There will be noise around boss Kieran McKenna again this summer - Ashton must keep hold of Town's main asset (Image: PA)
KEEP KIERAN MCKENNA
Top of the priority list, just as it was two summers ago, is keep hold of the man who's led the Blue to a staggering three promotions in four seasons.
After they got promoted to the promised land in 2024, we had the great McKenna saga. Would he stay? Would he go? Rumours and gossip were everywhere.
Manchester United, Chelsea and Brighton were all strongly linked, but in the end Ashton persuaded McKenna to stay on and sign a fat new contract.
Well, brace yourselves for the great McKenna saga 2.0 this summer. The brilliant young Town boss will inevitably be linked with every top job going.
Ashton has already conceded that there will be a 'a lot of noise' around his manager. Once again, he'll need to pull out all the stops to ensure he goes nowhere.
Wes Burns deserves a new deal (Image: Ross Halls)
GIVE WES BURNS A NEW CONTRACT
Few players embody the Ipswich Town rebirth story better than the flying Welsh winger, who's out of contract this summer.
He was Ashton's first signing as Town CEO, the opening salvo in that crazy Demolition Man summer of 2021.
Fast forward five years, and Burns has been a key part of three promotion sides. He plays that right wing role - so crucial to McKenna's system - better than anyone else, and has recovered remarkably well from his devastating ACL rupture.
What's more, I think he can be a good Premier League player. He's fast, physical and athletic, with the sort of profile Town are going to need next season.
I know he's 31 and may be offered longer-term security elsewhere, but I'd be going the extra mile to bring Burns back. We know Wes wants to stay. Make it happen, Mark.
Town can sign Jens Cajuste this summer - but should they? (Image: Steve Waller)
MAKE BIG CALLS
This is a given for a man who wears two hats, as both chairman and CEO of the Blues.
But Town need some straight-talking, sharp-shooting decision making this summer.
They've already had to sign Chuba Akpom, a man who scored just two goals on loan this past season. Is he good enough for the Premier League? You'd say no - so let's move him on asap.
They have until June 10th to decide if they want to sign Jens Cajuste permanently for around £6.4m from Napoli. He was great in the Prem last time out, but struggled in the Championship. Time to move on, so ciao Jens, grazie mille.
Likewise, does Harry Clarke really have a future in Ipswich given the step up to the Premier League? Again, the answer is probably no.
Hopefully you get my drift. Town need positive, aggressive decision-making this summer. There is no room for sentiment (apart from Wes Burns).
Ashton's admitted they need to change tact on recruitment (Image: Ross Halls)
LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES
Ashton is a man fond of saying he'll make mistakes, but he rarely admits making them. Farage-gate aside - and I don't want to re-open that festering wound - I can only recall him 'fessing up to one - that they got recruitment wrong last time they went up to the Prem.
"One of the things that we learnt was that gap in the physicality, the physical attributes of players that are required in the Premier League," he told pal Simon Jordan on TalkSport.
"When we look to recruit players now in the Championship, we have to adjust and amend how we recruit players.
"We need to look at players with the physical attributes because the reality is Kieran can coach them, but you can’t develop the physical attributes to the level that you need to compete.
“So it’s an evolution for us. We have to look at recruiting a different type of player, a player with a different set of physical attributes."
Which brings me to...
Azor Matusiwa and Leif Davis are Premier League starters - but Town need to recruit a lot more this summer (Image: Ross Halls)
RECRUTMENT, RECRUITMENT, RECRUITMENT
How many of Town's current squad are capable of stepping up and being Premier League starters week-in, week out? Not many, I'd say.
Azor Matusiwa, Dara O'Shea, Leif Davis and Jaden Philogene might be it. I'm not sold on Jack Clarke at the top level. So there's a huge summer of recruitment ahead - and Ashton simply has to get it right.
Last time out, there were some big hits as the Blues stepped up - Liam Delap, obviously, but also the likes of Omari Hutchinson, Dara O'Shea and Cajuste.
In contrast, Aro Muric was a big swing and a miss, as was Kalvin Phillips and - though it wasn't his fault - Chieo Ogbene. Time has not been kind to the Sammie Szmodics signing either.
You're never going to get a 100% hit rate, of course. But Town's summer recruitment this time around must be focused around a blend of athleticism and physicality, plus adding much more top tier experience, rather than simply buying the best of the Championship and hoping they can make the giant leap up.