Town boss Kieran McKenna admitted that it’s now “more than likely” that the Blues will be playing Championship football next season following their 2-1 home defeat to relegation rivals Wolves.

The Old Gold, who came from a goal down at half-time to secure the three points, are now 12 points plus a significantly better goal difference ahead of the Blues with only seven games left to play.

Town had looked on course to win back-to-back Premier League fixtures for the first time this season after Liam Delap gave them the lead on 16 but the visitors were well on top in the second half and bagged the points via goals from sub Pablo Sarabia on 72 and Jorgen Strand Larsen 12 minutes later.

Asked what he put the second half turnaround down to, McKenna said: “I think it was a really competitive first half, the players gave absolutely everything to the game, to the first half and to the second half.

“At 1-0 up, Wolves are a good team, so if you don’t manage to go and get a second goal then they’re going to put some pressure on.

“They put some pressure on, we probably weren’t able to maintain our energy levels that we had in the first half, which was fairly to be expected after the effort that the players put into the game on Wednesday night and some of the physical challenges that we have in the squad at the moment.

“So we weren’t quite able to maintain our energy levels. Wolves had a strong period probably from half-time to about 60 minutes but I thought we had seen that off and steadied a little bit and we had some set plays and some little opportunities, probably between 60 and 70 minutes, but we weren’t able to go and get the second goal.

“And then the goal goes their way and that changes the game. You can say it’s maybe a slightly fortuitous goal. We were all back, we were defending, we blocked the first shot and it popped up to Sarabia’s foot and he bobbles it into the corner.

“You can say it’s another goal from a Spanish international, who’s come from PSG, who has come off the bench fresh and managed to find the big moment to pull Wolves back into the game.

“At that point, it felt like they had all the energy and confidence on the pitch and we weren’t able to quite find the response and we weren’t able to do enough to get the result.”

McKenna named an unchanged team for the first time this season, despite the 2-1 win at Bournemouth having been only three days ago.

“Of course, that was a consideration,” he said. “But all things considered, as we do every week, consider everything that goes into it, the players were keen to go again.

“We came through [Wednesday] despite some fatigue but without any fresh injury issues and I think the set-up was well-suited for the challenges that Wolves were going to bring.

“So we thought it was the right thing to go with and I think we competed really well in the first half, just weren’t able to quite do enough to get the win.”

Quizzed on his quadruple substitution at 1-1 and whether it was throwing caution to the wind, the Blues manager responded: “I don’t think it was caution to the wind because nothing changed really in our shape or anything like that. Conor Townsend had a hamstring issue, so he had to come off.

“We wanted to get Jaden [Philogene], Conor [Chaplin] and Hirsty [George Hirst] as fresh attacking players on the pitch. We didn’t feel that we could do it too early because Wolves were a threat throughout the game and in the second half they were a really, really big team, so set plays were a big issue.

“I think we came to the 80th minute and today we knew a draw almost definitely wasn’t going to be a result we would have been happy with and we wanted to go with everything to get the win, but we weren’t able to turn the momentum round whenever they got it and with the first goal.”

It was put to McKenna it was difficult to match Joao Gomes, who was outstanding in the Wolves midfield.

“That’s the story of the season, that’s the strength of the league,” the Northern Irishman reflected. “You’ve got Gomes and Andre and [Matheus] Cunha when he’s fit, I think that’s there or thereabouts Brazil’s first-choice two centre-mids and number 10, maybe with [Newcastle’s Bruno] Guimaraes in competition for that as well.

“They’re a top team, they’re one place above us, but they’re a really, really strong team, who have been in the Premier League for a long time and have all the benefits that that accrues you.

“So it’s a big challenge to compete with them on any given day and we’ve done well to do that today and when we played them earlier in the season, but it’s a big challenge to try and compete with any of the teams above us in the league across 38 games.”

McKenna concedes the Blues are barring a miracle set for a return to the Championship next season.

“I think it’s certainly more than likely from the balance of probabilities,” he said. “Not that I don’t think that we can finish the season strongly and win quite a few of our games, but Wolves are a really strong side, as they showed today, and the chances of them losing all their games, for one, is really, really low.

“The likelihood is that we’re going to fall short of our ultimate dream at the end of the season.

“There will be plenty of time to talk about that and analyse that and reflect on the positives and the negatives throughout the course of the season, but for now I don’t see too much changing in the next seven games.

“We knew coming into this nine-game block that the balance of probabilities was really small but we committed as a group that we have to show the right values, show full commitment and try and deliver nine strong performances and get as many points as we can, and I think that will still be the objective when we go to our next training session.

