Town manager Kieran McKenna says the backing his team continues to receive from fans is something which is “much appreciated and not quickly forgotten”.

When some squads might be in disarray after a tough season and with relegation a near certainty - with mathematical confirmation perhaps coming as soon as Sunday’s home game against Arsenal - the mood among the players has remained upbeat and united.

And the Town support has remained firming behind the players, as was illustrated at the final whistle at Chelsea last Sunday.

“That’s fantastic and, as I’ve said before, it’s much appreciated and not quickly forgotten,” McKenna said.

“But also, to a certain extent, you can’t say you expect it because you can’t take anything for granted by any means.

“But the players being positive and looking forward, they shouldn’t be anything else. Of course, we’re disappointed, but to say ‘clubs in this position’, clubs in this position are teams who have had two promotions in two years from the middle of League One to the Premier League. There is no comparison in modern football times, and say modern in terms of the last few years and the scale that the Premier League’s gone to.

“We have to keep earning that support, we have to earn it in the same way that we did against Chelsea last weekend with absolute full commitment and pride in the performance.

“And if we do that, those involved will keep their heads high and the supporters, I believe, will stay behind the team.

“We don’t take it for granted, we want to keep earning it each and every day, each and every weekend and we hope to do that again this weekend.”

TWTD

Leejames99 added 16:49 - Apr 18 Luton Town comparison, Wrexham comparison blah blah excuses, just talk like you won a competition to have a kick about at all the prem stadiums and you and your lads have had a nice time. Used to be good pre match post match now it's just same robotic answers
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flykickingbybgunn added 17:10 - Apr 18 McKenna is fine saying these things by me. Anybody that has been to the matches this year has seen how much the fans have been behind the team and how the team have responded. Other places have grounds full of corporates and holiday makers who dont care and make less noise. I for one have been immencely proud of the support given from the stands this year especially when it has not been easy.

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WaltonBlueNaze added 17:38 - Apr 18 Leejames99 - give your head a wobble. I think KM is absolutely right to say how appreciative the team are with the superb support. He knows at a lot of other clubs their fans would have turned on the players / team.
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Bert added 17:52 - Apr 18 In my opinion, the Ipswich crowd is a mature and savvy one and KMcK recognises that with his words. We all want the best for the club but understand that we have fallen short in our unexpected trajectory to the PL. The championship will be tough but we are better equipped now on and off the field to push on.
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Hatman2 added 17:56 - Apr 18 Leejames99 - it cannot be bypassed that we were a League One club in very recent times and have sky-rocketed under McKenna. With the playing squad depth and experience we had we massively over-achieved last season. Yes we’ve fallen short this season but it’s not as if we’ve not been competitive, we absolutely have been in most games, though not having enough strength off the bench has been an issue even though we’ve brought in many players. Not enough time to develop as a team and too many injuries disrupting us has made it too big a gap to close. But we will be much stronger than the squad which started life in the Championship 18 months ago and was so successful. More than enough reason to stay faithful and not give up on them as you appear to have done.

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DJR added 17:56 - Apr 18 It's been particularly noticeable this season, especially at away games, how much McKenna values our support.
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Widj123 added 18:12 - Apr 18 McKenna and the team do not deserve the support they receive and have received this season and the last 2 seasons he and the team have let the fans down 1 win at home shows this any other club would have sacked before you get in this awful state
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ipswichboi added 18:17 - Apr 18 LJ. Moron
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ipswichboi added 18:18 - Apr 18 Wid. Moron
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ronnyd added 18:25 - Apr 18 Leejames99, where in that piece are Luton and Wrexham mentioned? You're on here just to stir.
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Leejames99 added 19:16 - Apr 18 Because he makes out we are the only club to do back to back promotions. I'm not a moron, I'm just completely opposed to fansctginking the sunshines over Mckenna and the peanut players, what other team has 33 year old midfielders running around, a 7 goal a season striker as back up, a left back staying on left wing every week and a manager who just accepts results and blames it on the journey and the jump and the fine margins. Mckenna couldn't even raise the team to beat Southampton or Wolves, be same at Leicester. He has changed the team every week, if the jump was so big and we went up to quick we may aswell of kept the 150 million and just accepted our fate, let Morsy and Co have a jolly and kept the cash. Mckenna gets idolised like Sir Bobby it's ridiculous, he got us 2nd place in League 1 and his loans worked out in Vhampionship. He claims the lads put in full effort every week, do they which ones? You buy players in League 1 who are league 1/ Championship level, you buy championship and prem experienced players in Championship with experience and once in Prem you should be able to add quality to compete, he got the quality but never played them or if he did they in wrong position. I'm not bothered he will be gone before long with fond memories, very much in the Danny Cowley mould, all hype. You need a strong manager in Prem. Mckenna is too soft, can you imagine him giving Leif Davis hairdryer treatment or Leifblower as Danny Mills rightly put it

