"Fairplay!" - Norwich City hero Darren Huckerby makes honest Ipswich Town admission | OneFootball

Former Norwich City attacker Darren Huckerby has praised Ipswich Town as they moved to within one point of reaching the Premier League after a 2-1 win at Coventry City on Tuesday night.

Ipswich Town close in on promotion

Kieran McKenna’s side only returned to the Championship this season, but they are on course to make it successive promotions, as they now just need a point at home to Huddersfield Town to beat Leeds United to second place.

It’s a remarkable achievement for the Tractor Boys, and they obviously still have work to do to get over the line, but it would be a massive shock if they did lose to the Terriers, with Leeds also needing to beat Southampton to leapfrog the Suffolk side.

Norwich City have their own promotion hopes

Normally, many Norwich fans would be gutted by Ipswich’s success, and whilst there will be many disappointed to see the Tractor Boys on the cusp of going up, they have their own promotion hopes to concentrate on.

The Canaries sit in fifth place going into the final day, and it would take a lot for them to miss out on the play-offs, as they would need to lose at Birmingham, with Hull beating Plymouth and a seven-goal swing, along with West Brom avoiding defeat to Preston.

So, all connected to Norwich will be focusing on their own promotion push, and there’s a real possibility that the East Anglian rivals could play their next derby in the top-flight.

Darren Huckerby sends Ipswich Town message

In the tussle for automatic promotion, Ipswich have been the side that many neutrals have wanted to do well, as they have been up against Leicester, Leeds and Southampton, who were all relegated from the Premier League last season.

Therefore, they simply don’t have the financial power of the trio, making their achievement all the more incredible, as they prove that teams can compete at this level without major funding.

And, ex-Norwich forward Huckerby didn’t hide his respect for what Ipswich have done, as he took to Twitter to credit the work that McKenna has done at Portman Road.

“Can't fault Ipswich Town, they gave themselves a chance to go up by getting a point at home on the last day, table never lies, fair play!”

Even with their excellent campaign, the one thing that the Tractor Boys failed to do was end Norwich’s dominance in the derby.

Ipswich have not beaten their bitter rivals since 2009, and after a 2-2 draw in Suffolk earlier this season, Wagner’s men took the bragging rights thanks to a Marcelino Nunez effort when the team met at Carrow Road last month.

Ipswich Town and Norwich City deserve credit

This has been a ridiculously competitive Championship this season, with Leeds, Leicester and Southampton having resources that dwarf many of their rivals.

Of course, Ipswich deserve all the plaudits they’re getting for being in such a position with one game to go, but Norwich have also impressed this season.

If the two sides did manage to win promotion in the same season, it would be superb for the region, and it would be exciting to see the rivalry return to the Premier League.

Huckerby’s comments show that there is a respect between the two, and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out in the coming weeks.