Ipswich Town have opened up a lead over Millwall and Middlesbrough in the race for the Championship’s second automatic promotion place, and Kieran McKenna’s Tractor Boys have games in hand.
McLean: “I must say I believed Ipswich would finish second. I think in terms of who was going to win it, it was always going to come down to the head-to-head between Coventry and Middlesbrough, and Coventry winning in such convincing fashion kicked them on and almost dismantled Middlesbrough’s season.
“So I think what you’re seeing now is Ipswich being the most consistent team, and they have games in hand on Middlesbrough and Millwall in the race for second place.
“From their past nine games, they have six wins and three draws. Middlesbrough, by comparison, have gone six games without a win.
“Middlesbrough, even with all the possession they had against one of the bottom teams, they’re not clinical like they were earlier in the season.
“Millwall and Hull have dropped off a bit, but just being in and around the play-offs and being talked about as a team that could have gone on and got automatic promotion, is still a huge positive.
“They’re going to get little bumps in the road and it’s about how they react, and I expect both of them to bounce back.”
