The hitman has been hugely impressive in his first three appearances and scored the winner against Walsall in the Carling Cup last week.

Penney does not believe a permanent deal is on the cards but wants to keep hold of Clarke for as long as possible.

"I don't think we'll be able to get Billy permanently, I'm not totally sure what Ipswich's thoughts on him are," he told the Northern Echo.

"Hopefully he will continue enjoying it, and Ipswich will be happy for him to stay for a longer period. We'd love to keep him longer than a month.

"He went on loan to Falkirk last season but didn't really enjoy it. It was a six-month loan and they can't be cancelled once you've started. So we said 'come here for a month, see if you enjoy it'."