John Lyall took charge of Ipswich Town in 1990 and his first full season in charge at the club saw Ipswich slump to a 14th position finish in the second division, their lowest league finish since 1966. They crashed out of the FA Cup and league cup in the third round of the cup competitions as they suffered defeats in both tournaments against Southampton.
The 1991 – 92 campaign proved to be an emphatic success for Ipswich as they were outstanding g in the second division and comfortably won the second division league title at the end of the campaign to gain promotion in to the premiership. They reached the fifth round of the FA Cup, only suffering defeat to future FA Cup winners Liverpool after extra time being played. Their first season playing premiership football was a decent one for Ipswich town FC as they finished the campaign off in 16th position, ensuring their survival in the premier league. They enjoyed fine cup runs in both the league cup and FA Cup reaching the quarter finals of both competitions as they suffered defeats against Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday respectively. Jason Dozzell was in outstanding form for Ipswich through out the campaign.
The 1993 – 1994 league season saw Town ensure survival for a second successive campaign as they narrowly escaped relegation finishing the term off in 19th position. They reached the fifth round of the FA Cup, suffering a 2-1 defeat against Wolves.