Newly-promoted Ipswich Town are second in the Championship table after 16 games. Stuart Watson sat down with chief executive Mark Ashton to discuss the rest of the season ahead.
Ambitious American owners with a 'healthy impatience', a highly-driven and experienced chief executive, a bright young manager forged at an elite level, bonded Championship-ready players with room to grow and a style of play suited to higher levels...
Everyone associated with Ipswich Town believed that momentum could be carried forwards following an incredible promotion charge. Few, hand on heart, predicted things would start this well though.
In what is widely regarded as one of, if not the, most competitive leagues in the world, the Blues have won 12 of their opening 16 games. For context, no-one has ever claimed more than 39 points from the opening 16 games of a Championship season.
Ipswich, after four years down in League One, find themselves in second and sandwiched between three teams who have just dropped down from the top-flight. Only goal difference keeps them behind league-leaders Leicester, while there is an eight and nine point gap to Leeds and Southampton respectively.
To get to the magic marker of 90 - the points tally that's usually enough to secure automatic promotion - Ipswich need 14 wins, nine draws and seven defeats from their final 30. This, remember, is a team that's lost just two league games this calendar year.
Is it prudent, therefore, that the club starts thinking about what would be required for a return to the top table?
“Someone said to me a couple of weeks ago ‘do you start preparing for the Premier League now?’" said chief executive Mark Ashton.
"I actually think we started preparing for the Premier League the day this ownership group walked through the door.
“Everyone has seen the changes we’ve made on and off the pitch. We try and set Premier League standards right across the board."
He continued: “I can honestly say to you the words ‘Premier League’ very rarely get mentioned. We talk about Premier League processes and setting the highest standards.
“The conversations this week are all about the quality of pitches at the training ground and how we probably need to stitch one or more of the pitches because that will drive the standards even higher.
“If we keep focused on processes we firmly believe that will take us where we want to get to.
"When? There but for the width of a post I can’t tell you. I promise you though, that’s our mantra – to stay on the process."
Gamechanger Ltd bought out Marcus Evans in April 2021, with newly-installed chairman Mike O'Leary saying the club wanted to 'knock on the door of the Premier League pretty quickly'.
Asked if the project was ahead of schedule, Ashton replied: “It’s a good question to ask.
"We write a plan for the owners. There’s a five-to-seven year financial plan - this is what we’re going to spend off the pitch, this is what we’re going to spend on the pitch, this is where it fits in with Financial Fair Play – and we work through that model.
“I always talk about progression each season, because if each season we progress then ultimately we’ll get to where we want to get to.
MORE: The 'masterplan' to boost Portman Road capacity and develop 'world class' training facilities
“I firmly believed last season that we’d built a squad that was capable of getting out of League One. Did I for a moment think it would take the points haul that we had to get to (98 points to finish just ahead of Sheffield Wednesday in second) to get out of League One? No, I didn’t.
“I said at the start of this season that I thought we were building a squad capable of attacking this division and I think that’s exactly what Kieran (McKenna) and the players have done.
“I think that comes from stability. That’s where the ownership group is key. We’re not erratic, we’re calm, we’re steady, we don’t make wild, swinging decisions.
“If you look at the Championship last season there was a high percentage turnover of managers. Some clubs made two managerial changes within a few months. A quarter of the division has already made a change this season. That’s not this ownership. We’re steady, we’re calm, we have a plan. The plan may vary, but ultimately we’ll stick to the method."
There is still a long way to go, of course. Ipswich have nine games in 38 days coming up. The hectic Christmas schedule includes an East Anglian home derby with Norwich, a trip to Leeds and a Boxing Day home clash with Leicester.
"We’ve had a great start to the season, the points return has been fantastic, but we have to keep grounded," said Ashton.
“Recently we got our grounding with the arrival of Jason Schechterle (the injured police officer turned motivational speaker who represents the Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System that funds Ipswich Town Football Club).
"That was planned. Jason comes and reminds us about our values and who we represent.
‘Fantastic guys, points return is great, second in the league, however, let’s talk about our values, who we are, who represent, how we behave, how we conduct ourselves on and off this pitch, let’s talk about the work we’re doing in the community’. That brings us right back to ground level.
"That led us into Birmingham away. It’s a dark, miserable day and we’re 2-0 down in a difficult game, but this team runs towards adversity. We will not lie down and die. They really buy into that 'running towards adversity' piece and understand what that means."
MORE: Ashton says Ipswich Town will have financial 'firepower' for January transfer window
Asked if he's ready for the emotional rollercoaster ahead, Ashton replied: “That bit's not easy. I’ve been here two years and to say I've fallen in love with this football club is an understatement. I know my key staff feel exactly the same. Be under no illusion, the emotion kicks in. Ask Fabio (Wardley, Ipswich-based heavyweight boxer), who tends to sit near me on matchday! Or poor Luke Werhun (chief operating officer), whose arm is consistently bruised!
“My job as a CEO is not to get too high when we win and not to get too low when we lose. I need to sail a very steady ship. We will have bumpy waters, for sure. We will have highs, we will have lows. I go back to it: consistency and tenacity has put us in this position. It’s that culture that’s put us in a great place."
EADT subscribers can exclusively watch the whole of Stuart Watson's interview with Town CEO Mark Ashton here. Our current 50% flash sale gives you the chance to sign up for £2.99 a month for six months.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here