Are Ipswich better equipped for Premier League this time?Image source, ShutterstockImage caption, Ipswich celebrated after beating QPR to seal promotion from the ChampionshipByPaul GrunillBBC Sport EnglandPublished35 minutes agoIt’s been a great season for Ipswich Town fans, who saw their team do the double over Norwich City in the East Anglian derbies and, oh yes, also win promotion back to the Premier League. Some might argue that going up in 2024 was the greater achievement, given that the team had been promoted from League One only 12 months earlier.Others may feel that shrugging off the disappointment of last season’s top-flight relegation and getting the club back on the right track is an even greater endorsement of Kieran McKenna’s coaching skills. That relegation followed a run of only one win in their final 19 matches but the Northern Irishman has re-established his reputation this season as one of the best young coaches in the English game. And he was recently tipped as a potential candidate for the vacancy at AFC Bournemouth before the job was given to Marco Rose.”Kieran’s a very special manager,” Ipswich chairman and chief executive officer Mark Ashton recently told BBC Radio Suffolk.”He’s someone who I know is extremely sought after by the majority of the Championship, the majority of the Premier League and top European clubs – he’s first-class at what he does.”I would want Kieran to be here forever. I like him and respect him, I work with him every day, we have a really healthy dialogue, but football works in cycles, nothing lasts forever.”‘I’m there as a support mechanism’Image source, ShutterstockImage caption, Kieran McKenna celebrates after Ipswich’s win over Norwich in AprilAshton has stated that “when this club really comes together as one, it’s an unstoppable force” – a statement illustrated by the noisy euphoria before and after Saturday’s 3-0 win over QPR which sealed second place in the Championship.
The relationships between those running the business and those running their teams is crucial, but togetherness is often in short supply at some clubs.
There are countless examples of what can happen when they are not in sync. Think Tottenham and Chelsea, for example.
And although Ashton and McKenna don’t socialise – “I don’t have time to socialise”, the chairman has stated – there is no doubt they are very firmly on the same page.
“I try to give him his space to do what he needs to do, but to be there as a support mechanism, a challenge mechanism, and make sure – almost as a no-excuse culture – that he has everything he needs to do what he needs to do,” Ashton added.
“We understand our drivers, there’s no holds barred in conversations and I think you get that from mutual respect.”
Ashton is a man in a hurry – a firm believer that if you don’t make progress fast, you will be overtaken by rivals.
And he has confirmed that talks have already taken place with McKenna about next season with the aim of moving forwards again “at pace”.
