IPSWICH Town boss Kieran McKenna has labelled his side's dramatic 3-2 win over Saints in April as a "big moment" in their push for automatic promotion.

Substitute Jeremy Sarmiento scored a last-minute winner at Portman Road after Russell Martin's side had led 2-1 thanks to goals by Che Adams and Adam Armstrong.

Nathan Broadhead equalised for Ipswich with 22 minutes remaining before James Bree's contentious red card turned the game in the hosts' favour.

Despite the blow for Saints, they were able to join McKenna's side in the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Leeds United in the Championship playoff final at Wembley.

“Southampton here was a great game," McKenna said, reflecting on the season.

"It was really, really tough, they played well on the day and gave us problems. We gave them plenty of problems as well.

"We played some good football, we showed resilience, we kept going. The last-minute winner was maybe the latest goal we’ve scored.

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"It felt like the biggest last-minute winner we’ve had here for many years.

"So many fans came up and said they’d never heard stadium noise like that in their lifetimes. It certainly felt like that – that was a big moment.”

He continued: "I didn’t feel like, ‘Ah, one foot there, we’re virtually there now’. It just felt like a big moment of, ‘We have just beaten Southampton with a last-minute winner from 2-1 down’.

"I remember reading some stuff after that it had one of the highest EFL viewership records ever, the eyes of the nation were on it.

"I think there was hardly any football on that day in the world, so it felt like a game that everyone was watching.

“We didn’t know how the season was going to end, but it felt like, whatever happened at the end of the season, that was going to be a day, a game, a finish to a game that people would remember for years to come.”

Russell Martin's Saints will find out when they will face Ipswich during next season's Premier League when the fixtures are announced on Tuesday, June 18.

McKenna was heavily linked to a move to Chelsea and Brighton following the conclusion of the Championship season amid a managerial merry-go-round.

The former Manchester United coach signed a new and lucrative long-term contract to remain at Portman Road until 2028.

Meanwhile, Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca - who led his side to the Championship title ahead of Ipswich and Saints - did move on.

He has been named manager at Stamford Bridge, departing the Foxes to sign a five-year contract at the Blues.

Leicester are being linked with a move for West Brom boss Carlos Corberan as his replacement after the Baggies were beaten by Saints as playoff semi-finalists.

Saints chairman Henrik Kraft had detailed the club's desire to keep Martin at St Mary's regardless of the outcome of the Wembley final.

Victory against Leeds to win promotion to the Premier League may have pushed Martin higher on the shortlists of clubs looking for new management.

Saints will hope they can keep hold of the 38 year old, who enters his sixth season as a boss and first in the Premier League.