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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Gary O’Neil are among the leading candidates to become manager at Ipswich.

Former Manchester United boss Solskjaer is high on the Tractor Boys’ list to succeed Kieran McKenna at Portman Road.

Solskjaer took a break from management after leaving Manchester United in 2021 but was keen for a quick return following his exit from Besiktas last summer.

He was overlooked for a return to Old Trafford last season, in favour of Michael Carrick, with United feeling it would be better to avoid someone who had done the job before.

McKenna worked under Solksjaer – along with his assistant Martyn Pert – at Manchester United when the Norwegian led them to second in the Premier League in 2020-21.

BBC Sport reported Ipswich’s interest in O’Neil earlier this month and the Strasbourg boss has long been admired by the club’s hierarchy.

He played at Bristol City when current Ipswich chief executive Mark Ashton was CEO.

The French side had been confident of keeping the former Wolves head coach, who joined the club in January, but he remains a contender for the Tractor Boys.

The club are looking for a new head coach after McKenna stepped down last week, despite leading them back to the Premier League by finishing second in the Championship last season.

The 40-year-old took charge of the Tractor Boys in 2021 and guided them to three promotions in the past four seasons, two of which have taken the club into the top flight.

McKenna was linked with the Fulham job after Marco Silva’s departure, but quit to take a break from the game and spend more time with his family.

“I feel this is the right time for me to step aside,” he said.

“I do so with great pride at the incredible progress we have made and with huge hope and optimism for the future of the club.”

Fabio Wardley tells BBC Sport how he went from playing football for Ipswich Town’s academy to stepping into the ring in white collar boxing.

The Ipswich-born fighter, now WBO world champion, will defend his title for the first time when he faces Daniel Dubois in Manchester on Saturday.

READ MORE: Wardley v Dubois – all you need to know

Wrexham’s dream of reaching the Premier League is over, for this season anyway.

And for Ryan Reynolds, it was tough to stomach.

“I am completely gutted by today’s result but incredibly proud of our season,” the actor wrote on X after the Welsh club he co-owns missed out on a place in the playoffs in the second-tier Championship by drawing 2-2 with Middlesbrough in a dramatic final round of the regular season on Saturday.

That allowed Hull to jump ahead of Wrexham and into sixth place — the fourth and final spot in the playoffs — courtesy of a 2-1 win over Norwich in a match played at the same time.

The winning goal for Hull, by Oli McBurnie in the 67th, appeared to be scored from an offside position but there are no video reviews in the English Football League.

It ended Wrexham’s unprecedented run of three straight promotions under its famous owners — a streak that began by getting out of the fifth tier in the 2022-23 season and has been documented in the globally popular, Emmy Award-winning “Welcome to Wrexham” series.

Still, seventh place marked the Wrexham’s highest finish in its history, bettering the 15th position it achieved in the second tier in the 1978–79 season.

“We’ve come a long way in five years and this was the best result in our 150+ year history,” Reynolds wrote alongside a graphic that showed how Wrexham has risen from the National League. “More to do. But for now, we have so much to be proud of, Reds.”

Elsewhere, Ipswich secured the second automatic promotion spot behind champion Coventry — and an immediate return to the Premier League — by beating Queens Park Rangers 3-0.

Ipswich is owned by U.S. investment group Gamechanger 20 Limited and counts pop star Ed Sheeran as a minority shareholder.

Joining Hull in the playoffs, which begin next week and are over two legs, are Millwall, Southampton and Middlesbrough.

Millwall will face Hull, and Southampton will meet Middlesbrough.

Best-ever finish by Wrexham

It was a memorable campaign by Wrexham in its first season in the second tier since the 1980s.

However, the short-term pain was acute, and Wrexham’s players sat on the ground and looked disconsolate after the final whistle — even though the Hull-Norwich match hadn’t finished.

Wrexham started the day in sixth place, ahead of Hull on goal difference, and conceded in the fourth minute to Middlesbrough, only to score through Josh Windass and Sam Smith for a 2-1 lead by the 41st.

Middlesbrough hit back immediately with a 43rd-minute equalizer but Wrexham finished the stronger, squandering a string of great late chances for a winner that would have secured a playoff place on goal difference.

Wrexham’s Josh Windass squats on the field and looks dejected following a draw with Middlesbrough on Saturday.

(Michael Steele / Getty Images)

In the end, Wrexham finished two points behind Hull.

“This squad as it stands, with a preseason together, will be even stronger next year,” said Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson, who oversaw a summer spend of around $40 million last year.

“Of course we’ll always look to add to that to try and give ourselves an even better chance … we know where we’d like to strengthen and what we need to improve on. We’ll do that and we’ll make this squad as strong as we possibly can to mount a challenge next year.”

Douglas writes for the Associated Press.