Kevin Beattie statue will be unveiled before Christmas

The statue aimed to capture Kevin Beattie performing one of the strengths he was known for - leaping for a header

The delayed unveiling of a statue in honour of an Ipswich Town legend will happen before Christmas, organisers said.

Kevin Beattie, voted Ipswich's greatest player by fans, died from a heart attack in September 2018, aged 64.

Work on the site for the bronze sculpture of "The Beat" by Sean Hedges-Quinn had been delayed by the pandemic.

Brad Jones, who led the statue campaign, said: "It's so exciting that we are now close to the unveiling."

Money for the statue of Beattie, who also played for England, was raised through a fundraising appeal held in conjunction with BBC Radio Suffolk, local newspapers and the TWTD website.

• Ipswich Town legend Kevin Beattie dies

• Work on 'greatest player' statue to start

• Fund for statue of 'greatest player' nears target

Fans helped raised £110,000 for the sculpture of the defender, which was meant to be unveiled on 2 May 2020.

It will sit outside Portman Road, near existing statues of former Town and England managers Sir Bobby Robson and Sir Alf Ramsey.

Beattie won nine international caps and was a central figure in Robson's team that won the FA Cup in 1978 and Uefa Cup in 1981, but his career was hampered and cut short by injuries.

Beattie in action for Ipswich against Barcelona in the Uefa Cup in November 1977

Mr Jones, editor of the East Anglian Daily Times, said: "We are so grateful for how people have come together to make this happen."

He said the project to place the statue at the ground "has taken longer than we anticipated, due to many factors outside our control".

"While we raised the original sum required some time ago, we've faced additional costs - some of those linked to the delays - which we'll now raise," he said.

• The footballers who made a cult classic movie

• Portman Road a natural home for Sheeran TikTok gig

• Sir Alf's England job letter nets £3.4K

Part of the of the fundraising efforts will include giving 20 Ipswich Town fans a chance to have their name inscribed on the statue's plinth.

The East of England Co-op has donated the engraved outer stone shell for the plinth.

Mr Jones said the donation "bowled us over".

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [e-mail]