Sam Parkin’s EFL takeaways: Credit for Kieran McKenna and Hull City a play-off force

Kieran McKenna has led Ipswich Town back to the Premier League after just one season in the Championship and it is his third promotion in four years.

Parkin: “Ipswich must have learned lessons from the previous season, I suppose it’s all about what type of player they get in. Maybe the benchmark now has become Sunderland, how they’ve attacked it, maybe not going for that Premier League experience and just signing the best players available to you from home and abroad. So that’ll be really fascinating.

“What I will say is that the previous Ipswich team that got promoted was a real swashbuckling team, scored loads of goals, conceded plenty too.

“They’re a bit different now, they’re a bit more defensively minded. They’ve certainly let in a lot fewer goals. Maybe they had one eye on next season or maybe that’s just how organically it’s changed for them.

“I think Kieran McKenna deserves an incredible amount of credit. That’s three promotions in four years and you have to question whether they’d have done it without him. Yes, he’s been that important. If they’d had the uncertainty of changing manager, you never know.

“But I think even the most ardent of Ipswich supporters will say this is probably the least favourite of their most recent promotions and maybe that’s because you’re expected to go up, so you’re there to be shot at.

“But still, for them, it would have been an incredible feeling and all the sweeter to do it at Portman Road.”