Ipswich Town must be looking at Chesterfield FC success wondering what if: View | OneFootball

It has been an outstanding season for Ipswich Town in the Championship.

The Tractor Boys were promoted from League One last season, and they have seamlessly made the step-up to the second tier, spending much of the campaign in and around the top two.

Ipswich conceded a late equaliser in the 3-3 draw against Hull City at the MKM Stadium on Saturday night, but their automatic promotion hopes are still firmly in their own hands, and they make the trip to Coventry City on Tuesday night before hosting Huddersfield Town on the final day.

Regardless of the outcome of this season, it has been a remarkable campaign for the Tractor Boys, and it continues the club's incredible progress under manager Kieran McKenna.

McKenna has been the man to bring success back to Portman Road after years of underachievement under a host of managers, including the likes of Roy Keane, Paul Jewell, Mick McCarthy, Paul Hurst, Paul Lambert and Paul Cook.

While little was expected of some of those who took charge during the Marcus Evans era, there was plenty of optimism when Cook was appointed in March 2021.

Cook's arrival coincided with the takeover by Gamechanger 20 Ltd, and many hoped it would be the start of an exciting new chapter for the club, but it did not work out that way.

After an underwhelming nine-month spell in charge of Ipswich, Cook has rebuilt his career with Chesterfield in the National League, and some Tractor Boys supporters may be wondering why he struggled so much in Suffolk.

Cook was named as Paul Lambert's replacement at Portman Road in March 2021, and it was seen as a big coup for Ipswich to land his signature.

The 57-year-old had been out of work since leaving Wigan Athletic in July 2020 following their relegation from the Championship, but his stock was high after his departure from the DW Stadium, with many feeling that Cook had done a good job in tough circumstances after the Latics went into administration and suffered a 12-point deduction.

Cook had previously achieved three promotions in his career with Chesterfield, Portsmouth and Wigan, and that record gave Tractor Boys supporters hope that he could lead them back to the Championship after two years in League One.

Those expectations increased significantly after a busy summer of transfer business ahead of the 2021-22 season, with 19 new players arriving at the club.

Despite the huge influx of players, Ipswich made an incredibly poor start to the season, failing to win any of their first six league games.

The Tractor Boys drew at home to Morecambe, MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon, as well as suffering a 5-2 defeat to Bolton Wanderers on their own patch, and lost away at Burton Albion and Cheltenham Town.

Ipswich finally registered their first win of the campaign as they won 1-0 at Lincoln City in mid-September, and while their form did improve slightly thereafter, inconsistency remained a big problem.

Cook was sacked in December 2021, just hours after a 0-0 home draw at home to League Two side Barrow in the FA Cup second round, and he departed with the club sitting 11th in the table.

Cook opened up on his exit the following month, insisting that he deserved more time, and he revealed that had he known there would have been a demand for instant success, he would have left in the summer.

"100% we should have been given longer, 100%," Cook told Sky Sports News, quoted by the East Anglian Daily Times.

"I get stats in the modern game but I think it’s grossly unfair that you can put the manager’s stats on the table when, in the summer, we released 27-30 players and brought in 19 new ones. We’re probably talking about two different teams there.

"We initially at Ipswich went six games without winning, so that would have brought a pressure.

"We brought a lot of new lads in and a lot of good players, some really good players and a very strong squad, but we didn’t put a pre-season into them. "We signed players very late and then, more importantly, it took time to integrate them into a system and shape. After the initial period of not winning in six, we were sacked after 20 league games.

"For anyone to tell a manager that 20 league games is enough, in my world, is wrong."

Just over two months after his exit from Portman Road, Cook returned for a second spell in charge of Chesterfield in February 2022, and many were surprised to see him drop down to the National League.

However, it has proven to be a smart move, and after two failed play-off campaigns, Cook led the Spireites to a return to the EFL this season after winning the National League title.

It has been an outstanding campaign for Chesterfield, achieving an impressive total of 98 points and scoring 106 league goals.

Cook's men dominated the division, sealing promotion by the end of March, and their points tally could have been much higher had it not been for a run of four consecutive defeats after being crowned champions.

While Cook should be managing at a higher level than the fifth tier, achieving a fourth career promotion is commendable, and his side should be capable of competing in League Two next season.

Cook's success at Chesterfield does raise questions about why he found it so tough at Ipswich, particularly given the players at his disposal, but Tractor Boys supporters should still be thankful to him.

Some of the key members of the current squad that are pushing for promotion to the Premier League were signed by Cook, including the likes of Wes Burns, Vaclav Hladky, George Edmundson, Conor Chaplin, Cameron Burgess and Sam Morsy, and while he could not get the best out of them, he left McKenna an excellent platform to build on.