Kieran McKenna doesn’t expect things to go smoothly on the final day of the Championship season after Ipswich moved a step closer to returning to the Premier League following victory at Coventry.
Kieffer Moore’s early goal was canceled out by Haji Wright’s second-half equalizer for the Sky Blues, but Cameron Burgess put the visitors back in front minutes later and put Town on the brink of promotion.
The win means a draw against near-relegated Huddersfield will secure Ipswich’s return to the top flight for the first time since 2002.
Ipswich could become just the fourth team to win successive promotion from the third tier to the Premier League since 1992, joining Watford, rivals Norwich and Southampton.
McKenna said: “I have confidence in them and a lot of confidence in what we have done, the consistency we have shown, how we prepare for games, how we concentrate during games and how we express our identity . “On the pitch we have a great chance of winning games.
“I have a lot of confidence but it’s a football game, two teams in the same league, one of them was in a lower league the season before.
“Anything can happen, I don’t expect it to go smoothly. There will certainly be tension in the game, just like there is when you’re fighting for things, but it’s about doing enough of the right things to help. “We’re keeping track.”
“We had to show a number of qualities to achieve victory”
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Massimo Luongo and Kieffer Moore reflect on a challenging game against Coventry as they inch ever closer to promotion to the Premier League.
Burgess’s 69th-minute winner gave Ipswich three points clear of third-placed Leeds, who host Southampton on Saturday.
McKenna added: “It’s fair to say it was a game with ups and downs. We had periods where we played really well and were a big threat, periods where we defended well and periods where we put too much pressure on ourselves.”
“We probably embraced the state of the game, held on to a lead and probably held on to a result.
“We have shown great resilience. I thought we had a chance to win the game, we had a chance to decide the game, we had the better chances, we should have gotten a penalty too.”
“It was really hard-fought playing against a good team without too much pressure and we had to show a wide range of qualities to get a win which was really sweet.”
Robins’ praise for McKenna and Ipswich
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Haji Wright scores the equalizer against Ipswich.
In the meantime, Coventry Manager Mark Robins was quick to praise the performances of McKenna and Ipswich as his Sky Blues side suffered their fourth defeat in five league games.
He said: “Garbage result, the performance was fine. It was a bit flat at times. We attacked pretty well against a really good team.”
“But first of all, congratulations to them because they’re almost there; the price is almost there for them.”
“From our perspective we conceded a really poor goal while trying to integrate into the game and that was really the story of our season – we conceded too many goals, quite a few goals. We’re on the defensive” and give us a mountain to climb.
“We have to address that because if you concede too many goals you can’t win.”
What’s next for Coventry and Ipswich?
Both teams finish the Sky Bet Championship regular season on Saturday May 4th at 12:30pm.
Coventry host QPR at the Coventry Building Society Arena, during Ipswich Face Huddersfield on Portman Road.
The games on the final day of the championship will be announced live on Sky
Sky Sports will show decisive promotion and relegation games on the last day of the championship.
Leicester have already been crowned champions, but the automatic promotion and relegation places have yet to be decided.
Championship games live on Sky:
Here are the games that are currently confirmed to be broadcast live Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports Football Red Button and that Sky Sports app…
Saturday May 4th:
- Ipswich v Huddersfield12.30 p.m. – Live on Sky Sports and the Sky Sports app
- Leeds vs Southampton12.30 p.m. – Live on Sky Sports and the Sky Sports app
- Birmingham City vs Norwich12.30 p.m. – Live on Sky Sports and the Sky Sports app
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