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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Barry Glendenning

Ipswich and a managerial punt that has almost got them back in the big time

Ipswich fans
Scenes in the away end at Coventry as Ipswich move to within a point of a return to the Premier League. Photograph: Ryan Browne/Shutterstock

(PORTMAN) ROAD TO THE PROMISED LAND

The last time Ipswich Town played in the Premier League, they lost 5-0 against Liverpool, with Nicolas Anelka and Michael Owen among the goals. Holly Valance was top of the UK charts with her debut single Kiss Kiss and current Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna was 16 years old, an age when it was not uncommon for teenage boys in his native Fermanagh and beyond to take a furtive but keen interest in the Kylie-lite Bhangra-pop stylings of the artist formerly known as Flick from Neighbours. A lot has happened in the intervening 22 years, not least Holly’s emergence as a card-carrying right winger and Kieran’s decidedly more heartwarming evolution into one of the most talented young managers in the United Kingdom.

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