Blues boss Kieran McKenna has spoken about the interest in him from other Premier League clubs during the summer and says it was by no means the first time other sides had come knocking since he was at Town.
Earlier this week, chairman and CEO Mark Ashton said he had no qualms about allowing McKenna to speak to other clubs - Brighton, Chelsea and this Sunday’s opponents Manchester United - following the completion of the 2023/24 campaign in which the Northern Irishman steered the Blues to promotion from the Championship and back into the Premier League for the first time in 22 years, believing that the 38-year-old would opt to stay at Town, as it transpired he did, signing a new contract until the summer of 2028.
Quizzed on how he found that period of the summer at this lunchtime’s press conference, McKenna said: "I think that’s been a fairly frequent occurrence since I’ve been at Ipswich in the last three years, to be honest.
"In the summer, it was really, really public but in between every season that I’ve been here I’ve had opportunities to leave to go to a club who are higher up in the table.
"I had opportunities last season when we were in the Championship to go to Premier League clubs which were in a much, much better position that we were at that time [Crystal Palace showed interest in February]. And there were opportunities and interest in the summer to leave. For me, it’s been a fairly regular occurrence.
"I think if you’re a manager who’s winning games and doing well and certainly if you’re a young manager who has had a really good impact in their first job as a manager, and I’d like to think hopefully a good impact in their previous roles as assistant managers or coaches in academy, then there’s always going to be interest when you’re team’s doing well.
"At the same time, I know that the narrative in football can change so, so, so quickly and when you’re not doing well things can change and the narrative around you will change really, really quickly.
"I’d like to think I’ve managed to stay really, really level in those circumstances, I’ve always had good communication with the club in those circumstances, my relationship with Mark and communication in those instances has always been really, really honest, really, really clear.
"That was the case in the summer, as Mark spoke about, there was nothing done underhand. We had some good, honest conversations and it was my decision that I reached that with input from Mark and other members of the ownership at the club and other people around the club, it was my decision that the thing that would be most meaningful for me this year, where I think I could have a really big impact was trying to bring this club back to the Premier League and help us to try and have a successful year.
"Of course, when it comes at the end of the season, there’s a little bit more time and you have to think about things, that’s right for yourself, but as a manager, if you’re doing well, there’s always going to be interest and we’ve done really, really well over the last couple of years and it’s been pretty constant and I’d like to think that I’ve shown a pretty consistent base of loyalty to staying here and a desire to take this project as far as I can.
"It’s a project I believed in when I came here, the club were good enough to give me that responsibility to lead that project and I want to take it as far as I possibly can and we don’t feel we’ve reached our full capacity yet by any means.”
Asked earlier how he felt about the interest from United, where he had been an academy coach and then on the first-team staff prior to joining the Blues in December 2021, he said: "Look, in terms of any individual cases, I don't think it does anyone any favours to speak about any individual clubs or situations in retrospect, in specifics.
"What is well known is that there was interest and there were offers from other clubs this summer, from some really good football clubs, and, of course, things that needed to be considered.
"But as I said previously, pretty quickly after we secured the promotion and had had some conversations with the club, my heart and my focus was on staying at the club and being the one to take us into the Premier League this year, taking all the challenges that we were going to have coming up as a newly promoted team, having achieved double promotions, and what that would bring this season.
"My heart and my decision was to stay with the club and fully focus and commit to try and help us have a successful year in the Premier League.
"I'm happy with that decision. This season is as challenging as I thought it would be, but it's also given us some great moments some great pride and some great learning, and I'm really happy with where I'm at.”