Owen Garvan believes his international experience is helping him flourish at Ipswich Town.

The midfielder scored twice in Saturday’s 3-1 Coca-Cola Championship victory at Plymouth Argyle.

And he feels his exploits with the Republic of Ireland Under-21s – netting three goals in his last two appearances – have boosted his confidence when representing the Blues.

Garvan took his domestic tally to four at the weekend – already the most he has scored in a season, eclipsing his previous best of three – and he said: “My international appearances have definitely helped.

“Playing for my country makes me very proud and getting those goals has boosted by confidence.

“I’ve also been involved in the senior set-up a couple of times and being around top-quality players like that can only help me learn and develop.

“I know my overall game has improved and, as a midfielder, I always want to chip in with goals.

“It’s my duty and I’ll always have a pop whenever I get a chance.

“The fact both of them were right-foot efforts was just a coincidence.

“It’s not something I’ve worked on in particular, although as professionals we’re obviously practising things like that all the time.”