THE mere mention of the name Danny Haynes is enough to bring a smile to any Town fan’s face.

A few years ago there was no deader cert than that Haynes would score the winning goal in an East Anglian derby.

Whether it was a well-taken strike or a deflection off his hand, somehow the ball would always find its way into the Norwich net off some part of him at some stage of a derby.

It’s unlikely that Haynes will ever have to buy a drink in Ipswich again even though he was, derby exploits aside, far from the greatest striker ever to grace the blue shirt.

Indeed, at 27 he is currently without a club having left Notts County in December. Hmm, is it worth offering him a one-match contract?

But he will always remain a hero at Portman Road for vanquishing the Canaries on so many memorable occasions.

On Sunday opportunity knocks for someone else to similarly write their name into Town folklore when the Blues travel to Carrow Road for the biggest East Anglian derby for years.

Usually one side or the other has something to play for at this point in a season and, in addition to trying to grab local bragging rights, the opposition aim to put a spanner in their works.

But on this occasion both are firmly in the promotion race, third-placed Town having been there or thereabouts all season, while Norwich, fifth, just a point behind, have rocketed up the table via five wins on the trot after a dodgy spell which saw manager Neil Adams replaced by Alex Neil.

Looking at the game purely based on form since the turn of the year Norwich have to be strong favourites, particularly as they’re at home.

However, as the cliche goes, the form book tends to go out of the window on derby days as we’ve seen in plenty of Town-Norwich clashes in the past.

Back in what was probably Norwich’s greatest ever season, the 1992/93 Premier League campaign when they finished third, newly-promoted Town did the double over them.

Similarly, during the George Burley era the Canaries – who were invariably struggling or in mid-table – had a horrible habit of pulling off smash and grab raids against the promotion-chasing Blues.

That Town go into the derby ahead of their greatest rivals is an achievement in itself when you consider the vast financial disparity between the two clubs at the present time.

Having been relegated from the Premier League in May, Norwich were the recipients of a £27 million parachute payment this season, on its own double Town’s turnover during the financial year to June 2014.

They, like so many relegated clubs, have found adjusting to life back in the Championship difficult, but have hit a rich vein of form at just the right point in the season and you wouldn’t bet against them powering on and breaking into the top two before the end of the campaign.

Obviously, this run has come at just the wrong time from a Town perspective. Had the game come before Christmas then the Blues might have been seen as strong favourites to exact revenge for their 1-0 defeat at Portman Road in August.

Town had appeared to be firmly over their new year downturn until Saturday’s frustrating 1-0 home defeat to Reading.

The Blues struggled to break down a stubborn and professional Royals side, who rarely looked in much danger of losing their lead once they had established it.

On Tuesday Town got back to winning ways, although they made rather heavy weather of defeating Birmingham 4-2.

Mick McCarthy’s side have defended in an uncharacteristically sloppy manner in a number of recent games, something they can’t afford to repeat on Sunday.

More positively, Freddie Sears netted his first two home goals, showing the sort of… ahem… searing pace which has been missing from the Town side in recent seasons and finishing both chances with great confidence. The former U’s striker is making a very promising start to his career at Portman Road.

Given the Blues’ wobblier form and Norwich’s resurgence, most Town fans would probably be happy enough with a draw on Sunday.

But they’d be happier still should a Haynes-like hero emerge, grabbing a winning goal and ensuring he never needs to pay for a drink in Ipswich ever again.

Doesn’t matter whether it’s a great goal or just bounces in off his backside, or even his hand.