McCarthy sets challenge for Ipswich star

Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy has challenged in-form striker Daryl Murphy to hit the 30-goal mark.

Murphy took his tally to 21 in 29 league games with a brace that clinched victory over Fulham on Saturday.

But McCarthy is keen that Murphy, who prior to this season had never exceeded 13 in one campaign, doesn’t bask in his achievements.

The Ipswich boss said: “He works hard with TC [Terry Connor] in front of goal, he’s been doing that for two years and it’s paying off.

“But let’s not laud him getting 21, let him get 30. Let him get past that.

“To be fair to him, he’s not sitting on his laurels, he’s still working hard. He’s a great talisman but we want more out of him.”

McCarthy was also pleased with his side’s work at the other end of the pitch as they limited Fulham to half-chances throughout much of the match.

He added: “I thought it was a deserved win. We had some good chances, certainly in the first-half.

“You knew if they got a goal back the confidence would flow a bit more and it did but we had a good shape to us and defended well.”