Gary O'Neil has been appointed as the new manager of Ipswich Town, returning to the Premier League after 18 months. The Tractor Boys accelerated the process of selecting O'Neil as their manager early last week, and he has long been one of their options. Ipswich have been preparing for McKenna's departure and talks with O'Neil have progressed quickly. O'Neil, like all managers, demanded assurances about player recruitment and Ipswich's financial strength. These questions were resolved, and Strasbourg and owners BlueCo wanted him to remain in France. He has had positive talks with Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali, and while Eghbali was keen to keep O'Neil, the decision appears to have been made rather easily thanks to tight budgets and the perception that it would be difficult to replace Chelsea-bound Emmanuel Emegha and Valentin Barco. Ipswich are expected to look to strengthen their squad in preparation for a return to the Premier League, with the aim being survival and competing with the bottom six. Ipswich feel they are better prepared this season than McKenna has been as he led them to back-to-back promotions from League One. O'Neil will be supported and, with his time at Bournemouth and Wolves cut short, he has the perfect opportunity to re-establish himself in the Premier League.
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