Ed Sheeran enjoyed partying with the Ipswich Town players as he led them in a sing-song dedicated to manager Kieran McKenna.
The music icon is heavily involved with the club he supports and is a current shirt sponsor. The Tractor Boys secured promotion to the Premier League - where they haven't played since 2002 - on the final day as they saw off Huddersfield Town at Portman Road
McKenna has proved to be an inspired appointment - in his first full season he led Ipswich to promotion from League One and they were immediately tipped to back up that success and challenge once more. The Tractor Boys won 11 of their first 13 games and ended up sealing a second successive promotion with 96 points.
Sheeran was at the Miami Grand Prix on the day Ipswich secured their top-flight status and a video has now circulated on social media with the singer and the players. It shows himself getting mobbed as he led the group with his guitar as they sung in tribute to their manager. Ipswich star Conor Chaplin also uploaded a video of him singing Sheeran's hit A-team with the pop star, and wrote: "Best night of my life."
McKenna was previously an assistant to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United. The Norwegian was often criticised for having a lack of experience behind him, but the young coach has proven himself in the Football League after stepping out on his own.
UK artists claim top 10 places in annual UK singles chart for 1st timeThe squad have already enjoyed a bus parade through the town with their manager telling Sky Sports: “It’s an incredible turnout, amazing seeing so much joy. Everyone deserves it, the whole town deserves it, the players … for how hard they’ve worked. And the supporters, who’ve followed so loyally for years and have been waiting for a day like this.
“We just set out to be as good as we could possibly be. The closer you get to the end you know you’re within reach of an amazing achievement and we’re so glad we were able to finish off well.”
He added: “Next season will be the challenge. We kept an incredible level of consistency from League One to the Championship in all aspects really and we’re going to have to do it again. It’s a massive job. We will try to keep the best things from what we have and the most important things that have helped us get here and to try to bring them to a completely different level.”
This year in the Premier League the three promoted teams currently occupy the relegation spots as clubs find it increasingly difficult to remain in the top flight without breaking the bank.
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