After 22 years away, Ipswich Town is back in the Premier League. Stuart Watson discussed the upcoming issues with Chief Executive Mark Ashton.
After the exuberant pitch invasion at Portman Road, Kieran McKenna was asked about the Premier League task that lay ahead.
“It’s a massive step up in every department of the football club,” the Blues manager, who previously served as assistant manager at Manchester United, responded.
Stories of caution surrounding recently promoted clubs abound.
With 101 points in 2022–2023, Burnley won the Championship title thanks to some brilliant football play.The Clarets have only won five games in the top flight all season, and they are quickly falling down.
It was a discouraging experience for Sheffield United as well, who secured the other automatic promotion berth in 22/23. They let up 104 goals and only won three games.
Even Luton’s spirit and distinct individuality weren’t enough to overcome the obstacles. Even though Everton and Nottingham Forest had lost points, they made it a hat-trick of teams returning quickly to the second division.
Less than twenty-four hours after back-to-back promotions had been secured, I ask chief executive Mark Ashton when will the enormity of the task ahead finally sink in.
“When I give my staff the work load schedule, it will probably happen in the next 24 or 48 hours!” He responds.
“At this point, everyone will tell me, ‘Mark, you need some time off.'” Last night, even my board said as much. “You need to step back and you need to breathe,” they added. Not a chance. I am unable to. I have to leave again now. We have to leave again now. therefore we need to prepare.
We have a tiny advantage because we work while everyone else relaxes. We have a marginally improved understanding of the market and a marginally earlier understanding of it. My crew, who have been with me for a very long time, is aware that on Tuesday mornings, we will meet in Mark’s office at 9 a.m. in front of the whiteboard and say, “This is the plan, let’s go.”
Nobody thought Ipswich would be in this situation.Ironically, only fifteen months had passed since a Valentine’s Day 0-0 stalemate at Bristol Rovers had many questioning whether a fourth straight League One season would end. Those questions were summarily dismissed. Finally, “the banter era” came to an end with 13 victories out of the remaining 15 games, repairing psychological wounds deep within the fan base. Supporters of Town realised then that something exceptional was developing. However, others were caught off guard.
Mark Ashton and the Ipswich Town team celebrate their promotion together. Picture: PA
This entire season, commentators and supporters of the opposition have declared that the Blues would not be able to keep up in a championship promotion race that featured parachute payment-pumped Southampton, Leeds United, and Leicester City. The nail-biting away victories and thrilling Portman Road matches just kept coming.
Once more, many will write Town off. The odds on them going straight back down have already been set by the bookmakers.
With a sly smile, Ashton exclaimed, “Love it!” “I refer to it as ‘the shark mentality’ in the office. We’ve attacked from behind, just like sharks do. Everyone believes that we will vanish. No, we don’t.
“We approach everything head-on, stay ahead of the curve, be the best versions of ourselves, and only pay attention to ourselves. This is our shark mindset.
“Over the past few months, we have held conversations in the workplace. On matchdays, turn off the televisions. I don’t want to watch it when Leeds take off at noon. Why would we expend the mental effort on it? It’s beyond our control. Pay attention to us.
We’ve just been trying to be the best versions of ourselves while preserving our energy. We required every ounce of emotional energy we had, whether you’re the manager, the coaches, the players, the security guard, the kit man, or something else entirely, against Hull, at Coventry, and against Huddersfield. Yes, I most definitely did.
“I think ultimately that discipline of thought, that discipline of process, that discipline of action played a major part in getting Kieran and the boys across the line.”
Despite all the hoopla this season about three clubs going straight back down, there are many of examples of clubs rising to prominence in the Premier League after spending a lot of time in the EFL.
With the big boys, Brighton is getting ready for its eighth consecutive season and Brentford’s fourth. Over the past ten years, Burnley and Bournemouth have also established themselves fairly well in the Premier League.
Brighton is getting ready for its eighth Premier League season in a row. Picture: PA
I believe that Ipswich won’t be trying to merely make up the numbers in 2024 or 2025 after submitting some of those cases to Ashton.
“Oh no!” he exclaims. “You just cited two incredibly well-run football teams, Brentford and Brighton, who not only made it into the Premier League but also—especially in Brighton’s case—moved on. They’ve created a fantastic model. In fact, I believe there are parallels between them and us. But we must be authentic.
We simply have a method of doing things, and we put all of our effort into perfecting it. We’re not flawless, we’re not.
“When you observe a Brighton or a Brentford, you will see that they have a method of working that they adhere to. They have the best foundation for success because of that continuity, and I believe we should too.
“As a manager or CEO, you occasionally need to switch off the noise and put on earbuds. We must continue on our current course, adhere to our strategy, and never give up. Even though we may make changes to the plan, we must stick to the original course.
“We are not a team that will make drastic changes to our players or management. We’ll strive to create something and act consistently in our behaviour. That may not be appropriate for everyone, and that’s okay; that’s just our method. We wish to approach this appropriately.”
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