It’s still possible for Ipswich Town to earn back-to-back promotions.
Even though they aren’t as strong as they were early in the season, they have managed to stay up with teams like Leeds United and Leicester City after a little slump.
Furthermore, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Kieran McKenna’s team pass the Foxes at some point given their recent struggles.
Although Wes Burns’ injury is a setback, the Tractor Boys are in a strong psychological position.
There is less pressure on Ipswich to improve because they were not included in the promotion mix this term, unlike the clubs surrounding them.
They are well-positioned to go again the next term, even if they are not promoted.
While the club’s future is still up in the air, let’s look at some of their most recent news stories to keep our attention in the here and now.
Kieran McKenna and Mark Ashton look set to remain at Ipswich Town
With Bright Path Sports Partners purchasing a 40% stake in the club, they will now have the opportunity to have their say on how the club is run.
In the short term though, it seems as though Jake Zahnow and Sam Simon (who are part of the group) are happy with both CEO Mark Ashton and manager McKenna.
Zahnow told Town TV (via the East Anglian Daily Times): “I expect to come over as often as I can, especially at the pleasure of Mark and the management team.
“I want to echo what Sam said – we support this management team. We looked at teams all over the world, and when we met Mark and Ed, we stopped looking. We love the asset, we love the strategy, but we don’t want to get in the way of the plan.
“We are here to offer assistance as well as capital. We’ll devote all of our time and resources to any further projects, suggestions, or consultations that Mark, Ed, and the team require.”
Given that both have been essential to the Tractor Boys’ success, his assessment of the two is not surprising.
Mark Ashton on Ipswich Town’s priorities following investors’ arrival
This might be a huge turning point for Ipswich, who are undoubtedly rising, since the new investors will be able to contribute more money to the team.
CEO Ashton is well aware of the club’s future plans, having set his sights on a top-tier academy and investing in a training facility.
“It [the funding] gives us the stability to take the plan forward,” he said to Town TV (via TWTD). We have already discussed the value of infrastructure with supporters, and the training site will be the first significant infrastructure initiative.
“That investment will amount to millions of pounds. We have the pitches in place, a fairly comprehensive design in place, and we’re about to start the planning process. This year, I’d like to be on site, helping to implement the training ground plan and watch the structures come to life.
This enables us to build new facilities for the first team as well as improved facilities for our ladies. In the end, we have discussed the significance of our academy numerous times.
We’ve talked about this new funding internally, and we want to utilize some of it to move the academy up from category two to category one.
We’ve discussed it before, and as I’ve always said, we’ll act on it if and when the moment is appropriate. We will now commit to that and set out a schedule for achieving category one academy designation.”
QPR cast eye over Ipswich Town duo
West London Sport reports that Ipswich duo Nick Nkansa-Dwamena and Henry Curtis played for Queens Park Rangers’ youth squad last week against Sheffield Wednesday.
Right-back Nkansa-Dwamena, age 18, and striker Curtis, age 20, are anticipated to be freed at the conclusion of the season when their contracts at Portman Road expire.
The R’s have seized the chance to observe them in action with this, but it is unclear if Marti Cifuentes’ team will choose to hire either of them.
