Kieran McKenna masterstroke could deliver Ipswich Town promotion | OneFootball

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna has made an excellent tactical switch involving Marcelino Nunez that could deliver promotion.

Kieran McKenna is known for being one of the most highly-rated coaches in the EFL, and the Ipswich Town boss may well have made a tactical choice that could prove to be a promotion-winning masterstroke for the Tractor Boys.

Following their relegation from the Premier League last season, Ipswich were widely viewed as the title favourites before the 2025/26 Championship campaign got underway.

However, it has been a mixed start to the campaign for the Suffolk-based outfit as they remain outside of the top six and the play-off places after 13 matches of the campaign.

They have often lacked a fluency in attack and a general cohesion all over the pitch, despite boasting a squad that will be the envy of pretty much every other team in the division.

That said, it is an almost entirely different squad from the one that gained promotion to the top-flight in the 2023/24 season, and McKenna simply perhaps only required a little bit more time to work things – and that may well now be the case.

Marcelino Nunez can be the key for Kieran McKenna and Ipswich Town

Throughout the campaign, and throughout his very successful stint at Portman Road, Kieran McKenna has opted to play a 4-2-3-1 system with the player that plays in the whole more a second striker than a natural so-called ‘number 10’.

Whether that be Conor Chaplin in the past or Sammie Szmodics and Chuba Akpom this season, there is a clear preference that McKenna has for that position on the pitch.

It has brought him success in the past, but the issue this time around is that Ipswich are no longer the punchy underdogs looking to strike blows above their weight, but more the team that the opposition set up to nullify and defend against.

As a result, an almost all-out attack team in terms of personnel, that can punish teams in transition, is not necessarily what will work for Town moving forward, and being able to have more control will be required.

In the weekend's clash with QPR, McKenna opted to deploy Marcelino Nunez - who made the controversial switch from Norwich City over the summer - into that attacking midfield role, having tended to operate as more of a traditional central midfielder throughout his career.

More of a ball-player rather than someone like Szmodics or Akpom, who are more natural attackers, Nunez provided a little more caution in terms of being able to retain possession and keep the ball when required, rather than the constant attacking threat, and yet still notched a brace by playing in the final third as Ipswich hammered Queens Park Rangers by four goals to one at Loftus Road.

Following that game, however, McKenna reverted back to deploying Akpom in that number 10 position behind George Hirst, and was withdrawn for Nunez with 10 minutes to play having failed to contribute a goal or assist, as Ipswich drew the game 1-1.

Therefore, moving forward, it would make a lot of sense for Nunez, or a player of that ilk, to now be in the attacking midfield role, to provide Ipswich with an extra layer of protection for the ball, rather than being in a constant state of trying to turn things over quickly.

Kieran McKenna may have recognised Ipswich’s midfield wasn’t working

The summer transfer window saw Ipswich bring in defensive midfielder Azor Matusiwa for an undisclosed fee from Stade Rennais, as well as the re-signing of Jens Cajuste from Napoli.

The departures of Massimo Luongo and Samy Morsy meant a complete overhaul in their style was required, with the balance between Matusiwa and Cajuste not necessarily the same as Luongo and Morsy; with Luongo capable of pushing on forward as Morsy sat.

Matusiwa and Cajuste, on the other hand, both play in a similar way in terms of being out-and-out defensive midfield players and, albeit not limited in possession, certainly not regarded as tempo-setters.

Jack Taylor was also brought into the side at QPR to provide a bit more balance in terms of the profile of midfielder deployed by McKenna, but a midfield partnership of Cajuste and Matusiwa certainly has more chance of working if the ‘number 10’ is a link player, such as Nunez, rather than a second striker.

McKenna has been a sought-after coach in the past, but his stock has potentially dipped slightly in recent times given Ipswich's relegation and their subsequent start to this season.

It could well be, though, that the former Manchester United assistant manager has again worked out a tactical solution to propel Ipswich back into the Premier League. It's now just a case of sticking to it.