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McKenna: FFP Limits Promoted Clubs' Ambition - Ipswich Town News

Blues boss Kieran McKenna believes owners being able to put greater equity into clubs without falling foul of Financial Fair Play rules would be a step towards bridging the increasing gap between the Championship and Premier League.

The last six sides promoted from the second tier into the top flight, including Town, have all been relegated in their first season with the gap between 17th and 18th this season standing at 13 points going into the final match.

Asked what he feels could be done to reduce what’s now a chasm between the two divisions, McKenna said: "I think there are probably people in better positions in terms of knowing all the financial models and Financial Fair Play aspect.

"But if you want my uneducated opinion, having experienced it this year, I do think that a newly promoted team, especially one in our position having by far the lowest Financial Fair Play threshold, it’s limiting to the level of the competition. That would be my one opinion on it.

"I think if a club comes up from the Championship, and certainly a club comes up from the Championship without parachute payments and the owners want to put equity into the football club to try and bridge the huge financial gap that there is between the Championship and the Premier League, then I don’t think there should be a limit on that ambition.

"How that equates going back down and parachute payments is a really complicated issue complicated issue. But if you ask what could be done, that would be my opinion. I won’t speak for [chairman and CEO] Mark [Ashton] on that as he might have a different opinion.

"But I even thought that in the Championship. I think if the owners want to put equity into a club, as long as they are not loading debt onto a football club, if they want to put their own money in to level with the ambition that they have for the club, that should be allowed and without limits. I know there are discussions around it.

"Maybe my answer was more eloquent than the thoughts in my head because I haven’t given it that much thought, but if you ask me my opinion on parachute payments and Financial Fair Play, I know how frustrating it can be for Championship clubs seeing teams come down from the Premier League.

"But I also understand that to have any level of ambition, you need to have a level of protection going down from the Premier League to the Championship.

"It’s only my reflections and thoughts from a manager’s perspective and knowing how ambitious our owners want to be.

"There are people that are more informed than me and I am sure Mark will give his feedback to the Premier League, both for the football club and for the benefit of the game.”

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