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McKenna: Proud Night Individually and For Everyone at the Club - Ipswich Town News

Town boss Kieran McKenna says last night’s EFL Awards, where he was named Manager of the Season and the Blues picked up a number of other gongs, was a proud moment for the club.

In addition to McKenna winning his award, Leif Davis was named in the Championship Team of the Season, having been included in the League One select XI last year.

Wes Burns’s brilliant trivela strike was named the EFL Goal of the Season, while former Town skipper Luke Chambers was handed the Sir Tom Finney Award for his contribution to the EFL.

"It’s a night to be proud, individually, for my family and for everyone at the football club,” McKenna told TownTV after receiving his award.

"I am fortunate to have the unconditional support of my wife through everything I’ve been through as a coach and now a manager, and my children as well as my parents, brothers and sister and everyone in the family.

"It’s a proud moment. There are a lot of sacrifices to be in this profession and for myself I don’t pause to think about moments like this, but when you get the opportunity it’s hopefully a proud moment for so many people I want to thank.

"Winning Manager of the Season reflects a team who have done fantastically well on the pitch, which in turn reflects the hard work of so many people at the club and the impact of the supporters as well.

"Hopefully it’s a proud night for everyone, even though we know we’re still in the season with important games still to go.”

Regarding Davis and Burns’s awards, he added: "For Leif to be in the Team of the Season is very good after a strong season for him and for Wes to get the recognition after the fantastic goal he scored was nice,. 

"There have been so many excellent individuals for us this season but we know we are very much a team with everything the boys do going towards the team. 

"But that doesn’t take away from there being outstanding individual performances in there, week in and week out. It’s important to recognise that as well. 

"We’re not stopping and not looking backwards at any interval, really, because we know at the end of the season there’s a big, big prize at stake which we will fight for with everything we’ve got. 

"At the end of the season we’ll be sitting here with a team who have broken a few records, not just for the club but for the league as well, and put in a lot of work which will hopefully make a lot of people really proud. 

"But for now the focus is on putting in the work to make sure we finish this off as well as we can.” 

Regarding Chambers, he continued: "It’s an incredible achievement and it was nice to sit beside him and his father this evening. 

"If you look at the contributions and the games played, and the impact on the wider EFL of those who have won that award, he deserves real credit for the dedication he showed over a long career and the commitment he gave to the club.” 

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