Ipswich go into Saturday’s game knowing one more win will definitely do it for them, and even that might not be necessary, so has this been a success or needlessly hard work given the quality of their squad? Phil Ham from our sister site TWTD joins Town fan Andy Thompson in this week’s oppo profile…

How's the season been for Ipswich?

PH: Surprisingly up and down, which might raise a few eyebrows from the outside. After a summer in which there was a significant turnover of players with a number of the back-to-back promotion heroes moving on, the season started slowly as the new team came together. There’s never been the sort of long run of wins which builds momentum on and off the pitch, but we’ve always done enough to climb the table steadily until the final weeks and have got our noses in front of the other second-place contenders at just the right time with the team having grown as the campaign progressed.

AT: It feels like we have struggled to get going throughout the whole season, which sounds mad when we’re sat on 81 points after 45 games. Expectation has been the highest it has been in years given the squad we have and the rise under McKenna, and I think that has had an impacted on our approach. We’ve tried to be more controlled and comfortable out of possession this season compared to our high-energy approach two years ago, which is likely a reflection of not seeing the ball too much last season. Getting the double over Norwich for the first time in 30 years, was also a particular highlight.

Town in the league so far…
Birmingham 1-1 Ipswich Stansfield 55 – Hirst pen 90
Ipswich 1-1 Southampton Harwood-Bellis og 4 – Robinson 29
Preston 1-0 Ipswich Osmajic pen 11
Ipswich 2-2 Derby Greaves 33, Clarke pen 90 – Morris pen 50, Brewster 70
Ipswich 5-0 Sheff Utd Philogene 20, 51, 68, Hirst 61, Clarke 78
Ipswich 2-1 Portsmouth Philogene 9, Hirst 41 – Pack 90
Bristol City 1-1 Ipswich Atkinson 18 – Clarke pen 52
Ipswich 3-1 Norwich Kipre 32, Philogene 44, Clarke 77 – Schwartau 35
Boro 2-1 Ipswich Kipre og 45, Whittaker 55 – O’Shea 76
Ipswich 0-3 Charlton Carey 52, Gillesphey 55, Leaburn 64
Ipswich 1-0 West Brom Clarke 83
QPR 1-4 Ipswich Burrell 21 – Hirst 2, 57, Nunez 47, 64
Ipswich 1-1 Watford Philogene 21 – Louza 16
Swansea 1-4 Ipswich Franco 50 – Clarke 36, Burgess og 55, og 81, Azon 76
Ipswich 0-0 Wrexham
Hull 0-2 Ipswich Nunez 69, Akpom 73
Oxford 2-1 Ipswich Harris 24, Placheta 77 – Davis 53
Blackburn 1-1 Ipswich Gudjohnsen 76 – Egeli 90
Ipswich 3-0 Coventry Egeli 43, Hirst 60, Azon 90
Ipswich 1-0 Stoke Philogene 2
Leicester 3-1 Ipswich Reid 8, Fatawu 43, Ayew 52 – Cajuste 71
Ipswich 3-1 Sheff Wed Kipre 33, Philogene 60, Clarke 87 – Cooper 71
Millwall 0-0 Ipswich
Coventry 0-2 Ipswich Clarke 72, Burns 83
Ipswich 2-1 Oxford Philogene 17, Akpom 40 – Lankshear 34
Ipswich 3-0 Blackburn Cashin og 3, Taylor 12, Szmodics 88
Ipswich 2-0 Bristol City Clarke 8, 55
Sheff Utd 3-1 Ipswich O’Hare 38, Brooks 45, Bamford 66 – Clarke pen 60
Ipswich 1-1 Preston Clarke pen 90 – Gibson 72
Derby 1-2 Ipswich Brewster pen 68 – Travis og 8, Davis 77
Wrexham 5-3 Ipswich Moore 6, Windass 37, Thomason 66, Doyle 75, Broadhead 86 – Mehmeti 20, Azon 45, Kipre 47
Watford 0-2 Ipswich Egeli 37, Hirst 77
Ipswich 3-0 Swansea Mehmeti 3, Azon 41, Hirst 74
Ipswich 1-0 Hull Matusiwa 71
Ipswich 1-1 Leicester Egeli 76 – Daka 39
Stoke 3-3 Ipswich Smit 35, pen 90, Jun-Ho 44 – Bocat og 49, Taylor 64, Hirst 82
Sheff Wed 0-2 Ipswich Azon 78, Clarke pen 83
Ipswich 1-1 Millwall Clarke 41 – Coburn 50
Ipswich 2-1 Birmingham Johnson 41, McAteer 45 – Vicente 32
Norwich 0-2 Ipswich Philogene pen 11, Hirst 45
Portsmouth 2-0 Ipswich Shaughnessy 42, Bishop 44
Ipswich 2-2 Boro McAteer 30, Clarke pen 87 – Strelec 25, Conway 64
Charlton 1-2 Ipswich Docherty 1 – Furlong 36, Philogene pen 58
West Brom 0-0 Ipswich
Southampton 2-2 Ipswich Manning 58, Larin 80 – Burns 48, Clarke 87

