Leeds United are only one point behind the Tractor Boys in the race for automatic promotion.
Kieran McKenna believes his Ipswich Town club is up against some of the Championship’s best ever teams, including Leeds United, Leicester City, and Southampton.
Ipswich are top of the table after 40 games, one point ahead of Leeds, who were promoted from League One last season. The Tractor Boys have beaten the odds to remain in contention for a second successive promotion, despite being financial minnows in comparison to the trio who have received Premier League parachute payments worth tens of millions of pounds.
Southampton are on the edges of the automatic promotion race, but Leeds and Leicester pose the most serious threat, with Premier League-caliber players and budgets significantly beyond the rest of the league. In a historic promotion race, the current top three might all conclude the season with 100 points, and McKenna is relishing the tense run-in against some of the second-tier’s most formidable teams.
“We’d have to say we wouldn’t have thought we’d be where we are in terms of points accumulated at this stage,” McKenna said in an interview with Sky Sports. “But we don’t spend much time thinking about it. It’s about continuing our adventure. We’ve concentrated on establishing ourselves in the league and bringing our identity to the Championship. I’m thrilled we were able to accomplish that.
“We’ve had two amazing seasons, and we have to focus on the positive aspects of being a part of them. The teams we’re playing against are the strongest we’ve ever seen at the top of the Championship. It’s a combination of those things, with everyone working hard and pushing each other.”
Ipswich’s current lead with only six games remaining is a credit to McKenna’s efforts, but with Leeds and Leicester only one and two points behind, the dream of promotion may be dashed with a single slip-up. All three won on Easter Monday, and Daniel Farke’s side is currently on a 15-game unbeaten streak, so no one at any club is getting ahead of themselves, and this is no exception at Portman Road.
“We’ve had some initial discussions [about promotion], because we can’t wait until the summer to decide what our squad will look like depending on what league we’re in,” he said. “However, those interactions have been relatively brief. Ninety-nine percent of all planning is constantly focused on the following game.
“Of course, that would be fantastic for the town. However, we have not planned how the celebration will feel. We are profoundly entrenched in reality. We understand the degree of competitiveness, and there’s still a long way to go. It is not our duty to dream; it is our responsibility to act.”
