A late Leicester City equaliser against Ipswich Town at Portman Road Stadium leaves Kieran McKenna’s side still searching for a Premier League win.
The Tractor Boys have gone ten games without recording a league victory as they struggle in 18th place in the league standings with five points. Ipswich were the pre-season favourites to get relegated, and it’s easy to see why. They have achieved two successive promotions, and Ipswich were playing in League One less than 18 months ago. Most of the team consists of players who were with the Tractor Boys in the English third tier not too long ago.
In the match against Leicester, ten of the 18 players in the match-day squad were members of the 2022/23 League One winning squad. Six of the ten players played a part against the Foxes, with four in the starting lineup.
Kieran McKenna is doing a good job with Ipswich Town
McKenna has actually been overperforming with the Ipswich squad at his disposal. The team has shown great courage and determination in the Premier League this season. They defended extremely well to snatch a point against Brighton and Hove Albion and Aston Villa. Ipswich also managed a late equaliser away at Southampton to prevent their relegation rivals from taking home the three points. Additionally, they were unlucky against Brentford and Leicester, conceding late equalisers after going down to ten men in both games.
Ipswich have been poor statistically in almost every key department, but that is to be expected with the lowest-valued squad in the league (€80 million lower than second-last Leicester). While achieving survival is not impossible, especially with how McKenna has managed to bring the best out of everyone in the team, it is highly improbable. While it’s important for teams to dream as big as possible, the Ipswich board should not consider relegation a failure.
All things considered, Ipswich are not in a bad place
Given that Ipswich have not spent extravagantly and will get good money this season, the team does not have to worry about the financial implications of relegation. The big task in the summer will be keeping McKenna at Ipswich, but the manager seems destined for a role with one of England’s elite clubs.
While it may seem premature to start discussing post-relegation scenarios for Ipswich, I’m only trying to highlight the fantastic job McKenna has done with the team. Despite their struggles, they are in a healthy position when all things are considered. They will keep dreaming big and giving it all to survive, but should they get relegated, Ipswich will be in a good place to challenge for promotion straight away.
