 After the success of his loan spell, he returned to Ipswich and began to feature in the first team, though mainly as a substitute (27 of his 45 league appearances for Ipswich Town came this way).In November 1996 he joined Torquay United on loan, but failed to score in 5 games, and in November 1997 moved to Peterborough United on loan.He joined Colchester United on loan in January 1998, with the move being made permanent on 26 March, Colchester paying a club record fee of £50,000.