Striker Billy Clarke was singled out for praise by boss Jim Magilton after netting a second winning goal in four days. Magilton was also impressed with his three loanees who combined for Town's first goal in the 2-1 victory over Coventry.

Magilton said of 18-year-old Clarke: “He is a revelation, but I must try to keep his feet on the ground. He was a substitute, so he will be reporting for training in the morning. He has always had something about him. He suffered from injury last season but he took it on the chin and is now firing on all cylinders."

The Town manager was pleased with his three loan players. Jon Macken and Simon Walton combined well on the right to create Mark Noble's first senior goal seven minutes after the break: "They are good lads. They are ambitious young men. If we can help their football education and they can contribute for us, that's perfect."

Clarke appeared to be in shock after securing Town another three points: "I can't believe how it's gone for me. It's just amazing. It's mad really.

"I don't get that many goals from long distance but the ball was there and I just hit it. It bounced in front of the keeper and went in.

"I didn't really do anything else in the time I was on, so it was great to see the ball hit the back of the net.

"The lads are flying at the moment. You can see the confidence on the training ground and during games and, with three wins on the trot, it means we will go to Birmingham on Saturday and really take them on."

Coventry boss Micky Adams felt his side didn't make the most of their opportunities: "We had the chances to have knocked them out of the game but Ipswich showed a lot of confidence going forward. Their last two results have boosted their confidence to the roof, so we knew it was going to be difficult.

"I was disappointed with the goals we conceded. We should have dealt with the first and maybe the goalkeeper should have done a little better with the second, although Andy Marshall did bring off one terrific save.

"Ipswich took their chances, and we didn't. We failed to live up to the standard we showed against Norwich City on Saturday. To do well in this league you must be very consistent. We have introduced new faces and we need to find out about each other quickly and then the results will come. Maybe it is better to be a lucky manager than a good one."

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