Loan signing Keanan Bennetts is hoping for a dream double to end what will have been anything but a run-of-the-mill season — promotion for Town and Champions League success for parent club Borussia Mönchengladbach.

The bookmakers would offer pretty generous odds on both legs of that wager succeeding, particularly that involving the Germans who this week were celebrating when they qualified for the knockout phase — the last 16 — of the European tournament for the first time since it was repackaged in 1992.

They trail in the Bundesliga, sitting nine points behind leaders Bayern Munich in seventh place, but that counted for nothing in the Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday.

Despite going down 2-0 to Real Madrid in the final group game, the Mönchengladbach players huddled round a phone and a tablet to catch the final minutes of the game between Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk.

When the final whistle in the San Siro signalled a 0-0 draw, it confirmed the Germans would finish runners-up in their group and book a place in Monday’s draw.

With UEFA rules meaning they cannot be drawn to face another club from their own country, or the winners of their qualifying group, it means they will come up against either Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Juventus or Paris Saint-Germain, the five teams in the seeded section alongside Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.

Bennetts, who watched the late drama on television, said: “It was a great achievement and they did amazingly well to go through from a difficult group.

“They played with heart and bravery in the qualifying campaign. There wasn’t an easy game in the group, which involved a lot of travelling, and I was really pleased the way things turned out for them.

“Inter couldn’t beat Shakhtar in Italy yet Mönchengladbach beat them 6-0 and 4-0 in the two games against them and also drew 2-2 at the San Siro.

“I sent a few text messages to congratulate the boys and it’s an amazing time for them. Am I envious? Well, I’ve got to be realistic and focus on myself and Ipswich. I could still be part of something important here at Ipswich come the end of the season. We should be celebrating as well.

“Promotion to the Championship would suit me fine and if they can go all the way in the Champions League I would be absolutely delighted for them. It would be crazy if I had a double celebration but you never know in football.”

Asked if Mönchengladbach were keeping an eye on his progress with the Blues, he added: “When I completed my first 90 minutes in the league for Ipswich a couple of weeks ago it was only the second time I had done that in around two years and I received some nice messages from the physio team in Germany.

“I spent a lot of time with these guys and they know better than anyone else what I have been through.

“I also heard from a couple of the coaches at the club and they were checking to see how things were going for me over here.

“It’s a busy time for everyone in football — they’ve had two games virtually every week, the same as we’ve had and that’s more unusual for them than it is for us.”

Bennetts moved to Germany from Tottenham two and a half years ago in a £2 million deal but his injury woes have kept him sidelined for most of that time and the loan switch to Town was designed to see him play on a regular basis.

“They have plans to come over and see me play at some point,” he revealed, “and that will also enable us to chat about the future, so we’ll wait and see what happens.”

Playing his first full league game against Charlton was a major step along the way for Bennetts, who admitted: “At the time I didn’t really take it in but afterwards I realised how significant a moment it was for me after my injury problems. Also, to play back-to-back games was big.

“It was only four days later when I started at Oxford and I finished that one as well. I was glad I came through okay and after coming off the bench at Plymouth last week I’ve had a free week to prepare for the Portsmouth game.

“It’s a busy schedule but I’ve had a fair bit of game time recently and I’ve also trained hard and done my extras. I can feel myself improving, not just by completing games but by managing my time correctly and knowing what my body needs when I’m not playing. So I feel good but it’s only really the start for me.”

Photo: Matchday Images

BettyBlue added 13:20 - Dec 11 Has he played 90 mins for us yet?
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BettyBlue added 13:20 - Dec 11 Has he played 90 mins for us yet?
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Lathers added 18:52 - Dec 11 He never will Betty. He ‘looks' like the real deal with his Ronaldo step overs, but he regularly forgets to take the ball with him and his distribution is appalling. Proper 50p boots when he attempts a cross! Just like Andros Townsend when we had him on loan.
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Bert added 22:29 - Dec 11 Borussia would make a decent pre season friendly. Betty Blue might even take a match in to understand who actually plays for us and when !
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Linkboy13 added 07:35 - Dec 12 With Bennett's and Hughes at the club we should be electric.
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positivity added 13:00 - Dec 12 betty, a town fan would be able to answer that for you. i'll give you a clue. look back to the itfc game before last!
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