David Sheepshanks has pledged to spend around £20 million on developing Portman Road into a state of the art stadium. However, he has also stressed that the club have learnt from the mistakes of the past and will not repeat the errors made when building the Pioneer Stand.

The new North Stand is just another step towards improving Portman Road beyond all recognition with Sheepshanks' sights set on staging international matches in the future.

Sheepshanks said: "We are looking to turn a slightly disjointed, lop-sided looking stadium into an international-class stadium for 30,000-plus."

Town have brought in the architects responsible for the Reebok Stadium, the Olympic Stadium in Sydney and the Centre Court at Wimbledon to look at developing the Portman Road of the future, Sheepshanks again: "The architects have been charged with the responsibility to design the stadium in a more holistic way."

Sheepshanks also said he was impressed with the way Pride Park, Derby has developed into a place where U21 internationals are regularly held and he foresees Portman Road reaching the same status.

Meetings are already being held with all the relevant parties to get the new North Stand development on the road. The project has not yet reached the planning permission stage, but it is hoped much of the work will be carried out through the summer.

David Sheepshanks is set to make a statement on the development in February.

Town's U19s Academy match with Watford has been moved to Friday as many of the Town squad will be involved in next Monday's FA Youth Cup match with Crystal Palace.

Town's reserves take on a strong Chelsea side tonight at Portman Road (KO 7pm). Back in action for Town will be injury victims Richard Naylor, John Scales and Keith Branagan.

Also involved is Jermaine Johnson, the Jamaican trialist currently with the club. Johnson is a midfielder who has scored three goals for his national side.

The Chelsea line-up is expected to include Ed De Goey, Graeme Le Saux, Mario Stanic and other well-known names.

Town squad: Keith Branagan, James Pullen, Gary Croft, Amir Karic, John Scales, Wayne Brown, Nabil Abidallah, Jermaine Johnson, Ashley Nicholls, Martijn Reuser, Richard Logan, Richard Naylor, Neil Midgley, Justin Miller, Stephen Moffat, Matt Bloomfield and Erdum Artun.

Photo: Action Images

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