Leeds United promotion rivals' 'tension' comment amid warning ahead of Championship run-in

Kieran McKenna is keen to see his Ipswich Town side deal with 'tension' better as the Championship promotion race heats up. The Tractor Boys left it late on Tuesday night as they required a stoppage time winner to see off Rotherham United 4-3 at Portman Road to move level on points with Leeds United.

Ipswich fell behind early in Suffolk as Tom Eaves struck for the visitors, who remain rooted to the bottom of the table, but that was before an Wes Burns brace and a Kieffer Moore strike gave Ipswich a comfortable lead. Despite the visitors' struggles, they thought they had done enough to seal a point when they equalised through a Cafu penalty in stoppage time.

But in the fifth minute of time added on, Omari Hutchinson popped up with a winner for Ipswich to see them leapfrog Southampton, who lost at home to Hull City on the same night, in the table and move up to third, behind Leeds on goal difference alone.

Ipswich did see their form tail off through December and January, which was enough for Leeds and Southampton to make up the ground on them, having spent much of the campaign inside the top two. However, having won their last three, the East Anglians host Birmingham City on Saturday knowing they have the opportunity to pile even more pressure on those around them.

McKenna, though, is hoping to see his players cope better with the expectation and pressure from the crowd as the promotion race gathers pace.

"Wednesday-Saturday-Tuesday is tough. There were two tough away games in there, the second of which was on a very, very muddy pitch," said McKenna.

"There was definitely a tiredness element to the second half, especially when the flow of the game goes the way it does. We didn't play well, but I can't fault the effort and we found a way in difficult circumstances.

"There are 13 games left and one of the big messages coming into tonight was we need to keep tension out of the stadium and out of the performance. We knew people were coming expecting us to win and that creates a different type of atmosphere."