Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna understands why the EFL may look to extend the Championship play-offs in the near future.
A report from The Athletic claims that the idea, presented by Preston North End chief executive Peter Risdale, has received ‘wide initial support from Championship clubs’.
“The proposal is for a similar format to the one used by the National League, with the team that finishes fifth playing the eighth-place team and sixth meeting seventh in singles ties at the better-placed teams home ground,” reporter Matt Slater explained.
“But unlike the National League play-offs, which are all one-off matches, the winners of these eliminators would then proceed to two-legged ties against the teams that finished third and fourth, with the winers meeting at Wembley for a place in the Premier League.”
It remains to be seen whether or not it will be implemented, and when it could happen, but McKenna is open to the idea of giving clubs more to fight for in such a competitive league.
“I get it, it sort of extends it,” he argued. “I feel like it’s really competitive anyway.
“You look at the last few seasons in the Championship, the way teams can go up or down the league with a run, how tight it’s been at the bottom.
“I know the teams at the top, in the last one or two seasons, have hit really high points totals, but there’s no guarantee it will continue forever.
“I think it’s one that, even coming back into it, you realise watching the other teams and the other games that it’s one of the most competitive divisions in world football already.
“The gap between every team is small, every team has good players. You can get good players in the Championship whether you’ve got a big budget or a small budget. It’s one of the most competitive divisions anyway.
“Extending that to give a few more teams something to fight for in the last couple of games would probably bring more jeopardy to it at the end, so I see the thinking behind it.”
Does that mean the proposal gets his support?
“I’d have to think about it a little bit further,” he replied.
