Derby draw leaves hope for next year

Congratulations continue to be heaped on George Burley and Ipswich for a season of unexpected achievement but, inevitably, question marks remain.

Is it possible for a club of such limited financial resource - compared with other experienced European campaigners like Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Leeds and Chelsea - to compete on two fronts without it becoming an intolerable burden?

Might the Tractor Boys, those magnificently refined products of the lower leagues, find they have taken a leap too far, too soon? Could it begin to erode the foundation of superb team spirit which Burley has so assiduously laid at Portman Road when, inevitably, he begins to recruit fresh faces from considerably more fashionable places than Wimbledon, Bournemouth, Tranmere and Crewe?

The debate was in full swing even as Ipswich completed their impressive first term in the Premiership with a 1-1 draw at Derby to finish fifth and confirm their place in the UEFA Cup.

Scepticism comes as no surprise to the men from Portman Road. It is even welcomed as an additional motivational force. The urge to prove so many wrong has been a powerful weapon in the minds of men from humble footballing backgrounds but with huge ambition.

Marcus Stewart epitomises the Ipswich success story. Signed 15 months ago for £2.5million from Huddersfield, the striker has taken the elite by storm with 19 League goals, to become an England international candidate.

He said: 'The bookies would have given you odds of 1000-1 against me scoring so many or Ipswich finishing so high - but you don't know what you can do until opportunity knocks and you get the chance to play against the best.