Jim Magilton pays tribute to the Blue Army and looks to the future at Portman Road...

Welcome to the last game of the Championship season at Portman Road, although of course we hope to be back here next weekend for the Play-Offs.

Results have to go our way this afternoon for that to happen, but the most important issue for us is to win the game. We will see where that leaves us at the final whistle.

We finished last season with a win over Cardiff in a match that had little hanging on it position-wise. We ended the year in 14th place and the fact that we go into the last game of this year with a chance of finishing in the top six shows that we have made a steady improvement.

We finished strongly at home last season and we have carried that form on all through this year, but on our travels we have been very disappointing. That is something that we have to put right.

While I'm reasonably happy with the progress we have made, we have a long way to go before we are where we want to be.

We will sit down at the end of the season and analyse the year. Look at the last nine months from a critical perspective. Then we will move forward.
Plans are already being put into place to strengthen the squad. We have watched a lot of games lately and we have our targets, whatever division we are in. We need to be in a position to strike and get players in for pre-season.

They have to be the right players, though, players who will buy into what we are trying to achieve here. Inevitably there will be departures as well. That is part and parcel of football.

That is for the future though. All that matters now is today and getting three points against Hull.

Phil Brown has done a great job at the KC Stadium and Hull arrive here this afternoon with a chance of clinching automatic promotion. That would be some achievement and they deserve all the credit going.

They need the win, we need the win, so it should make for an entertaining game on what I'm sure will be a tense afternoon for supporters up and down the country.

Jon Walters' late goal at Preston last week kept us in the Play-Off picture and the players showed terrific character to come back and get a point late on for the second week running.

We got a great start with a terrific goal from Tommy Miller but I was disappointed we didn't build on that. We gave away two bad goals and in a way that has summed up our season away from home. But Jon took his chance very well at the end and it gives us a lifeline.
We had chances at 1-1 when we could have gone ahead, Pablo and David Wright had great opportunities and then when you are down with only a couple of minutes to go you need a break _ and we got one with Jon's goal.

That goal took Jon to the top of our goal-charts with 13 and he has been terrific for us this season. He fully deserved the players' player of the year trophy he received at the players' awards night recently. To get recognition from your team-mates in the dressing-room is a fantastic honour for any player.

Our supporters have also been fantastic for us this season, as always. I've said many times how fortunate this Club is to have such terrific backing.

Those who made the trip to Preston got a great ovation from the players at the end of that game and they deserved every moment of it. I'd like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the players and myself, to thank the fans for their support at home and away this season.

Hopefully we can give the supporters something to celebrate this afternoon and keep the season going for a few weeks longer.

Enjoy the game.