Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town are in the automatic promotion picture as we enter the closing stages of the 2023/24 Championship campaign and Saturday’s 6-0 victory over relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday is an indicator that the Tractor Boys really mean business.
With three points on Saturday, McKenna’s team moves up to third place in the league with 81 points, one point behind leaders Leeds United and Leicester City. However, the Foxes still have a game in hand over both teams.
| Championship Table (As it stands March 18th) | ||||
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Leeds United | 38 | 42 | 82 |
| 2 | Leicester City | 37 | 41 | 82 |
| 3 | Ipswich Town | 38 | 31 | 81 |
| 4 | Southampton | 36 | 26 | 73 |
| 5 | West Brom | 38 | 23 | 66 |
| 6 | Norwich City | 38 | 15 | 61 |
| 7 | Hull City | 37 | 7 | 58 |
| 8 | Coventry City | 37 | 16 | 57 |
Town had a difficult run of results in January, winning just one league game. However, McKenna and company have since turned things around, winning seven of their last ten Championship games and only losing two.
The impact of the Tractor Boys’ January acquisitions has been crucial to their comeback, as former Cardiff City forward Kieffer Moore, who joined on loan from Premier League team Bournemouth, has scored six goals in his first ten games.
Ali Al-Hamadi, a January addition who came to the Tractor Boys permanently from League Two AFC Wimbledon, has also shown himself to be a valuable addition at Portman Road.
Al-Hamadi’s contribution off the bench might prove crucial.
The goal for the Portman Road team at the end of the season must still be automatic promotion considering the successful season they have had thus far, notwithstanding the calibre of Leeds and Leicester.
Though automatic promotion is still an option, McKenna’s team in Suffolk needs to make the most of this chance. Of course, promotion through the play-offs is still a possibility.
The club would receive riches that would have seemed unattainable at this point in the previous League One season if they were promoted to the Premier League. It’s usually believed that winning the Championship is worth more than £100 million.
However, if McKenna’s team can continue to play at this level and hope that the Foxes or Whites slip up along the line, they will only be eight games away from the Premier League.
Despite never being included in McKenna’s starting eleven, Al-Hamadi has scored four goals in nine Championship matches since his arrival in January.
Given his early effect at Portman Road, Ipswich’s £1 million signing of the Iraq international currently looks like a steal.
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