Ipswich Town have had a tremendous season so far under head coach Kieran McKenna as the Tractor Boys continue their push for the Championship title.
Having taken over two years ago, the Northern Irish coach has worked wonders at Portman Road in his first-ever managerial job in the men’s game. The East-Anglian side earned promotion back to the Championship last season, missing out on the League One title by three points, yet are unexpectedly in another race for top spot this term.
Following a 6-0 thrashing at home to relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend, Ipswich moved within a point of first place which is currently occupied by Leeds United, who beat Millwall rather comfortably on Sunday.
While Leeds and Leicester City may still have stronger squads, Ipswich Town have managed to hold their own throughout the campaign which is certainly a testament to the impressive job McKenna has done since joining the club.
Arguably the most formidable component of the Tractor Boys this season has been their superb attacking play. Instead of coming up and reverting to a more pragmatic style, the 37-year-old has ensured that his team have continued to play on the front foot, leaving Ipswich as the league’s top scorer with 80 goals in 38 games.
Additionally, according to data released by Opta on Tuesday, Ipswich’s substitutes have scored 21 times in total in the Championship which is more than any other club across the top four divisions of English football. Southampton are close by in second place with 20.
When this data is extended to all competitions, McKenna’s side remain top with 23 goals from substitutes but are joined by Liverpool and the Saints this time on the same figure.
Writer’s View
Opta also published their latest projections for how the Championship will finish come May. Leicester are still the strong favourite to lift the crown while Leeds have a 78.5% of finishing in the top two. Ipswich Town, unfortunately, boast just a 28.8% chance of clinching a spot in the automatic promotion places.
Nevertheless, this is 28.8% higher than most people gave the Tractor Boys at the beginning of the season. The biggest reason for this has been McKenna and the goals from his substitutes prove that the young coach is capable of changing a game. Ipswich will do well to keep him past the summer.
Be the first to comment