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Sam: I'm my own man
STRIKER Sam Parkin is determined to make his mark with Ipswich in his own right and end comparisons with Shefki Kuqi.
The bustling former Chelsea and Swindon hitman has been tipped to be the new Kuqi, who hit 20 goals last season to fire Joe Royle's men to the brink of promotion and earn himself a move to the Premiership with Blackburn Rovers.
But much as Parkin admires the Finn, he insists he has his own style.
Parkin, who played all 90 minutes in the Blues' 1-0 defeat at Diosgyor in Hungary yesterday, said: “Shefki is not a bad player with whom to be compared. I have scored goals for the past three seasons, but if I can get near to what he and Darren Bent scored in the Championship last season that would be great.
“We are similar in stature but different types of players. He was more of an outlet, winning balls in the air, whereas I like the ball on the floor more.”
Parkin, who hit more than 70 goals in three seasons with the Robins before making the move to Portman Road for an initial £450,000 fee, has not yet got off the mark for Town after five friendly outings.
He said: “It has not been something I have been worrying about. My last couple of performances have been good and I'm feeling fit.
“I played a part in a couple of goals on Friday but it would be nice to get a goal of my own now.
“It is not so important scoring pre-season as long as you are ready going into the season and scoring then.
“I have scored consistently and I know if I carry on playing well the goals will come.”
The 24-year-old has shown excellent link up and hold up play for town, combining well with Nicky Forster and Dean Bowditch and is enjoying working with both.
Parkin said: “It takes time to gel but hopefully we will be successful and so will the team.
“It is up to us to score the goals and create havoc up front.
“Dean is another great talent. I knew of him before but now I have seen him close up and he is terrific player and I'm enjoying working with him.”
With one Scotland Futures squad call-up already under his belt, Parkin is being tipped by many, including Scot Wilie Donachie, to push into the senior team.
Parkin is convinced his move to Ipswich will help him achieve that ambition.
He said: “That was one of the things I thought about when I made the move.
“It was something I spoke about with staff during the last Scotland squad meeting and obviously scoring goals in the Championship is good for me.
“It is something we have seen with Kenny Miller scoring for Wolves in the Championship and moving into the senior squad. So hopefully I can get involved.”