“We also have Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, we have Arsenal here, after that we have Newcastle at St James’ Park, we have Everton after that, one of the last games at Goodison Park, we have some fantastic fixtures coming up for a club who haven’t been in the Premier League for 22 years.

“I know today is a big setback and it hurts but I also know that the players, supporters, everyone are going to muster up the energy to compete as well as we can in the last few games and try and finish the season as well as we can.”

Home form was a keystone of the Blues’ back-to-back promotions from League One and the Championship but this season only one of their four Premier League wins has come at Portman Road.

“I think different reasons,” McKenna said when asked why he thought that might have been the case. “I don’t think today was massively about that, to be honest, because the second half felt a little bit more like an away half.

“You can probably look at different games across the course of the season. We started our home games really, really well, Liverpool, Fulham, Aston Villa, we started really well in our home games.

“Then we had a few where we came up short in terms of being able to break teams down, the likes of maybe the Crystal Palace game or some other games in which we weren’t able to score enough goals.

“We’ve had a few where we’ve had some really energetic, high energy games but the other team have punished us more with quality, and today a really spirited, committed performance but it just hasn’t been enough to win.

“We’re talking about pretty small sample sizes, I’ve said that before. It’s pretty strange for us not to have more wins at home than away. I think across some of the games there are maybe one or two things we could do differently, but you’re talking about a small sample, tiny margins that have gone our way away from home that haven’t gone our way at home.

“I don’t think there’s always one outstanding reason and I think if there was we would have found it already and sorted it.”

TWTD

carlgibbs13 added 23:12 - Apr 5 The only way K McK will keep the fans next season is if he beats Norwich twice. If not, he’ll lose the fans and his job.
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Leejames99 added 23:50 - Apr 5 Why is everyone adamant to keep Mckenna, 2 promotions 1 relegation in horrendous fashion, couldn't even get teamed revved up today, a must-wing game and says they are a bit tired there's no doubt about it and there is then fine margins. I'm afraid you don't win many Prem games with a team who more than have were playing Burton Albion just because they been on the journey, well that journey finished now, time to get a Prem manager in with pedigree. Do you think Wrexham will keep Phil Parkinson for Prem, I doubt it although at least he makes the right choices, dropped Mullins etc. It's been good journey but its phase 2 now with our top Championship players and some new talent to gel to try and get back up.

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grinch added 07:34 - Apr 6 MK should be sacked...he was clueless again today and through out second half of season each manager has changed there tatics to beat us abd MK has no answer. Sack him now to ensure we start season with a msnager that can lead a team that they want. Any other profession he eiuld go as totally under performed this season buck stops with him sorry to say
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Granthamblue62 added 07:54 - Apr 6 It's hard to stomach a gutless 2nd half performance in a must win game. I've no complaints about relegation. We have been out of our depth all season, sometimes embarrasingly so! Some factors have not helped the cause. Two poor recruitment windows, sticking with the dreadful Muric, injuries and naive managerial tactics. The journey has been amazing, but the reality of getting spanked week in, week out has not been fun! I have a 45 year plus relationship with this club, mostly painful, but will keep believing.

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poet added 08:51 - Apr 6 There’s many an old ‘dyed in the wool’ dinosaur waiting in the wings eager to inflict his tired and outdated excuse for football upon you, with his only ambition bring to put his sticky fingers on his next big pay-off. McKenna has made some mistakes, but he’s a young enthusiastic, honest, conscientious manager with talent. He’s proven that by winning promotion from division one and consecutive promotion in the Championship to the Premier League. That takes talent. He’s no doubt learnt a lot from failing to keep us in the Premier League. He hasn’t been lucky, injuries, a fixture list that looked designed for failure, and some very debatable officialdom has hampered him. I sincerely hope he stays, he’ll get us back, and next time, we’ll stay there.

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Rootshall91 added 08:55 - Apr 6 I don’t often post on here but as a town fan of 50 years I feel that we need to keep some perspective on things. Obviously it’s a massive disappointment that we are almost certainly going to be relegated this season. I think that McKenna and Ashton did the right thing in recruiting heavily. The signings haven’t prevented us from being relegated but they gave us a fighting chance of staying up and will put us in a good position to try and bounce back next season. I believe that our biggest problem has been that the players have suffered from an inferiority complex - this is demonstrated by our habit of getting our noses in front in games but then conspiring to throw points away. Maybe a couple of more experienced PL performers in the team would have helped but they’d have been difficult to recruit and their wages may have been prohibitive? Three last quick points. Firstly, the last time we were relegated from the PL it resulted in us going into administration. The strength of our club is so much more secure this time round and we should all be grateful for it. Secondly, McKenna has been exceptional since he joined us in almost every regard. He is a decent man who I believe Sir Bobby Robson would approve of. Yes he has made mistakes but he will learn from them. Finally, I am ashamed at the way some supporters have treated Muric and Philogene this season. These guys are human beings - they are undoubtedly talented but struggling for form and confidence. The way some have reacted has been cruel and counterproductive. Real fans back the players through thick and thin.

