Uefa Cup: Ipswich look to preserve home record in Uefa Cup

George Burley is counting on the fighting spirit that has served Ipswich so well to help preserve the club's European record at Portman Road.

He hopes Helsingborg will go the same way as 22 other teams - including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Lazio and AC Milan - as Ipswich attempt to extend their unbeaten 26-game stretch in European competitions at home.

Burley was a marauding full-back under Bobby Robson in the Town side that lifted the Uefa Cup. Burley believes the modern day Blues are more equipped for continental conquests.

He said: "The Premier League is a lot stronger; you are playing against some of the top-class clubs in the world whereas I don't think in the 1970s and 80s that the First Division as it was then was strong."

While Ipswich have struggled to get going in the Premiership, Burley has been encouraged by the Uefa Cup triumph over Torpedo Moscow.

"In the home leg against Torpedo we went behind early which is never ideal," said Burley.

"If you make a mistake at the back you are punished and that was the case. We saw the character in the side when we fought back and we were unfortunate not to score more goals. Then, we had that tremendous win in Moscow.

"We showed against Moscow that we can compete in Europe and hopefully we can do the same again."

He is not underestimating Helsingborg - a team he knows well from regular pre-season trips and scouting missions.

Titus Bramble saw a specialist on his Achilles problem yesterday and is the only player definitely ruled out for the Blues, although Alun Armstrong and John McGreal will both have checks on bad backs.