Portsmouth striker David Nugent admitted that his side could have been 5-0 down at the break before he scored one and created a second for team-mate David Cotterill to see his team to a 2-0 victory over the Blues on Saturday. Nugent, the man Town fans love to hate, netted what was his eighth goal in eight games against the Blues and continued a record of having scored in every match he has played at Portman Road.
Nugent said: "We could have been 5-0 down in the first half but we made them pay for not taking their chances. In the end we outran them and outclassed them.”
The one-time England striker was booed throughout by Town supporters, something which has happened on all his visits to Portman Road since Preston’s 4-0 victory over the Blues in 2005. Having been booked for a wild challenge on Town full-back Sito, Nugent celebrated two goals within three minutes in front of the North Stand but without further censure from referee Brian Curson.
The 25-year-old says the stick he receives motivates him and that he also gets similar treatment elsewhere in East Anglia: "It goes back a few years to when I was with Preston and I scored here.
"They have been on my back ever since and always give me stick. But I thrive on it and it seems to make me play better.
"The more they boo, the more I want to score. Every time I set foot on this pitch I seem to score and it winds the fans up. It motivates me and I have never wanted to celebrate so much.
"The same thing happened at Norwich and their fans are always on my back as well.”
Nugent admits that he came close to picking up a yellow card for Saturday's goal celebration, which saw him salute all corners of Portman Road: "I wanted to make my point to the fans in all four stands.
"The ref came up to me and said ‘I don’t know what’s going on between you and these fans but calm down will you’.
"I gave him a smile and a pat on the back and he was fine with it. The fans had been abusing me all game and I just wanted to give them a bit back.”
The former Bury frontman says he decided against joining the Blues on loan in 2008 when repeatedly targeted by Jim Magilton due to fitness issues: "I wasn’t fit. I’d had two hernia operations and I couldn’t have played for anyone at the time.
"That was why I turned them down but their supporters seem to have taken it personally.
"I know the Ipswich fans are passionate for their team but I seem to be the one player they dislike more than any other.”