Town goalscorer Kasey McAteer says he always felt it would be ‘our day’ as the Blues confirmed promotion back to the Premier League.

McAteer scored the third goal on a jubilant afternoon at Portman Road, where a 3-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers was enough to seal Town’s place back in the top flight next season at the first attempt.

“It’s unbelievable,” he hailed. “Today was always about getting the job done. We felt like we could get it done on Tuesday, but to finally get it done at home has been unbelievable.

“You see the fans today and how we’ve all reacted to this win. It’s brilliant for the town and brilliant for us.

“We kept saying it’s our day. It’s no one else’s day and no one’s going to take it away from us. It was in our hands and we did a great job.

“In the first half, we were unbelievable. We created great chances, got the two goals, and we built from there. To seal it myself with the third goal is unbelievable.

“I can’t thank everyone enough for the support they’ve given me and the boys. Everyone who is part of this club, I want to say a big thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Two goals in the opening nine minutes from George Hirst and Jaden Philogene set the Blues on their way before McAteer rounded off the scoring with his third goal in as many home matches on 83 minutes.

The winger, who seems to have found his feet at Portman Road at just the right time, felt it was a dream come true to play his part on such a special day.

He said: “I had big fire in my stomach when the goal went in to seal it once and for all. I’ve worked hard all season and it’s not fallen my way, but in recent weeks I’ve felt like a different player.

“To see the net ripple on a day like this, it’s dreams like this you make as a kid. It’s been brilliant.

“Just knowing that the game was done, it was over. At 2-0, you never know. If they grab one back, they’ve got the momentum and you never know what could happen. 3-0 cemented that win for us today. Letting out that relief, coming on and scoring, I’m over the moon.”

McAteer continued: “A sense of relief, I’ll be honest. It’s been a long season, people expecting it to happen because we were in the Premier League last year. It’s like ‘Ipswich should go straight back up’, but it isn’t that easy.

“It’s a hard league and there’s relentless games, we’ve had a lot of away games and the boys have been working hard and relentlessly. To say we’re done it now makes all them away trips all worth it.

“It comes from the manager keeping us all grounded. We go in every day and we train hard, there’s never a day where we don’t train to 100 per cent.

“We put our all into training and that comes from the manager and the staff. Big credit to them who have pushed us the whole way, and on a day like this it’s great to get it done.”

Looking ahead to next season, he added: “Everyone wants to play in the Premier League, it’s where you dream about playing as a kid. It’s a tough league, we’re going to have to be ready next season.

“But for now, we can enjoy this moment and look forward to next season. We’ll come back in pre-season, work hard and see where it takes us. We’re all looking forward to it.”

Photo: TWTD