Ipswich Town’s relegation from the Premier League appeared inevitable as they prepared for a crucial match against Newcastle United. Despite a season filled with challenges, manager Kieran McKenna expressed optimism about the future and the lessons learned throughout the campaign. McKenna and his staff planned to conduct a comprehensive review at the end of May to assess what worked and what didn’t during the season.
Kieran McKenna said, “There’s a whole list of things. But there’s plenty of time for that in the summer, the season is still strong. Of course, we’ve been reflecting and having discussions as we’ve gone along. Most of those reflections will stay in-house, to be honest, because I think it’s the right way, but I think it’s fair to say that most of them are regarding the unique challenge that we came into this year. As a football club, from the manager to every staff member to the board here, we will all have learned an awful lot about that scenario. I still have a lot of pride and belief in how we’ve tried to tackle that challenge.”
Ipswich Town’s struggles were highlighted by their inability to maintain leads, dropping 27 points from winning positions, a figure higher than several other clubs facing relegation. McKenna acknowledged this as a significant area of disappointment but remained focused on the positives and the club’s future prospects.
McKenna continued, “If you look at first-half records in games, we’re nowhere near the relegation zone. We’re ahead of some pretty big football clubs. That isn’t something that I’m going to enjoy too much in the summer as an afterthought, but it confirms, I believe, what I already know. There’s a lot of good work going on here in terms of how we train, how we prepare for games, how the players have approached the games, how we’ve performed in some of the games and for spells of some of the games.”
Despite the setbacks, McKenna expressed confidence in the club’s ability to bounce back and build on the experiences gained this season. He emphasized the importance of learning from the challenges faced and using those insights to strengthen the team moving forward.
McKenna added, “The biggest one, again, is the scale of the challenge of the jump we’ve had. That ties to a whole load of different smaller areas. The fact that we haven’t been able to hold on is a source of great disappointment. With some things, I don’t think there’s anything we could have done differently. With some things, we’ll try to learn and improve from.”
As Ipswich Town prepared for their final match of the season, the focus remained on the future and the potential for growth and improvement. The club aimed to use the lessons learned to ensure a stronger performance in the next campaign.
**Tags:** Ipswich Town-Club, 2024-2025-Season, Relegation, ManagerInsight, PlayerPerformance
