Former Blues' midfielder Kieron Dyer is desperately hoping to be involved in the England-Croatia game being played his home town on August 20th.

The Newcastle player has been a regular under Sven-Goran Eriksson despite a string of injuries but is hoping that he will be OK for the early season friendly: "So far, every time I've been fit, I've been picked by Sven and this is one game I would hate to miss.

"The only problem I can see is getting enough tickets for all my family and friends. I'll probably have to buy about 100 - but it will be worth it!

"It is a great honour for the town and the club. If you go back a few years you probably wouldn't have expected this. But it is a testament to the way the stadium has improved that it is now seen as an international venue."

Dyer was involved in one of the more recent lower level internationals at Portman Road when the U21s took on the Czech Republic, his side ending up 1-0 losers.

The Newcastle man wants to be on the end the kind of welcome that Emile Heskey recently received at Leicester: "I hope the Ipswich fans give me a good reception and I'm sure they will. England played at Leicester recently and the fans there gave Emile a big welcome that he really appreciated."

Photo: Action Images

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