Ipswich Town might be fourth in the Championship when they next kick a ball.
Massimo Luongo thinks Ipswich Town will not be concerned with his promotion opponents’ results over the next week. The league leaders were scheduled to face play-off contenders Coventry City on Saturday, but the Sky Blues’ progress in the FA Cup has put that meeting back.
As a result, Kieran McKenna’s team will have to wait another week before their next game against Hull City on April 27. However, Leicester City and Leeds United both play twice, and Southampton have three games remaining until the Tractor Boys play again in the Championship.
It means that, while they are currently leading, the Suffolk side may be as low as fourth by the time they kick off at the MKM Stadium, with the pressure firmly dialed up. Of course, Ipswich’s fate is still in their own hands, and if they win all three of their remaining games, they will be guaranteed a place in the Premier League next season.
They understand that even if no results come their way in the next nine days, all they have to do is focus on themselves and do what they need to do to go over the finish line. That has been McKenna’s theme all season, and Luongo refuses to get caught up in the ups and downs of the promotion race.
“He’s so bang-on about all that, never being too high or too low,” Luongo told the East Anglian Daily Times of McKenna’s level-headedness. “We’ve always worried about ourselves. We rarely set up and adjust for a team; instead, we attempt to stick to our guns, to what we know well, and to do it better than before, with tactics definitely involved. Monday to Friday, we worry about ourselves.”
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On the promotion race, he added: “I believe everyone has a different approach. I saw Vas (Hladky) before the Watford game and inquired what he did the night before; he replied he watched the Leeds game. I was thinking, “Okay, fair enough; I watched the Champions League.” Everyone is different. I guess I’ve only cared about us throughout the season. It’s easy to keep doing this. It’s difficult to avoid, especially if you’re always on your phone, but I try not to be concerned about them, especially if they play after us. Then you’re chasing results and so on.”
