Boss Joe Royle says he will have nowhere near the £25 million war chest handed to Wigan boss Paul Jewell if the Blues join the Latics in the Premiership. The Town manager says the club has two financial plans, one based on Premiership football next season and one on Championship.

Even if the Blues are in the Premiership Royle knows he will have nothing like the resources available to the Wigan manager: "The two budget plans will differ dramatically. I read that Wigan will be giving manager Paul Jewell a kitty of £25m to spend on reinforcements for the Premiership.

"But if we join them through the play-offs I can confirm we will be spending nowhere near that amount of money, although we know it will cost us a lot more in terms of wages at the higher level.

"If we are still in the Championship next year, the budget will be even less than it was in the current season, so you could say there is a lot riding on the play-offs.

"It is as if there are two doors for us to go through, one to the Premiership and the other back to the Championship, and they are worlds apart."

Photo: Action Images

Ipswich Town Polls