The sunshine break in Tenerife appears to have paid dividends for George Burley and the Ipswich Town squad.

Revitalised and refreshed from their four-day sojourn in the Spanish sun they confidently rolled over a dispirited Swindon side which has now gone 12 games without a win.

Jimmy Quinn's side, cast adrift at the foot of the First Division table, were simply no match as Town once again confirmed their potential as promotion candidates.

Burley's boys have now increased their unbeaten run to 12 games and are beginning to turn the screw on teams as they strive for their Premiership goal.

Swindon, who arrived at Portman Road £4m in the red and losing £25,000 a week, sacked 14 of their backroom staff in a cost-cutting exercise last week.

The redundancies included their kitman and evidence of the club's disarray was provided when Swindon took the field in white shorts.

It caused mild embarrassment for the Wiltshire club when the referee forced Ipswich to change into blue but it was only a minor blip on another satisfactory afternoon.

Richard Naylor, so often the forgotten man when David Johnson and James Scowcroft are on song, had an impressive game.

His two goals - one in each half - took his tally for the season to eight and he is becoming an increasingly influential figure on the Town frontline.

His strike partner David Johnson was the only disappointment for Ipswich. He once again looked a shadow of the player who scored eight times in the opening seven matches.

But Naylor led the line well and his tireless efforts were rewarded with a brilliantly executed goal after 37 minutes.

Mark Venus's flick-on sat up nicely for Naylor who spun round to flick the ball deftly past stranded Swindon goalkeeper Frank Talia.

His second, a powerful header in the closing minutes, capped a memorable afternoon for the Yorkshireman as Town wrapped up a comfortable victory.

It was also a day of celebration for Mick Stockwell, who came in for the suspended Fabian Wilnis to make his 601st appearance for the club.

Often perceived as the unsung hero, he opened Town's account in the 27th minute when he capitalised on Bobby Howe's mistake to drive the ball into the far corner.

But the biggest cheer of the day was reserved by the fans for Gary Croft, who came on to replace Stockwell in the 71st minute.

The Town defender, only released from prison a week ago, was given an astonishing reception by the crowd as he stepped back into first team action.

And he paid his own respects at the final whistle when he ran to each area of the ground and bowed his head before disappearing down the tunnel to a crescendo of cheers.

There is no let-up for Town between now and the end of the season but, in current form, they have a great chance of another trip to the sunshine in May.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.