SUNDERLAND manager Mick McCarthy believes Championship rivals Ipswich will provide his side with its toughest test of the season so far.

The Black Cats face the Tractor Boys at the Stadium of Light tomorrow in a rich vein of form at the moment having lost only one game in eight - but so do their rivals. Ipswich currently lie second in the Coca-Cola Championship having recorded four successive victories in a nine-game unbeaten run.

A win against their East Anglia adversaries tomorrow however, will mean the Wearsiders' can close the gap to three points and set them up for next week's difficult trip to another promotion rival, Stoke City.

The Sunderland boss is under no illusion that Ipswich will be a true test of their Championship credentials but added that every day is groundhog day.

"This is groundhog day from last year, because when we had big games, whether we came through them or not, it was always on to the next game," said McCarthy. And if we play well and have a stroke of luck on Sunday, and win, then Stoke is going to be the next big one.

"But it is going to be difficult because of their league position and the players they've got and the way they are playing.

"The games we had against Ipswich since I've been at the club have been great. The league game here last season was a brilliant game; which (Kevin) Kyle nicked in the last minute.

"The cup game down there, which we lost, was another entertaining football match, and I hope it is the same on Sunday, and we get the result of course."

The Sunderland boss warned his charges they will have to be on their guard after he hailed Ipswich's under-rated strikers.

The East Anglian outfit are the Championship's leading scorers and face the league's second mean-nest defence - only league leaders Wigan had conceded fewer than Sunderland - so something has to give.

McCarthy said: "Both sides are capable of scoring goals, and in Dean Bowditch and Darren Bent, they have two young very exciting strikers, as is Ian Westlake on the left.

"In Shefki Kuqi, they have a seriously underrated player. He reminds me of Kyle: he works a shift; puts his head in; throws himself at things and gets his fair share of goals. I think he got 15 or 18 goals last season and he gets good support from his full backs and Jim Magilton.

"Magilton has been a terrific pro all through his career,and he's been brilliant for them since he moved there about five years ago.

"Every time we have played against them he has been a real influence on the game. He does not have the pace that he once had but he sees a pass and can influence a game with his ability on the ball from free-kicks and corners.

"Tommy Miller might be missing tomorrow and whether that influences the shape of the team or the way they play only time will tell. They have been having good results; have good footballers and are playing with confidence.

I think like us last week at Leicester, they ground a result out against Leeds, which is the sign of a good side with a tough mentality and a team who will be there at the very end."

The Sunderland boss also confirmed that Stockport County's Andy Welsh will be his next signing.

The 20-year-old left winger will join his new team-mates next week for an undisclosed fee.

"We have agreed a deal with Stockport and it'll go ahead but it will not change anything ahead of Sunday's game because everyone would be running around like a blue-arsed fly to try and rush it though," said McCarthy.

"I have been watching him for a long time and he has good potential. He's been here and trained with us and not looked out of place.

"I can hear people saying who is he? But I heard the same shout when Stephen Elliott came, Dean Whitehead, Darren Carter, Liam Lawrence, Danny Collins, Neill Collins and Mark Lynch."

* Burnley striker Robbie Blake has emerged as a Nottingham Forest transfer target.

The former Darlington player scored the only goal of the game against Forest at Turf Moor last week, prompting Joe Kinnear to make an approach for the 28-year-old. Kinnear said: ''It's true, we are interested in signing Robbie Blake.

''He's certainly a player on our wish-list along with another five or six other players we've also enquired about - but we've done everything properly, above board and in writing.''

* QPR chief executive Mark Devlin insists Wolves have made no official approach for manager Ian Holloway. Holloway is rumoured to be a target to succeed Dave Jones in the Molineux hotseat.

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