Ipswich Town boss declares Leeds United fight stance and vow as twenty-year record is equalled

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has declared his Leeds United stance with a vow upon his side matching a 20-year club record to leapfrog the Whites.

Nine consecutive league wins from Leeds had hauled Daniel Farke's Whites above Ipswich into the Championship's second automatic promotion place but the weekend provided a fresh twist.

United were strong favourites to record what would have been a club record tenth league win in a row at Huddersfield Town but the contest ended in a 1-1 draw and instead Ipswich matched a recent piece of club history to move back into second.

After a goalless first half, McKenna's newly-promoted side eventually left Plymouth Argyle with a 2-0 victory for a fifth consecutive Championship success, the first time Ipswich have achieved such a feat since back in 2003 under Joe Royle.

The victory lifted Ipswich two points above Leeds in the automatic promotion spots but McKenna insisted there would be no conversations about the latest twists with Leeds or fellow relegation rivals Southampton and Leicester City.

Instead, McKenna declared that the only focus would be on Tuesday night's swift return to action at home to Bristol City as he vowed to try as hard as possible to continue Ipswich's current form.

As quoted by TWTD, McKenna was asked if there had been much conversation on the weekend's results in the division's automatic promotion race and declared: “I don’t think so, I’ve not been in the dressing room much and we haven’t had any of those conversations all season, so we’re not going to start now.

“We’ll just stick on our own path and as simple as it may sound, the only conversation after the game was about Bristol City and knowing that they’re a really tricky opponent away from home when they can counter-attack.

“That’s where our focus will be and we’ll let the supporters enjoy the win and anything else they want to discuss. But our focus will just be on Tuesday night now.”

Pressed on Ipswich matching the feat of Royle's side of 2003, McKenna admitted: “That’s brilliant. I have to say, and I know I say it all the time, but every win in the Championship is so tough, it takes a lot of preparation, hard work and so many good qualities in your group, so to win in the Championship is tough.

“To win away from home in the Championship is really tough, so to win five times in a row as a newly-promoted team and all those things, to have some tough away games in that spell as well, Millwall and then Swansea and today were probably similar to today in terms of wet days on really heavy pitches.

“Those games are tough to win, so to show that level of consistency is pleasing and we’re going to try our hardest to keep it up.”