Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna says his players can’t afford to get too high following this afternoon’s 3-0 victory at Peterborough United. 

The in-form Blues took another big step towards securing automatic promotion as goals from Wes Burns, Conor Chaplin and Freddie Ladapo saw off the challenge of the top-six hopefuls. 

Eleven wins from the last 12 games leaves Ipswich needing five points from their final three games (thanks to an incredible goal difference of +57) to secure a top-two spot. 

“It was a terrific performance,” enthused McKenna, whose team go to fourth-place Barnsley on Tuesday night, before finishing the campaign with games against Exeter (h) and Fleetwood (a). 

“I think we showed all sides of our game. We came out on the front foot, were brave, took the ball, dominated the early exchange and got the early goal.  

“From there we showed everything we needed to show. We defended well at times, kept the ball at times, fought for every ball and defended our goal when we needed to. It was a really good, complete performance. 

“They are a really difficult team to play against, no doubt about that. They’ve got so many threats. We knew that if we kept the front men quiet we’d have a really good chance to win the game. 

“They had their moments, but I thought in general we defended really well from the front all the way back to Christian (Walton). 

“It was a physical game and I really enjoyed that side of it. It was two really strong sets of midfielders who like the physical side of the game.” 

He continued: “The boys are fit. We’ve worked hard to be in this situation. We have to keep going. 

“We know we have a really strong squad and we can bring players off the bench to keep the levels high. 

“At 2-0 Peterborough changed shape, brought another forward on and the game was starting to turn.  

“JD (Janoi Donacien) and Dominic (Ball) came on to tighten us up and give fresh energy, then Marcus (Harness) and Jacko (Kayden Jackson) helped keep up our intensity at the top end of the team. 

“It’s a relentless end to the season. We’re enjoying it. It’s on to Tuesday now.” 

With one win and two draws now required to get over the line, McKenna said: “We’re obviously getting to that point where mathematically you know where it’s at.  

“We have a big game on Tuesday and we can’t think past that. It’s going to take a hell of an effort to back up today but I trust these boys. I back them to do it. I can see the hunger in the dressing room. 

“We can’t get too high today. We can’t enjoy it too much, because we need all the emotional energy for Tuesday. It’s straight onto the next one. We have to go there with the same spirit on Tuesday and see what we can do.” 

With close to 4,000 Blues fans having created a superb atmosphere at London Road from start to finish, McKenna added: “I hope they’re loving it.  

“There’s nothing done, there’s no margin. It’s an incredible season.  

“That doesn’t mean I don’t want them enjoying today. They came in their numbers again and provided fantastic support. To see a team fighting like that they have to enjoy it. 

“I hope they all have a good night tonight, celebrate hard, and it will be great to see them again on Tuesday. 

“For us, inside the camp, we don’t have time to celebrate. We just have to recover, refocus and get ready to go again.”