Kieran McKenna reveals whether he will stay at Ipswich Town in the Championship | OneFootball

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna has opened up on his future ahead the club ahead of their imminent return to the Championship.

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna has confirmed that he will remain at the club in the Championship next season ahead of their likely relegation from the Premier League.

After guiding Ipswich to back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League, McKenna was linked with a number of other clubs in the summer, but he signed a new four-year contract in May to keep him at Portman Road until 2028.

Despite spending a total of £109 million during the summer transfer window, bringing in the likes of Jacob Greaves, Jaden Philogene, Jack Clarke, Sammie Szmodics and Liam Delap, the Tractor Boys have found life tough in the top flight, and they have spent almost the entire season in the relegation zone.

Ipswich ended their 10-game winless run with an impressive 2-1 victory at Bournemouth last week to give themselves a glimmer of hope of survival, but their fate was all but confirmed after a damaging 2-1 home defeat to 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

McKenna's men currently sit 18th in the table, and they are a huge 12 points from safety with just seven games remaining, and with a difficult fixture list between now and the end of the season that includes matches against Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle United, they look destined to make an immediate return to the Championship.

Kieran McKenna speaks out on Ipswich Town future

Prior to committing his future to Ipswich in May, McKenna was said to be on the radar of Manchester United, Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion, and some had speculated that the 38-year-old could attract interest from elsewhere once again this summer.

With their relegation from the Premier League looming, Tractor Boys supporters would have been dreading the prospect of losing McKenna, but he has shut down any talk about his future, emphatically confirming that he will remain at Portman Road in the Championship next season.

"The short answer is yes," McKenna told the East Anglian Daily Times.

"I'm happy here. It felt the right thing to stay last summer and I wanted to take on the challenge of this Premier League season.

"This club has a fantastically bright future. Irrespective of a probable backwards step there is potential to make big strides.

"I'm excited and proud to lead that."

McKenna's stock may have fallen a little after Ipswich's disappointing season in the Premier League, but Vincent Kompany landed the Bayern Munich job despite suffering relegation with Burnley last season, so the Northern Irishman would still likely have had admirers in the summer.

The Tractor Boys will be hoping to challenge for an immediate return to the top flight next season, and there is no doubt that keeping hold of McKenna gives them their best chance of achieving promotion, so it is a huge boost for the club that he will remain in charge in the Championship.

Ipswich will likely lose a few of their stars in the summer, most notably striker Liam Delap, who has a £30 million release clause in his contract, but they should be able to keep most of their squad together, and with McKenna staying at the helm, they should be a serious force in the second tier next season.