Mark Ashton’s bold Ipswich vow ahead of Championship return

Ipswich Town CEO Mark Ashton has revealed that he is expecting to see the club attack the Championship next season.

Town produced a host of fantastic performances over the course of the 2022/23 campaign as they sealed promotion from League One under the guidance of head coach Kieran McKenna.

Ipswich scored 101 goals, claimed 28 victories, and ended the term with 98 points to their name.

The Tractor Boys’ attention will naturally switch to recruitment when the transfer window opens.

Having backed McKenna in the last two windows, the club’s owners are expected to fund the Blues boss once again this summer.

Ipswich will be hoping that a successful summer of transfer business will have a positive impact on their fortunes in the Championship.

As well as adding some fresh faces to their squad, the Tractor Boys will also need to make some decisions regarding the futures of existing members of their squad.

Ipswich Town’s plans for the Championship

Ashton has revealed that the Blues are planning to attack the Championship and has also suggested that McKenna will be backed financially.

Speaking in an interview with Sky News (as cited by the East Anglian Daily Times), Ashton said: “It will be a season of progression for sure.

“We’re well backed and like all the clubs there are financial fair play controls in place, profit and sustainability rules that we have to adhere to.

“But we trade players.

“We’ve bought well, we’ve brought young players in with value – the likes of Leif Davis, Nathan Broadhead, Harry Clarke, Conor Chaplin, who scored 29 goals last season.

“All young, hungry players with real value and, whilst we’ve spent money on those players, what people forget is that we’ve also traded players out in the background.

“If you look at our net cash outflow for a three-year period – say last year, this year and next year – and all the players we’ve bought in, all the players we’ve sold, we’re literally net zero.

“We’ll more or less break even on player trading.

“So, while people see what you buy, they don’t tend to see sometimes what you’re selling in the background.

“We have a model and we’ll stick to the model.

“I expect us to attack the Championship well and continue to buy good players that give Kieran McKenna the best opportunity to be competitive.”

How will Ipswich Town fare in the Championship?

When you consider that Sunderland managed to reach the play-offs after securing promotion from League One last year, and Rotherham United retained their Championship status having achieved the same feat in the 2021/22 campaign, there is no reason why Ipswich cannot go on to have success at this level.

The Tractor Boys’ fortunes have been completely transformed by McKenna, who will be extremely confident in his ability to oversee a positive start to the season.

By sticking with their style of play over the course of the 2023/24 campaign, it would not be a shock to see Ipswich make their presence felt.