ANDREW Surman has highlighted the threat posed by his former Southampton team-mate David McGoldrick and insists: “We will need to watch him.”

McGoldrick, who won his first cap for the Republic of Ireland this week, has been a key figure in Ipswich’s rise to fourth place in the Championship.

His partnership with Daryl Murphy, who started alongside McGoldrick in the Republic’s 4-1 win over USA on Tuesday, has yielded 15 goals for the Suffolk outfit.

Despite dropping to 19th after taking just five points from their first five league games, seven wins and four draws from their past 12 have seen them rapidly climb the table.

Surman and McGoldrick spent four years together at Southampton before leaving the club just days apart following £1million moves to Wolves and Nottingham Forest, respectively.

McGoldrick played a crucial role in helping Cherries avoid relegation to the bottom flight when he hit six goals in 12 games during a loan spell from Southampton in 2007.

Surman told the Daily Echo: “He has always had really good ability. He has been at a few clubs but seems to have settled really well at Ipswich.

“He is scoring goals and is a really important part of their team. He is going to be a danger to us and we need to make sure we keep an eye on him because he is a very good player.

“He has carried on his form from last season and his call-up by the Republic of Ireland was fully deserved. It was great to see him playing for his national team.

“We are on a really good run and so are they. It is going to be a really tough game between two form teams. If we can keep it tight and keep our defensive record going, I always feel we are going to score goals. If we play as well as we know we can then, hopefully, we can get the three points.”

Surman, who won promotion from the Championship with Norwich in 2011, played seven times under current Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy, the man who signed him for Wolves.

“He is a good manager with a good track record,” said Surman. “He has had a successful career in management and his teams are always really competitive. You always know where you stand with him and there is no messing about. He will tell you what he thinks and that is always good from a manager.

“Ipswich are a really good team with some good players and are not fourth for no reason. They are having a really good season and it is going to be a really tough test for us."