New coach, no fear: what Manchester United can expect from a reinvented Ipswich Town

Gary O’Neil’s Ipswich Town travel to Old Trafford on Sunday carrying genuine momentum after beating Sunderland on the opening day of the new Premier League season — and, according to those close to the club, a renewed sense of belief that last season’s relegation struggles need not be repeated.

The backdrop to Ipswich’s summer was dramatic. Kieran McKenna, the man who delivered three promotions in four seasons and had become a near-mythical figure at Portman Road, announced in June that he was stepping away from the game. “It was a complete bombshell,” Stuart Watson, chief football writer at the East Anglian Daily Times, told MEN Sport. “Kieran McKenna had written himself into Ipswich Town folklore. He was adored by the fanbase and players alike.”

McKenna had been talking publicly about the club being better equipped for the Premier League this time around, and had even helped design a new state-of-the-art training ground. His sudden departure left supporters stunned. Less than two weeks later, Gary O’Neil was appointed as his replacement.

“The Gary O’Neil appointment didn’t necessarily set pulses racing to start with,” Watson admitted. “But very quickly he’s won people over.” O’Neil has been vocal about his ambitions for the club, and an active transfer window has backed that rhetoric up. The win against Sunderland, played in a front-footed, possession-based style, has lifted the mood considerably.

For Manchester United, the key question is what kind of Ipswich side they will face. Watson suggests O’Neil may actually offer a more difficult tactical puzzle than McKenna did. “If there was any slight knock on Kieran McKenna — and I’m loath to highlight too many, because he was absolutely remarkable — it was that you tactically always knew what you were going to get. There wasn’t a lot of deviation from 4-2-3-1. One or two questioned whether there was maybe a little bit of naivety to that in the Premier League.”

O’Neil, by contrast, has pointed to his record at Bournemouth and Wolves as evidence that he can adapt his approach game to game. “He too likes to be front-footed and possession-based, but he’s said he’ll be flexible,” Watson noted. “You only have to look at how he kept those clubs in the Premier League — he changed tactics in certain games.”

United, meanwhile, arrive at this fixture having endured a dismal opening-day defeat at Hull, which means the pressure on Ruben Amorim’s side to respond is considerable. Ipswich, emboldened by their own positive start and a manager still in the honeymoon phase with his squad, are unlikely to arrive at Old Trafford in a cautious mood.