Burley's Ipswich pride

Finidi George is mobbed after giving Ipswich the lead

Ipswich Town boss George Burley has revealed his pride at the magnificent Uefa Cup win in Moscow.

Now he hopes the 2-1 victory against Torpedo Moscow will ignite Ipswich's league form after a stuttering start to the season.

Ipswich went through to the second round 3-2 on aggregate and Burley said: "I am very proud. I now hope this can be a lift-off for the season."

Burley is taking nothing for granted as Ipswich attempt to consolidate their place in the top flight of the English domestic game as well as making a splash in Europe.

He said: "The Premier League is very hard. We are working hard to get there. We have shown some very encouraging signs and we have enough quality and belief."

Finidi George put Ipswich ahead before Marcus Stewart made amends for his first leg penalty miss at Portman Road by putting them two up from the spot.

Stewart held his nerve

Stewart held his nerve and Burley said: "Marcus has done tremendously well since he came to the club.

"He sets himself high standards, and any good striker wants to score goals.

"He's scored virtually 20 every year throughout his career. I have a lot of confidence in his scoring ability, and he is also a fantastic team player."

Stewart admitted he had no idea where he was going to place his decisive penalty.

To finish fifth and qualify for the Uefa Cup was amazing - and to come to a famous club like Torpedo Moscow and win is fabulous

Ipswich Town manager George Burley

"Straightaway I wanted to take it - but when I put the ball down I didn't have a clue what to do," said Stewart.

"When I ran up I made up my mind, and it's not very often I do that. "I thought back to what I did last week and tried to play mind games with their goalkeeper.

"He guessed the right way, to be fair to him. But it went into the corner, and now it's history. It was a great night for the club, and we deserved to win."

Ipswich chairman David Sheepshanks was due to head for Geneva for the second-round draw, and Burley reflected: "It is a tremendous achievement.

"At half-time I knew we just needed a goal. They change matches, and once we did score I thought we were in command.

"We were representing the nation and the Premiership after having a fantastic season last season.

"To finish fifth and qualify for the Uefa Cup was amazing - and to come to a famous club like Torpedo Moscow and win is fabulous."