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d77sgw added 09:03 - Apr 6 RootsHall - most sensible comment on this thread
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 10:31 - Apr 6 I think the realists among us knew it was all over well before the Wolves game. Even if we had won, it would still almost certainly have been several steps too far to close the gap. McK knows this too, and he was, as always, calm and objective in his post-match comments: Wherever we are in the table, we must try to play our best and get results. The team owe this to the supporters and to the other teams in the league, and I'm sure we will do as McK says. Let's enjoy the remaining matches with the pressure now off from the supporters' point of view at least. We are in such a better place now than when McK joined us, and I, like many others, am optimistic we will have a good season next time round given the foundations we have built. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and some like to criticise the manager and certain players, albeit no doubt in the desire for improvement. Personally, I think the team and the manager have given their all and have simply fallen a bit short in the face of very difficult odds. The reaction at the end of the match wasn't really negative generally, although I'll never understand fans leaving with 7 minutes of extra time still to play. This seems to happen at other stadiums too, and ours is certainly not the most "toxic," but what about showing a bit of solidarity with the team, win or lose?

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WoodfordTim added 10:54 - Apr 6 Pity, but what a wonderful ride we have all been on! On 2/4/2022 we lost one nil at home to Cambridge then on the 9th April got a 1-1 draw at Shrewsbury. 3 years on we are competing against some of the best clubs and players in the world. World class players in a lot of cases. And in most games we have been unfortunate to only get a draw or lose it through quite small margins. But that is what world class players can do to you with a moment of brilliance. Let's get over it and get behind the team to take the Championship by storm. Confident that we will. What a ride!

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SpiritOfJohn added 11:51 - Apr 6 Yesterday's game demonstrated the gulf between us and survival in the Premier League. Wolves looked at least as good as Forest, and Gomes was outstanding. Fair enough, they had better players, but what has happened to our energy levels? When Taylor came on he should have been simply told to man mark Gomes. Our midfield players were too deep, and we invited pressure with our horrific attempts to play out from the back. Our aim now has to be to finish above Leicester and the Saints, who will be our main rivals next season.

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Ipswichbusiness added 13:22 - Apr 6 Relegation is upon us for two reasons. 1) Our dire home form, 2) our failure to beat the teams around us. No-one expected us to be thrashing Liverpool or Man City, but we should have been able to beat Southampton home and away. Basically, we weren’t good enough. Recruitment is difficult because proven PL players won’t want to a newly promoted club due to the high chance of relegation (the ones who do will be too old, too injured, etc). Therefore it made perfect sense to sign high quality young talent from the Championship. As for the theory that just because someone played for us in League One they are incapable of doing a job for us higher up, that is just daft; players can improve through good coaching. I very much hope that KMc stays. We should be a good bet for promotion next year as we will have the squad and the parachute money.

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Gforce added 14:22 - Apr 6 Just walked past our Keiran, enjoying a meal with his family & friends outside the Salthouse hotel.Looked like his family are over from Ireland . Hopefully planning our promotion push for next season and enjoying the sunshine & views!!
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bluebullet29l added 15:15 - Apr 6 At the end of the day KM is to blame for a lot of questionable team decisions and the buck stops with him. It's not more than likely we will go down it's a nailed on certainty. Km has failed plain and simple.
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barrystedmunds added 15:31 - Apr 6 It’s good to see and read measured and astute observations (with the exception of the usual suspects!!!) on here concerning the season and the bigger picture. We all knew this was going to be a particularly hard and challenging season and for me the games won statistic, especially at home, has been the major disappointment. But the support has been amazing both home and away and the footballing philosophy has been maintained. The building continues COYBs

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benslifeyt added 16:06 - Apr 6 Leejames99 sounds like biggest armchair fan going. Go touch some grass
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Tedray added 17:18 - Apr 6 Many have pointed out the managers alledged failures, mainly relating to recruitment and match tactics.His image now appears tarnished but he may still have a bit of credit in the bank.Some clubs must look at Ipswich and cannot believe that with only one home win to date that he is still in post we must be a tolerant lot here in Suffolk.However It is a ruthless game and those with the power have a duty to the club to examine who else might be available to us in a bid to once again obtain promotion and more importantly have the capacity to keep us there.