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Murphys_Law added 19:54 - Apr 18 This is a little tedious, just block the idiots like LJ and don’t give them the bandwidth they crave by responding! The real supporters know how far we’ve come and the challenges faced this season. We have quality ownership, governance, management, coaches and players and we’re on the right path! COYB
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benslifeyt added 20:02 - Apr 18 Lee James again with the worst poster going . Think you are a Norwich fan at this point …. Tell me what is wrong with him saying thank you ? Go eat a Easter egg might cheer you up a bit haha
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flykickingbybgunn added 20:16 - Apr 18 I appologise Widj123. I gave you an uppie by mistake. Fat fingers. Clearly you are bored with watching your team lose to Pompey and need to try to wind us up. You failed.
3

Lukeybluey added 21:02 - Apr 18 I've been on this website for 10-15 plus years, a lot of new people have come on here this season and spouted absolute nonsense. If you would have sat in a half empty stand a number of years a go on a literal freezing cold Tuesday night at home to Accrington Stanley, then you would have absolute appreciation to where we are now.
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Tractor_Bhoy added 22:48 - Apr 18 Lee James - always talking utter s.h.i.t.e
2

PortmanTerrorist added 23:42 - Apr 18 There is clearly a big discrepancy between the keyboard warriors on here and those of us who go home and away. Maybe go support Southampton or Leicester with their half empty stadiums and remember what it was like before under Mick and that bloke who owned us! McKenna is spot on and that might be the reason he and some players choose to stay next season.
8

Leejames99 added 23:45 - Apr 18 @Tractorbhoy Why is your opinion the right one, not much of a fan if your happy seeing players from 3 seasons ago trying to compete in Premier league. Disillusioned, I take it by Bhoy your also a Celtic fan, so you be used to boring methodical football, can't you take Hirst up there
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Leejames99 added 23:54 - Apr 18 So many disillusioned fans, how far we come look how far we have come, the only place we are going is back to the Championship with a tactics Danny Cowley and average goalkeeper as first team coach, and some competition winners who got to say they played in Prem in 24/25 I use the word play lightly. Ashton and owners done well, but if Mckenna stays and continues playing a league 1 squad we will be back as quick as we left, with a great big Prem bill. Moan and glorify all you like, Mckenna is a good guy but he does not have the backbone to manage at the top level, unless he has a clean sweep of his favourites then back to Morecambe it is, we have no chance in Championship with those old timers and cast offs

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Leejames99 added 00:00 - Apr 19 Oh I see it's mostly the home and away followers on here, makes sense, isn't it funny, any opinion about Muric, Phillogene, J Clarke etc being good is downmarket. Any pointing out the obvious is downmarked. I find it mind boggling that some fans have been sacked into the Journey and the process waffle, its football, is pretty simple get to the Prem and stay there and to do that you need an experienced manager and prem quality players, not subs coming on who were surplus at Leicester or playing in league 2 18 months ago. Really is like a lynch mob on here, drove Muric out, being awful to Phillogene but if anyone mentions Mckenna or Davis being useless this season there is uproar.

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victorysquad added 06:19 - Apr 19 The support is there because we can see how hard the players, coaching staff and management are working. This attitude has been absent for 15 Years prior to being taken over by the new owners. But there is strong belief we are a well run football club now, Our trajectory remains upwards and we can see us establishing ourselves And then getting back into Europe, just like Forest and Villa. We have learned over the years that berating players, negativity does not work. That just creates an environment where the players do not want to play for the club. It has a damaging effect. So the positive environment we have lets players and management flourish.

3

Leejames99 added 07:37 - Apr 19 Trajectory is very much downwards, we are nothing like Forest or Villa, they have fully established elite, Premier experienced managers in Emery and Nuno. We are not going to gey established with league 1 standard players, who were not wanted by Prem clubs and are too old and manager who is just following his process, we don't know what it is, but he assures us the lads try hard no doubt about that. We'll they didn't try very hard at home this year, and he didn't try very hard in telling the league 1 signings that's they are a bit silly to think they have Prem ability. He had a good reputation and should thank the press for touting him as going to big clubs to land himself a cushty 6 mill because if he had of gone to 1 of them he would be managing a Barnsley or similar. He got us promoted which was great but just like George Burley era, Sir Bobby, Sir Alf, Paul Hirst, it is history and a fond past. Right now we are a far way from being an established Premier Club, we couldn't even beat teams below us so what makes people think we will next season, throw the Birminghams, Coventry, Sunderland or whoever doesn't go up we are not even close to going back up unless he packs up former heroes and creates some mew ones, we owe the manager nothing now, he got his free pass when all the others at the bottom didn't and that is the one thing Ashton has got wrong, we need a manager who is emotionally attached to players on a journey in fantasy land

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victorysquad added 08:13 - Apr 19 Lee, did you go to Bournemouth? Chelsea away? You are talking tosh mate, we are not that far off being able to establish ourselves.
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Churchman added 08:19 - Apr 19 LJ99: I know your shower took a bit of a beating yesterday and assume that you are exorcising your rage and disappointment by trolling on here. I can’t think why you’d post such garbage then double down on it. But you are not alone. This club seems to have attracted a little cadre of people like you this season.
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stocktractor added 09:15 - Apr 19 LJ99 lost me with you rating Muric. if Palmer had been in goal all season no way we'd be this far behind
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