The race for the final automatic promotion place in the Championship has gone to the final day of the season, with Kieran McKenna hoping to guide Ipswich Town back to the Premier League.
Former Manchester United coach Kieran McKenna has been at Ipswich Town for over four years.
McKenna was appointed manager on December 16, 2021, after working as a coach at United under managers Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
It has been a successful period for the club, including back-to-back promotions from League One to the Championship and eventually to the Premier League. After suffering relegation from the top-flight last term, Ipswich are pushing to bounce back to the pinnacle of English football.
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Big weekend in the Championship for Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town
The race for the second spot and the final play-off place goes down to the wire in the Championship.
Coventry City secured the league title, but it remains to be seen who will join Frank Lampard’s side in the Premier League next season.
One of the three teams heading into the weekend hoping to achieve automatic promotion is Ipswich Town.
McKenna’s side missed the chance to seal automatic promotion in Tuesday’s 2-2 draw against Southampton.
The Tractor Boys currently sit in second place with 81 points and a +30 goal difference after scoring 77 goals.
Ipswich know that a win over Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the season would see them return to the Premier League.
The worst-case scenario for McKenna, if they fail to beat QPR, is a place in the play-offs.
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Michael Carrick will be keeping a close eye on Middlesbrough
The other two teams competing for automatic promotion in the Championship are Millwall and Middlesbrough.
United’s interim head coach, Michael Carrick, who worked closely with McKenna at United, will be wishing his former club, Middlesbrough, the best of luck, even though he failed to take them back to the Premier League.
Middlesbrough can only leapfrog their fellow promotion contenders if they win, Ipswich lose and Millwall fail to get maximum points against Oxford.
A draw for Ipswich, added by Millwall dropping points, would see Middlesbrough require a win and overturn a five-goal deficit in goal difference to seal second place.
Carrick will also want to see McKenna take Ipswich back to the Premier League.
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