Heavy favourites on Saturday, any disappointment that it's gone down to the last day given the quality of your side?

PH: Yes and no. It would have been nice to have sealed it at Southampton the other night and Saturday become a Portman Road party, but it’s been a season of development, which I think most fans have understood. That doesn’t mean there hasn’t been some frustration and grumbling over the course of the campaign when there have been disappointing results against teams on paper we ought to have beaten. There have been frailties, particularly away from home, but those look like they’ve been ironed out the longer the season has progressed.

AT: We would have liked it to be simple and not reliant on the “joys” of the last day of the season, but we never do things simply. Our promotion two years ago benefited from games in-hand in the latter stages, but I think this year it has not gone the same way. The biggest disappointment was the result and performance and Portsmouth, which would have helped move us closer to promotion sooner.

Kieran McKenna, still God?

PH: For the vast majority of fans, yes. There have been one or two dissenters over the course of the season, but not many and confirming a third promotion in four years on Saturday would presumably silence them. It’s difficult to think he could have done much better than he has since he took charge in December 2021 with us languishing in mid-table in League One.

AT: He still has a lot of credit in the bank for me. He has benefitted from investment and been able to evolve the side, even though that did mean the breakup of our League One promotion team, which was sad to see (but obviously necessary). He always speaks well, has a track record of improving players and is tactically sound and I would like him to continue taking us forward.

Tell us about your recruitment this season, the good and the bad, and how you think you might go about it differently if/when promoted again?

PH: A mixed bag, some very significant successes - Azor Matusiwa, Darnell Furlong, Cedric Kipre, Marcelino Nunez - some where the jury’s still out - Ivan Azon, Kasey McAteer, Sindre Walle Egeli - and a few disappointments, such as Chuba Akpom, Jens Cajuste and Ashley Young, although in the latter’s case he’s hardly played. January signings Dan Neil and Anis Mehmeti have both made contributions but have been a little inconsistent latterly.

Perhaps the biggest frustration last summer was making too many signings late in the window, which meant we found ourselves going through August with an unsettled squad with the new players then having to settle themselves in once the campaign was already up and running, some, such as Akpom and Cajuste, subsequently never really getting to top speed. In addition to last summer’s newcomers, a number of those recruited in the Premier League season have come into their own during this campaign. Top scorers Jack Clarke and Jaden Philogene among them, along with skipper Dara O’Shea and fellow central defender Jacob Greaves.

CEO and chairman Mark Ashton spoke earlier in the season about targeting more physical players than we did going into the Premier League two years go and that will certainly be a focus should we go up again. Town’s recruitment system wasn’t ready for promotion two years ago but has been added to since then, both in terms of personnel, former Manchester United scout Mick Court has come in as head of recruitment, and data. Certainly, the club’s overseas scouting network will be very much better this time around having been virtually non-existent a couple of years ago.

Again, there will be the hope that more signings can be made earlier in the summer to avoid so many players having to settle in once the season is already under way.

AT: We failed to improve our striking options after losing Delap and I think that has had the biggest single impact on our season, with our two strikers only scoring 15 goals between them. The no.10 options have also felt limited despite Nunez and Akpom coming in the summer, with the latter struggling to get into the side and kick-on after Szmodics’ departure. Mehmeti has come in from January and performed well and will continue to grow. Our central midfield options have been bolstered by the arrival of Dan Neil in January and Azor Matusiwa has slotted in really well in the holding midfield pivot role vacated by Morsy. He, along with Darnell Furlong, have been our standout signings. I was excited for Sindre Walle Egli, but minutes have reduced as the season has gone on and (hopefully) this is a reflection on a 19-year-old settling in England so looking to see him kick on next year. Regardless of what league we are in next season, we need a striker as a priority. If we are to be promoted, we must take stock of how Leeds and Sunderland have approached transfers (see Radiohead: Fitter, Happier lyrics) and largely ignore what Scott Parker has done.

