Ipswich manager Jim Magilton has admitted it was his childhood dream to win the FA Cup, ahead of their third-round clash with Portsmouth.Magilton has steered his side into the top six of the Championship on the back of a remarkable unbeaten home record which stretches back into last season.

The Tractor Boys have dropped just four points at Portman Road this season after impressively beating league leaders West Brom on New Year's Day but in Harry Redknapp's visitors face the side with the best away record in the top flight.

The contrast threatens to make for a thrilling cup tie and Magilton insists that the wonder of the competition is not lost on him.

He said: "My dream as a kid was always to climb the Wembley steps and collect the FA Cup.

"This is still something that makes football so good in this country and I would love to win the trophy.

"Realistically, I know that we have little chance, but we will go into every game thinking that we can win.

"Portsmouth are such a powerful force that they will have to have a bad day for us to make progress.

"But we have shown against West Brom that we can stop good teams playing and we must be ready to capitalise if Pompey do doze off at any stage."

Magilton spent three years at Portsmouth's local rivals Southampton in the mid-1990s and is expecting a colourful welcome from the visiting fans.

But he is hoping for a repeat of the result of the only meeting between the sides during his stay when his brace helped the Saints to a 3-0 FA Cup third-round win in 1996.

He said: "I have enjoyed a few ding-dongs with them over the years at Southampton and won a couple, which was especially nice. I scored twice when we beat them in the FA Cup which went down well, I can tell you."

Magilton is hoping that his captain Jason De Vos will be able to continue despite suffering from bruised ribs while striker Alan Lee could again be left on the bench as he is being nursed through an Achilles problem.

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