No Christmas rest for Ipswich, says chairman Ashton

Mark Ashton has been Ipswich Town chief executive since 2021

Ipswich Town chairman and chief executive Mark Ashton believes the Christmas period will be crucial to their chances of regaining a place in the Premier League at the first attempt.

Town won back-to-back promotions under Kieran McKenna to reach the top flight, but their stay lasted only one season and ended in relegation in May.

But they went into Saturday's game against Wrexham just outside the Championship play-off places, with nine further matches to follow before the end of 2025.

"We have an incredible number of games in a short period and the depth of the squad will be tested but that's what we've built and prepared for and with Kieran at the helm, I think we'll be really competitive," Ashton told BBC Look East.

"There's no days off, we'll be in Christmas Day, that's just what we do - Kieran's mentality is that we're in and we work.

"If you take your foot off the gas at any point in time, people will come past you, your competitors will move in front (of you), and there's no way Kieran, myself and the staff will allow that.

"We'll keep our foot on the gas and push forward hard and quick and try to get as many points on the board as we can."

Ashton described this season's Championship as "brutal" and "one of the best leagues in the world".

And he said of his dual role: "It isn't a job, it's a way of life. You have to be obsessed with it and you have to be all-in.

"Whether it's birthdays, Christmases, Saturday, Sundays, all the days roll into one and you've just got to be 'at it'. Kieran is exactly the same and that's what you have to do if you want to work at the top end of the game."

Despite last season's struggles in the Premier League, Ipswich remain a club "on the up", Ashton insisted.

"We've still got a huge part of our journey to go, building a new training ground, we've got work to do at Portman Road," he continued.

"The team is coming together nicely but a club is more than just the football, it's a hub, the heartbeat of its local community and you see that with 30,000 people at Portman Road every other week.

"It's a very special football club that has a very special relationship with the town."

The new training ground at Playford Road is due for completion by the summer in time for players to return for pre-season training.

Ashton said: "We're on budget, we're on time, it's a multi-million pound development - that will give everyone a boost, real first-class facilities for our men, our women, our academy and it will be a total change at Playford Road for us."

He was speaking after opening the Town's Christmas Fayre with mayor Stefan Long, with proceeds going to East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH).

"I live a very privileged life and sometimes you've got to put something back," Ashton added.

"It goes back to 'it's about the people' and anything we can do to help and support, we'll do it."