Summer Ins >>> Sindre Walle Egeli, 19, RW, Nordsjaelland (Denmark), £16m >>> Kasey McAteer, 23, RW, Leicester, £10m >>> Azor Matusiwa, 27, DM, Stade Rennais, £10m >>> Marcelino Nunez, 25, CM, Norwich, £8m >>> Darnell Furlong, 29, RB, West Brom, £3.5m >>> Jens Cajuste, 25, DM, Napoli, Loan (fee £1m) >>> Ashley Young, 40, RB, Everton, Free >>> David Button, 36, GK, Reading, Free >>> Cedric Kipre, 28, RGK, Stde Reims, Loan >>> Chuba Akpom, 29, CF, Ajax, Loan >>> Ivan Azon, 22, CF, Como, Loan

Winter Outs >>> Sammie Szmodics, 30, AM, Derby, Loan >>> Harry Clarke, 24, RB, Charton, Loan >>> Cameron Humphreys, 22, CM, Huddersfield, Loan

Player of the year candidates?

PH: Dara O’Shea will get many fans’ votes having grown as a captain and in influence over the course of a season in which he has played every Championship minute. Jack Clarke, who has now netted 16 times, will get the nod from a lot of supporters, while Azor Matusiwa has been outstanding in central midfield having adjusted to the rigours of the Championship very quickly following his move from French football last summer. Jaden Philogene might have been among the favourites until he suffered an injury in January which kept him out for a couple of months and halted his momentum.

AT: Darnell Furlong – understated, gone about his business well and been a consistent performer.
Azor Matusiwa – had big boots to fill with Sam Morsy departing for a short stint in Kuwait but has settled in well and put in some stand out performances. He’s learned from mistakes as the season has gone on
Dara O’Shea – Stood out in some big games in the 2nd half of the season and led the team well. He has been calm and composed throughout the season.
Special mentions: Christian Walton (solid), Jack Clarke (game-changing & goalscoring), Jack Taylor (midfield bite).

Weak links our highly committed and focused team might like to target?

PH: Not telling you! The main issue for us has been breaking down teams who come to Portman Road to frustrate us, games against Derby, Wrexham and Preston come to mind. Away, we’ve been a bit flakier, showing a tendency to concede a second time immediately after going behind, usually towards the end of the first half.

AT: All about pressing and beating our press. There are ways of pinning back our central midfielders and full backs (particularly Davis) that might bring success but I won’t share too much! As for our press, we made one mistake against Southampton which resulted in conceding in the 80th minute, so when we take a risk that might present you an opportunity if the ball is moved quickly.

How you feeling about Saturday? Will you do it?

PH: Terrified! As much as anyone can be, I’m confident we will do what’s required on Saturday. We’ve had two similar afternoons previously, beating Exeter 6-0 to secure promotion from League One and then Huddersfield 2-0 to confirm going up two years ago. Although the squad has changed a fair bit, there are still players there who have done it before, which I think will be beneficial. The team will go into the match full of confidence after the draw at Southampton. The result may not have been quite what we were after, but the performance was as good as any this season. And the Portman Road crowd will play their part, as they did against Exeter and Huddersfield. Whether a QPR side with nothing left to play for might be able to spoil the party, you’d know better than me.

AT: I’m trying to not think about it after the Southampton game. How we did not score in the last five minutes, I’ll never know. I hope we do it to meet the expectation set by our recent rise but will miss the madness of the Championship if we do. Hopefully it won’t be a stressful as it was for York, the city where I now live. A comfortable 4-0, scoring three in the first 20 minutes would be nice, but it obviously won’t happen like that, especially against the side who contributed to the “Aguero” moment, even if the context for you is slightly different.

Links >>> Ipswich Town Official Website >>> Ipswich Star – Local Press >>> East Anglian Daily Times – Local Press >>> TWTD – Blog and Forum >>> Talking Town – Podcast

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