Ipswich Town boss issues Leeds United and Leicester City promotion race pressure verdict

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna believes his players are relishing the pressure that comes with being involved in a battle for promotion. The Tractor Boys currently sit on top of the Championship table and with just three games to go, they know that their fate is well and truly in their own hands.

Leicester City sit a point behind them with a game in hand, while Leeds United are another point further back in third. Both of those teams could leapfrog Ipswich before they next kick a ball with the Suffolk outfit being forced to wait until April 27 for their next Championship outing.

Ipswich will be looking to pick up their first win in four games on that occasion, having seen their form stutter somewhat in recent weeks. Leicester and Leeds are stumbling towards the finish line, too, with the Whites picking up just one win in their last five.

Indeed, the pressure of the promotion battle appears to be biting, but McKenna, who has been pleased with what he has seen from his Ipswich outfit of late, can't see it taking as much of a toll on his players as they prepare for the final push.

"I think it's fair to say that keeping your composure and being really strong and tight from a mental point of view as a group is really important,” he told the East Anglian Daily Times. “But my honest opinion is I don't think it's been a big factor for us.

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"You take the last block of games, we've won a couple, drawn a couple, lost one, but they've been really tough games - Blackburn away, Southampton, then having three play-off chasing teams in Norwich, Watford and Middlesbrough in the space of seven days.

"I've been happy with our performances in general, probably bar one of those games, and I think our players are enjoying it. They're enjoying the run-in, they're enjoying the games, they're enjoying the competition.

"This is not trying to shy away from anything, but we don't feel like there's pressure on us to the extent of the other teams. We know what the goal is, we're working with everything we can towards it and I think we're enjoying the run-in."