George Hirst still remembers the night everything changed. It was May 2023, and the young striker had just helped Ipswich Town clinch promotion from League One against Fleetwood Town — a moment that felt like the culmination of something extraordinary. Few could have predicted that barely two years later, Hirst would be part of another promotion-winning squad, this time heading back to the Premier League after a remarkable season under manager Kieran McKenna.
Ipswich finished second in the Championship, securing an immediate return to the top flight after last season's relegation. That demotion came after a grim run of just one win in the final 19 matches, a stumble that could have derailed a lesser club. Instead, McKenna — just 39 years old — rebuilt with quiet determination, re-establishing himself as one of the most sought-after young coaches in European football.
"You can't ever underestimate how hard it is to get promoted to the Premier League," McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk after Saturday's decisive 3-0 win over QPR sealed promotion. "It's a great achievement."
The scale of this season's turnaround becomes clearer when examining the squad's evolution. Last summer, 11 new players arrived at Portman Road — a radical refresh that included Chilean playmaker Marcelino Nunez, signed from regional rivals Norwich for a reported £10 million. It took time for the pieces to fit together; Ipswich failed to win any of their opening four league games. But the group gradually gelled, finishing the season with just one loss in their final 15 matches.
"The players have grown over the course of the season," McKenna noted. "They stuck at it and this really shows the character of the group."
Chairman Mark Ashton has been equally effusive about his manager's achievements. "Kieran's a very special manager," Ashton told BBC Radio Suffolk. "He's someone who I know is extremely sought after by the majority of the Championship, the majority of the Premier League and top European clubs — he's first-class at what he does." Ashton, who has described his philosophy as "if you don't make progress fast, you will be overtaken by rivals," has already held talks with McKenna about summer plans, with the aim of pushing forward "at pace."
What makes this promotion particularly striking is the thread connecting three promotion campaigns. George Hirst and Leif Davis — both survivors from that 2023 League One triumph — remained in the squad for this season's success, alongside Christian Walton and Wes Burns. Their consistency through three tiers of English football speaks to both McKenna's faith in players who deliver and the strong culture he has cultivated at Portman Road.
That culture was on full display in the euphoric scenes following the QPR victory, a moment Ashton has described as proof that "when this club really comes together as one, it's an unstoppable force." With another Premier League campaign on the horizon, McKenna and his players will hope that force carries them further than their previous top-flight stint.