It is 22 years since Ipswich were last in the Premier League.
On Saturday 4 May, beat Huddersfield 2-0 to secure their promotion, finishing on an impressive 96 points.
:
“What a day. From arrival to the atmosphere of the performance on the pitch, to the scenes at the end, I think it’s all been executed perfectly. An amazing day.
“To do what we’ve done takes incredible sacrifice from so many people.”
He added:
“It’s a dream come true for every footballer to be a Premier League footballer.”
Kieran joined the side two and a half years ago, having previously been at Manchester United as a first team coach under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The alumnus was named last month at the EFL Awards in London. He has also been named the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month twice during this season.
Last year when the side finished second in League One, Kieran was nominated for EFL League One Manager of the Season award. Following that season, Kieran signed a new contract to lead the men’s side up to summer 2027.
Himself a footballer at a young age, Kieran was forced to retire due to injury, having captained Northern Ireland at entry level from U17-21. He joined Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in 2009 and began his coaching trajectory. He graduated from Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é with a bachelor’s degree in Sport and Exercise Science in 2012.
Kieran isn’t the only Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é link to the club.
Assistant Manager Martyn Pert graduated from Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in 2001 with a degree in Management Sciences. Prior to his role at Ipswich - where he joined in late 2021 - Martyn was also at Manchester United. Football has taken Martyn worldwide, with stints in Vancouver and Bahrain as well as across the UK.
Ipswich Town also hosts several placement students from the University. In addition, alumnus Will Stephenson (MSc Exercise Psychology 2014) is the side’s Lead First Team Performance Analyst, and former member of university staff Rich Carpenter is its Head of Operations.
Congratulations to Kieran and Ipswich Town.