Town boss Joe Royle says that he doesn't expect Cardiff's well-publicised cash row to have an effect on them when they come to Portman Road on Sunday.

The Welsh club's players are embroiled in a row with the management regarding a £50,000 payment potentially due to Gareth Whalley, but Royle says this will have no bearing on Sunday's crunch match: "I had a smile when I read the story but that won't be a distraction. There are other things to consider like people coming back.

"We have already seen with the likes of Andy Marshall and David Johnson recently, that we have to beware of them and that will be the same with Gary Croft.

"There is also Martyn Margetson who I gave a free transfer to when I was at Manchester City. So there will be plenty players in their team motivated to do well.

"Robert Earnshaw loves scoring a goal and their manager Lennie Lawrence is very experienced, one of the few who has gone past the 1,000 game mark. Wherever he has been he has done well and he hates to lose games. So we have to stay focused."

Striker Darren Bent has hailed Sunday's match as the most important he has played in: "It's a massive game, the biggest of my career.

"I've seen the pictures of the play-off final when the club won at Wembley four years ago and it would be great to be part of that again.

"But we have a big game against Cardiff first and we know it's going to be a tough one for us."

Cardiff will be without winger Paul Parry due to an ankle injury, but keeper Martyn Margetson will play despite having a broken finger.

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