UEFA Cup: Bramble ready to snag Vieri

Emerging defender Titus Bramble has vowed to repay George Burley’s display of confidence in him for Ipswich’s UEFA Cup tie against Inter Milan by cutting out the costly mistakes in his game.

Bramble, 20, is already being tipped as an England international of the future but has found his defensive errors being punished this season.

Against Arsenal last weekend, he conceded possession all too easily and the Gunners swooped to take advantage with Fredrik Ljungberg’s fifth-minute opener.

Burley has, nevertheless, vowed to keep faith in Bramble by picking him for tomorrow’s UEFA Cup third round second leg tie in Milan, when he is set to face £30m striker Christian Vieri.

The Ipswich boss declared: ‘‘We all think the world of Titus, he’s a great player. But unfortunately at the moment, mistakes are costing us valuable points in the Premiership.

‘‘We’ll keep on encouraging him, though, as you need to encourage young players to play football.

‘‘Titus knows that sometimes he should be knocking it into the stand or putting his foot through the ball. That comes with experience.

‘‘The only mistake he made against Arsenal led to the goal. Others made mistakes but got away with them.

‘‘I’ve every faith that he can handle the game against Inter. The only thing he lacks is concentration for 90 minutes but that again comes with experience.’’

Bramble responded: ‘‘I agree with him totally. I’ve made a few mistakes and it’s cost us some goals. It’s just down to my concentration, I need to concentrate fully for 90 minutes.

‘‘If you just have one lapse in the Premiership, then you’re punished for it, whereas you might have got away with it in the First Division.’’

However, Bramble feels he will grow with experience and learn to cut out those mistakes, just as Rio Ferdinand has done to mature into an England defensive regular.

He remains undaunted by the prospect of facing Vieri, while Ronaldo could also be on the bench after the duo were not included in a half-strength Inter side for the first leg, which Ipswich won 1-0.

‘‘I was disappointed with them in the first leg. I thought they would be a lot better and a lot stronger. They rested a couple of players but I think they’ll be back for this game,’’ added Bramble.

‘‘Vieri and Ronaldo are world-class. You want to play against the best in the world and those strikers are certainly in that category.’’

Bramble was watching on television last weekend when Vieri scored twice as Inter came back from 2-1 down to defeat Atalanta 4-2 and move above Chievo to the top of Serie A.

‘‘Vieri is quality. He’s well-built, strong and has everything going for him really. I’ll probably get a few nerves when I see their team-sheet but there is no reason why we can’t go through,’’ he added.

Ipswich could restore Finidi George to the starting line-up after a fractured cheekbone, but are definitely without Martijn Reuser (back), Marcus Bent (ineligible) and Marcus Stewart (broken jaw).

Jim Magilton (thigh) and Alun Armstrong (hamstring) are both doubtful, but Richard Naylor (ankle) and Chris Makin (knee) could recover in time and will be tested later today.

Inter’s Argentina international, Javier Zanetti, is meanwhile looking forward to tomorrow’s match, as well as the World Cup meeting with England.

Zanetti, who scored against England at France 98, declared: ‘‘This match is a coincidence after drawing England in our World Cup group.

‘‘I already want the World Cup to come straight away so I can play England. It’s a match you look forward to, considering previous World Cup matches.

‘‘I can’t wait but there’s a long way to go. The priority for me now is obviously facing Ipswich.’’