Ipswich Town narrowly missed out on the play-offs as they finished in 7th place in the Championship.
Despite finishing a place below from their previous campaign, the side will be encouraged with their strong finish to the season - remaining undefeated in their final 5 games.
The Tractor Boys have progressed over the past century in the second-tier and are now considered to be an established Championship side.
However, how long will the fans have to wait to be the most highly regarded side in Suffolk ahead of their neighbours Norwich City.
The Canaries were relegated from the Premier League in May, but they still remain a side that can attract quality players to Carrow Road and are expected to bounce straight back to the top-flight.
Mick McCarthy has done extremely well to guide his side to a relatively high finish on such a low income, but many of the Ipswich fans will grow tired of their side being labelled as the club that comes ‘close but yet so far’.
There is a large amount of work to do at Portman Road for them to become a side that has the potential to seriously be considered for promotion.
The summer will be used to see how Ipswich Town can move forward as a football club, with Football League World Writer, Ashley Williams analysing the FOUR changes that Ipswich Town must amplify over the summer….
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PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE FOUR THINGS!
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McCarthy remaining at Portman Road
Mick McCarthy has been pivotal to Ipswich’s progression during his reign in Suffolk, and will be looking for a third promotion in his managerial career after guiding Wolves and Sunderland to the Premier League.
However, his efforts at Ipswich have not gone unnoticed as there are clubs without a manager looking to take on the experienced coach.
Ipswich Town need to do their utmost to keep their boss, if they want to go that one step further next season.
Money available to spend on players
The funds for transfer have been extremely limited at Portman Road.
Money seems to be the pathway to success with clubs like Burnley splashing the cash on players such as Andre Gray last season, who finished the Championship's top goal scorer.
The best players have the highest valuations and Ipswich need to spend, if they are going to progress.
They mainly used the loan market last season, but you can not always rely on temporary players to make a club successful.
Change the style of play
Ipswich Town’s fans began to grow in frustration with the club’s style of the play.
The supporters had regarded the football as being boring at Portman Road after witnessing six 0-0 draws this season.
In April, The Tractor Boys did not score in three of their games during the month and when you look at the Championship promotion race, they didn’t warrant a serious mention, even though they were within a touching distance of the top six.
The club are now entering their 15th successive season in the Championship and for a side that has achieved a play-off spot just twice during that reign; they really should be doing better.
Squad clear out
There are a large amount of players that should be regarded as dead wood at the club.
These players need to be moved on in order for fresh quality players to come in and bring that excitement back to Portman Road.
The fans want to witness the thrill that they experienced last season after reaching the top six. However, this will depend on the previous argument to whether the owner gives McCarthy funds to improve the squad.
Ipswich fans.. Do these four decisions need to be made for Ipswich to progress? Is there any other things that should happen at the club over the summer? Let us know in your thoughts and opinions below!