Championship: Who has the advantage in the race for Premier League promotion?

So three wins and three goals each for the top three in the

championship

. There is little to choose between them. Well, let's look at the

race

and then with Mark McAdam here. Down the stretch, where is his money now? Tell us, tell us all who is finishing on top. two, I can guarantee it will be one of those three managers and two of them will finish in the top two, you're fine, you are, oh I don't know about that, yeah, it's phenomenal, isn't that how the show started? Just seeing the excitement of those images, those goals, the fans celebrating extremities in the away half and of course those players running up and down the touchline.

This is what the

championship

is about, the best football we have seen from these three. teams and they have been absolutely exceptional. We started the Easter weekend knowing that there would be four teams trying to be in the top two of the championship after the last IPS winner and that fantastic victory over Southampton. Now we know Southampton are out. of the

race

for the first two, so it will be between these three and the current situation ipswitch 87 points leads 86 points Leicester 85 points however Enzo Maresa's team also has one less game that could change the dynamic and Shuffle leads until the third place It's absolutely brilliant, isn't it?

It's brilliant, this is what we want to see in the EFL and it's so exciting, and what's quite remarkable is that you've got all three teams relegated from the Premier League with huge parachute payments, but I've got a change in the middle of the reshuffle wreaking havoc following

promotion

from League One. It's absolutely brilliant, but you know these three managers are Wy, they're experienced, they're knowledgeable and they're not going to get carried away. at the moment, although I think fans can get carried away because this is what this season is about and this is the excitement of supporting a football team, the belief, the expectation, the passion and the hope that this one can be a special season. so Kiera McKenna Daniel farker and Enzo maresa think about it right now, but guess what everyone has been posting, a very similar boring message, you know what it is, no game at a time, look at this, look how much effort it takes.

Since the guys are, you know, I know everyone says it, but that group is giving every ounce of themselves on the field and spending energy thinking about anything else, you know, we wouldn't have what we're going to need. going to Carol Road on Saturday so yeah we'll focus on the next one we've got three more big games in the next you know about 9 days and then we'll have a bit of a break and maybe before the last three games we can start. You know, take a breath and look at where we are during this busy schedule.

You just have to focus on yourself and putting yourself in the best position possible. We can simply take care of our results, our performances. I am very happy that in this difficult game we were able to win the maximum points, three points, and yes, with this, right now we recover in the next one or two days. and then we continue we continue playing the way that uh we worked since the day when one was even with one and down in a difficult moment the team continued in the same way even the players among them said to continue in the same way continue Keep it up, That means they are completely committed to the idea and this is the most important thing.

How do you see the battle going forward? Do you think you see it go to the end? No Yes. It will be nice, like I said, if you take a look at the table every game, no, it's just don't look at the next game, yeah, okay, we need to talk a little more about the IP change because it's been two years. Today they lost 1-1 at home to Cambridge and finished mid-table in League One. They are now just six wins away from the Premier League. Mark, how do you think they would handle life in the top division?

I think they would be people to follow. uh I think they could be a surprise package and you have to go back to Kira McKenna when she joined the football club in December 2021. She's been exceptional with what she's done there. She has been extraordinary the team in which she has built the way football style. They played in League One last season it was remarkable the way they combined it with teams that have huge budgets is brilliant. They have signed some incredibly young and talented players who play exceptional football. They have a good backbone of players who also have I've been to the EFL and I like the atmosphere around the place.

There is a fantastic atmosphere on Port Portman Road at the moment. The feeling that the fans have the excitement. The connection with the team. The love for the club. You have to remember what it was. It was in 20012 that they last played in the Premier League, so it has been over 20 years since they were in the top flight and relegated. That season when they finished 18th but since the arrival of Kieran McKenna they went on a fantastic run, their first 10 games saw seven wins. then they created a new club record where they didn't concede a goal for 547 minutes and they really missed out, it was a late attack for the playoffs that fell at the end, they finished 11th but the season they got promoted was phenomenal and in fact, It reminds me of the time over 10 years ago when Southampton went from League One to the Championship and into the Premier League the season before and you saw Norwich do the same and that would just be a remarkable achievement for this group.

You can see the At the

promotion

party there, Paul Lamber was in charge of Norwich at the time and you can see it again in these pictures. Southampton did the same feat under Nigel Atkins, finishing second in the championship and then they were also brilliant in the early stages before Nigel. Adkins was replaced by Muto P up um no sorry yeah they are in the Premier League yeah in their first season there so yeah going back to your initial question I think you have to say they might be you know a who you should pay attention to if they get promoted, but as Kieran McKenna said in that interview, one game at a time, keep your feet on the ground, we're focused on the next game, we won't let the players get carried away, eh, but I think You know when you're at this stage of the campaign and you have a real, tangible chance of promotion, you've got to have a bit of excitement, so I think the players will be focused, but the fans are enjoying every second.

Yes, absolutely, and if IPS remain in the top two it will mean one of Leicester's leaders will miss out, although in your opinion Mark, who needs that automatic promotion place more at the moment, both will be desperate to get back into the mix. Premier League mainly for financial reasons, we know there is a Premier League charge looming over Leicester City at the moment so you would have to say they are probably a little more desperate for promotion due to the finances at stake and clearly there are some issues they need to address after being relegated, that's a dark cloud hanging over the Kingp Stadium at the moment, but Lees will be in a very similar situation and they will also say, look, we've lost a lot of players.

I tried to recruit in the best way possible, we have played exceptional football, this is a great institution of a football club that deserves to be in the top flight, so we have to get back there too. In fact, I put it on my social media. Last night Southampton were ruled out of the race for the top two after their loss to the Whips, which could be a good thing for them. I think those teams go right into the last day of the season with the hope and belief that they can finish. be in the top two and then suffer the disappointments, they have to recover for a playoff campaign and go to Wembley and do it the hard way and I think that's psychological, if you can get into the minds of your players from the beginning, we have to climb.

Until the playoffs we have three extra games to play, we need to beat someone in two games and then go to the home of football and win psychologically. I think that could be important, so you'd worry about either one. Those two teams, the one that doesn't make it, or three of the teams, the one that doesn't make it, how do they handle it in the playoffs and try to get those players back, but this is going to be an exciting end to the season. The Championship is at its best at this time of year and you see some exceptional football, some really talented players, there are a lot of youngsters and there are also several lone players from Premier League teams who are playing very well, so you have to be attentive.

That could be stars of the future and yes, you can't take your eyes off this fight for the top two. It's going to be absolutely exciting. You were right to avoid my first question. You didn't answer. I'm sorry. The first two. The first two. I'm going to say I'm going to say Leester, change it, hook it up, we'll read it at the end of the season, well you can watch the championship promotion race unfold live here on Sky Sports below for IP, it's an East Anglian Derby against Norwich and will be broadcast live from midday on Saturday on Sky Sports Football