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grubbyoik added 19:04 - Apr 6 Whilst we all hate losing.. 3 teams were going to get relegated and we gave it our best effort.. the manager bought players he thought would give us the best chance of competing in this division. Due to our meteoric rise there was a very big chance we would be relegated.. but we have bought you hungry quality players, who will gi e us every chance of competing next season...can live with that... because I ve watched Mcathy,Lambert football at it sucked.. really sucked.

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Leejames99 added 01:11 - Apr 7 @benefitslifeyt So again you do not have to read my post and then be abusive, I go to the games thankyou and sometimes watch from an armchair at home, where do you sit to watch games shown on the TV? If you haven't got a polite, educated, informed comment then what's your point and as for touching grass I don't touch things like that but if your @benefitslifeyt I guess you do, each to their own pal! @Ipswichbusiness yes 2 or 3 can make step up from league 1 not an entire team!

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Dogsy40 added 05:28 - Apr 7 I think it just proves it is becoming near on impossible for clubs coming up to create a squad capable of playing and staying up. Its odd how exciting fans are when their clubs are promoted but the reality of it is despite the cash injection we are really setting ourselves up for a tough year! I hope we play well next season in the champ as clubs have shown the 2nd time around promotion and learnings from previous years staying up is more feasible.

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buryblue77 added 08:59 - Apr 7 I don't comment very often but Leejames99 - 1 relegation in horrendous fashion? We're best placed out of the 3 promoted sides and 2 years ago we were in league 1. On fact, it was just a couple of months over 2 years that some of us had started to write of automatic promotion from league 1 and were settling for play offs! I wouldn't call this horrendous. We're a championship side, and a young side at that trying to compete on the toughest league in the world. I will admit there are times when especially the likes of Morsy have looked out of place in the premier league and given away points, and Davis is a liability defensively and has given away points, but even the points lost from stupid errors now doesn't close the gap. I think we keep McKenna, I'm confident he'll do well again next year and this team can build back up again even bigger and better.

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Lightningboy added 10:22 - Apr 7 If McKenna wants to keep the fans on his side (win a few back) then he needs to make sure that we know he is 100% committed to Ipswich Town FC & not dithering around being linked with other jobs at the end of the season (like last May)...that's what lost me with him a little last year.
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Alphawhiskey added 10:31 - Apr 7 Although it is disappointing, most of us expected it lets be honest here. Even the 'lower' ranked Prem teams are far superior to us and the two other promoted teams Wolves, Everton, West Ham, Brentford, Bournemouth, Palace etc are streaks ahead of us. The current gap of 22 points between Southampton and Wolves is crazy, yet only three places separate them. Put that 22 points gap in the Championship from the current bottom club (Plymouth) who are 24th and on 37 pts and it would take you right up to 7th place! (Coventry) on 59 pts. Its not that Us, Leicester and the Saints are poor, its the fact that everyone else is miles ahead of us in quality etc etc. If Leeds, Burnley and Sheffield utd go up, can you see any of them staying up? Even Wolves will be even stronger next season. The premier league is a joke and needs fixing. And don't get me started on VAR! Why did it take so long to do two fairly simple offside checks for the goals? I'm sure we will be favourites to go back up and if we do? The fiasco starts all over again. As of right now, the Premier league can Fudge right off!! COYB

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FabianMalyon added 12:09 - Apr 7 Agree with all the posts here saying that purchasing young players was all about the future, not this season. It was a free hit this year to learn (both for players and manager). If we can keep hold of the best of them, they'll learn even more with a season in the Champ and come back stronger. Using the Premier League money to build a squad for the next 5 years was good business. Yes, we'll lose Delap but so be it. As long as we throw Muric in for free then that's all good. Smodzic is more than good enough to lead the line next season.

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benslifeyt added 18:26 - Apr 7 @leejames99 It wasn’t abuse what I said . I sit cob block b upper every home game .. I just see you comment so much on multiple story’s on here …. Just go outside and enjoy life a bit mate … you always seem to moan The season has been underwhelming we all know that we are out of depth …. McKenna has enough in the bank to get us up again and trust from us . If you put pep or klopp or slot in charge the golf in quality in our squad is too much and any prem team walks through us. McKenna doesn’t make subs at the right times imo. But let’s not forget this is his first ever season in prem and he’s up against managers who are used to being at the very top. Just use some common sense also think Townsend is a better defender than leif. But in championship Leif is a monster there . And on your love affair with muric . He’s a brilliant shot stopper , but that’s it …. He doesn’t do everything else as a goal keeper should . Palmer is a better all rounder . He will make mistakes but not as frequently so all round he’s better keeper . I’ve said my bit now I’ll shh and go walk dog touch some grass haha

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