Boss Joe Royle says he made a bid to take former Blue Darren Ambrose on loan earlier in the season. Tabloid newspapers over the weekend linked the 20-year-old with a return to Portman Road.

Royle said he enquired about Ambrose's availability late last year: "I spoke to Graeme Souness then and I haven't spoken to him since.

"We know Darren and we like him, but I know other clubs are also interested because they have asked me about him."

Royle says he's not yet thinking about his summer targets: "Everything depends on who we are and where we are next season and at this moment in time I can't even think of which players I might want to bring in during the summer."

Newcastle are reported to have put a £1 million price-tag on Ambrose's head, exactly the fee the Magpies paid the then administration-hit Blues back in March 2003.

Photo: Action Images

Ipswich Town Polls