nerves cant take a shoot out
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