IPSWICH TOWN PREPARE FOR FIRST SEASON IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE IN TWO DECADES, FACE LIVERPOOL ON OPENING WEEKEND
Newly promoted side Ipswich Town are in the thick of preparation this summer for the new Premier League season as the Tractor Boys anticipate playing in their most exciting domestic season in nearly a quarter of a century.
Town found out on Tuesday that they would be opening up the new season against last season’s title contenders Liverpool at home in the first of five tough fixtures for the Suffolk-based club. Ipswich have the third-toughest start to the season in the league as they quickly follow their match against Liverpool at Portman Road with a trip to the Etihad to face the defending champions, Manchester City in Game Week 2.
The team will then host Fulham in Game Week 3 before making consecutive trips to Brighton and Southampton in Game Weeks 4 and 5.
Town are relishing the challenge of tougher competition, however, and the club believes it has a good foundation for success in the new season and in the seasons thereafter. Ipswich signed their highly-sought after manager Kieran McKenna to a four-year contract extension late last month in what the club believes was a pivotal move to keeping their double-promoted outfit on their current upward trajectory.
McKenna told Sky Sports this week that as much as they’re aware of the great core of players and personnel the club currently has, they still need to recruit and improve in every aspect if they’re going to achieve sustained success.
“We know we’ve done some amazing work at the football over the last couple of years,” said the former Manchester United First-team Coach. “And we’ve had a really consistent group that has come up now through two divisions. We have to carry the best elements of what we’ve done over the last couple of years but we also know we need to improve in every department.”
“Of course, recruitment is one of those and the club is working really hard to add to the squad, to give the group of players who have been with us more help and we’re going to need that. It’s been a busy summer. It continues to be a busy summer. We’re going to have to work really hard and the club are working hard in every department.”
Town Chief Executive Officer Mark Ashton said the club’s approach to overall improvement ahead of the new season is more than just recruitment as the club is also working on upgrading the stadium and training ground infrastructure. “Recruitment is just part of it [the work],” said the former Bristol City CEO. “Both on and off the pitch there’s an incredible amount of work to do to get the stadium ready, the training ground ready, the upgrades ready for the Premier League.”
“And then on the pitch, obviously, it’s a busy summer ahead. Kieran [McKenna] and I are working together tirelessly on player recruitment and making sure we can be the best version of ourselves. So, it’s incredibly busy, and [with] the challenges, we have to be ready.”
Ipswich Town will most likely be an underdog in most of the games the team will play this season. They’ll have a tough run in the early goings but also in the middle and tail end of the schedule as well. The Blues play last season’s runners up, Arsenal, away at the Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day, only three days after hosting defending FA Cup champions Manchester United, and close out the season by hosting Europa Conference League champions from two years ago, West Ham United at Portman Road in Game Week 38.
Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna is aware of the uphill battle the club will face once the season starts and said they will attack the new challenge like they did last year and the previous season when they earned promotion in consecutive campaigns.
“It’s going to be about building on the foundations that we’ve had in place over the last couple of years but we know we’re going to have to a different level on all departments, really,” said McKenna. “…Everyone, now, is just looking forward to the [new] season ahead and the challenges that we have ahead and we’ll try and attack them in the way that we’ve attacked the last couple of years…”
“It’s about looking forward. It’s about building on what we’ve done here over the last few years at this wonderful football club that I’m so, so proud to manage. A football club which took a, you can say a chance, I guess, by giving me the opportunity [to coach the team] at 35 years old. I think we’ve had a fantastic couple of years together and now it’s about looking forward to a historic and memorable season that we have ahead and putting our best foot forward. I know we’re going to give a really good account of ourselves.”
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Xaneph. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.