Kieran McKenna, the manager of Ipswich Town, says he will enjoy his consecutive promotions before thinking about taking a “humungous step up” to the Premier League.
With 96 points and 92 goals scored, the Blues defeated Huddersfield Town 2-0 at Portman Road this afternoon to take second place in the Championship league. This incredible accomplishment is especially noteworthy in light of the remarkable feat of placing second in League One with 98 points and 101 goals scored.
“It feels amazing,” McKenna remarked. It’s a remarkable accomplishment. Thankfully, the spectrum of feelings present today is all good. I’m ecstatic for everyone.I’m quite pleased with the work. To be honest, I’m relieved too. Reaching the finish line is such a significant accomplishment. This kind of opportunity doesn’t come around every year or every decade. We were determined to do it justice. I’m ecstatic.”
The Blues manager said, “No, no, it hasn’t to be honest,” when asked if the enormity of what has been accomplished over the past two years has yet to truly sink in. I, along with the staff and players, have exercised extreme discipline in avoiding getting carried away and keeping our past performance and accomplishments out of our minds.
“I’m sure over the next couple of days, 96 points in the Championship, as a newly-promoted team, with so many of the same group that we had two years ago, the way that we’ve done, the style we’ve done it in… I think it’s an incredible achievement and one that will go down for many, many years.”
In December 2021, McKenna took over as manager of Ipswich, having previously served as assistant manager of Manchester United, while the team was midtable in League One.
“I don’t think you could have imagined this could happen, certainly not in this timescale,” he responded. “There was a lot of work to be done, and the journey was lengthy. Our objective was to advance and then try to advance once again, but a lot of the larger teams in the pyramid share our thoughts.
It has taken an amazing amount of work to do this. To have completed it within the timeframe we did, with 98 points instead of 96, and to have completed it in one of the most difficult Championships ever from It’s amazing from a statistical perspective. “Nobody could have predicted this would happen so soon. There will be difficulties because of that, but not right now. Right now, we should just enjoy these amazing days that we have been given.”
Regarding getting ready for Premier League football, McKenna declared: “There’s no denying that it’s a significant step up.” I don’t want to dwell on it too much today, but I am aware that it represents a huge improvement for the football team across the board.
“To even be competitive in the Premier League is going to be an enormous challenge. We are aware that there are some extremely difficult difficulties in store, but they are ones to welcome and look forward to. “No one outside of our group believed we could reach this point. Though these are things to consider the following week, those are things to look forward to. This weekend is dedicated to celebrating our accomplishments to date.”
“I’ve been involved in those big games and I’ve coached in the Premier League and the Champions League when I was 31/32,” he said. You want to put yourself to the test against the top teams, coaches, and clubs. Going back and doing that will be a huge struggle.My worth is determined by how I treat those around me, how I represent the football team I work for, and how hard I work to develop the group, the players, and the club.
