After a turbulent season at the top of the table, Ipswich’s place in the Premier League was finally confirmed on Saturday after beating Huddersfield Town 2-0.
Goals from Wes Burns and Omari Hutchinson confirmed their second place and they’d actually end up with a six-point gap to Leeds United in third after the Yorkshire side lost to Southampton.
It’s been a rather meteoric rise for the Tractor Boys, who have now gained back-to-back promotions and will be playing in the top flight next season for the first time since 2002.
After a decent start to the season, many rival fans expected Kieran McKenna’s side to fall off, but they’ve done quite the opposite and have been consistent throughout. With Leicester City losing on the final day, Ipswich would in fact only finish one point off of the title and in other years, they could’ve gone up as champions.
McKenna’s men have been a joy to watch this year and are the top goal scorers in the division. They fully deserve their place in the Premier League next season and could progress even further.
There have been plenty of pundits who have heaped praise on Kieran McKenna’s tactics, something that has even got Southampton manager Russell Martin talking.
The Saints will be looking to join Ipswich in the top-flight via the play-offs and they may well now be the favourites having beaten Leeds on the final day.
Speaking to the Southampton Daily Echo, Martin congratulated Ipswich on their promotion.
“I’ve made loads of mistakes and there is loads of frustration, but Ipswich deserve it (promotion).
“They’ve been great. Everyone kept saying throughout the season, ‘Oh, Ipswich will fall away,’ but they haven’t.
“Kieran and his group of staff deserve a huge amount of credit. You saw two brilliant teams today that maybe in other seasons would be Champions, but they’re not.
“Leeds get 90 points and they’ve not been promoted. That’s a testament to Ipswich and Leicester and how good they’ve been.”
Writer’s View
Kieran McKenna is surely one of the hottest properties in the managerial world currently after leading his side to back-to-back promotions. He’ll no doubt be linked to plenty of other clubs but given he’s got Ipswich to the promise land of the Premier League, its more likely that he now stays.
Martin has rightfully credited his fellow manager and knows that what he has done has been rather special. The Saints’ boss will now be hoping that his side can join them in the top flight next season.
A good summer of recruitment is needed if the Tractor Boys are to be competitive next season, but you wouldn’t put that past them and they could continue to defy the odds next season.
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