Boss Kieran McKenna believes Town will need what’s set to be another close-to-sell-out crowd behind them when they face Blackburn Rovers at Portman Road on Saturday having been very impressed with what he’s seen of the Lancastrians this season.

The third-placed Blues go into the game having won six out of seven on their return to the Championship, their best start to a season since the 1980/81 campaign widely regarded as the best in the club’s history when Sir Bobby Robson’s men won seven out of eight, drawing the other.

Blackburn, who finished seventh last season, missing out on the play-offs on goal difference, are currently 12th in the Championship having been beaten 3-1 at home by their former manager and Town legend Tony Mowbray’s Sunderland side on Wednesday.

Away from home this season, Rovers have won one, a 1-0 success at Watford in late August, drawn one and lost one. They were beaten 3-0 by Plymouth on their last trip.

Conceding goals would appear to be the Lancastrians’ main issue with only three sides having shipped more than their 12 in their seven league matches so far.

Despite that, McKenna says he has been impressed with what he’s seen from Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side.

“I think they're an excellent team, I have to say, and that's not just being respectful to the next opponent,” he said.

“I think they are a team who do a lot of things that I really like. They share some of our principles.

“They've got a really aggressive attacking mindset, they've had the highest expected goals in the league, the most amount of counter-attacking shots, one of the most amount of high-press shots, they’re a really, really aggressive attacking team.

“They're top three for basically every physical parameter that you could measure and they're a hard-running, aggressive team. So I think they're a really challenging opponent.

“We're going to need a massive effort physically and mentally, and we're going to need the supporters right behind us. We're going to need the stadium right with us right through the game.

“And a team that we certainly respect. We've of course looked at the areas where we'll try and hurt them, but we know it's going to be a big challenge for us, and we're going to have to go and deliver a really good performance.”

McKenna says former Denmark international Tomasson is not a manager with whom he has previously crossed paths.

“No, never came across him before,” he added. “But I'd say I'm very impressed with his group of players and the ethos and the style that he's implemented there.”

Blackburn were one of a number of sides, not least Luton who ultimately won promotion, to fight it out at the top of the division last season, despite not having the biggest of budgets.

“I think they were in around the play-offs nearly all season,” McKenna recalled. “I don't know what their budget is. I think they've got good players as well. They've got young, hungry, athletic players, and they're well drilled in a really positive playing style. 

“They'll be a good opponent and a good challenge, and we think we'll be a good challenge for them as well. I'm sure they'll know coming that we're a tough opponent as well.

“I think it could be a really good match and we'll have to give it absolute maximum effort, and we're going to really need, hopefully, near-on 30,000 people there.

“We're going to need the support to be really right behind us and give us that energy and that push and make it as formidable a place as we can possibly make it for Blackburn and as good a place to play for us as possible.”

Last week’s 1-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday was McKenna’s 50th as Town boss in only 87 games in charge, a record for a Blues manager.

Asked whether that achievement means anything, the Northern Irishman responded: “Of course it means something. It maybe just doesn't mean so much today because we want to get the next win, get the next win after that and the next performance.

“It's great to be on such a good run. It's great to have had such a positive time at the club so far, but there's actually no time to pause really. 

“We had a little pause at the end of last season, the chance to enjoy promotion and enjoy our record last year, but when you're in the middle of seven games in 21 days, the next big challenge is just around the corner.

“There's no time to pause and look at these things. All we can do is try and deliver another performance and give the fans things to keep enjoying and create some more memories for ourselves. We'll do the counting when the dealing's done, as they say.”

The game comes at the end of a week in which the Blues have travelled to Sheffield and Southampton, while some members of the squad had previously been on international duty which took them to Egypt and the US among other destinations.

Asked whether the travelling has had much impact on the preparations for Rovers’ visit, he added: “I think the supporters probably hit the M3 closures after Southampton, and the reporters!

“It’s far from everywhere, so the journeys are a challenge. We’re not the only club in the league who have it but we’ve got plenty of long travel.

“But it is what it is, we have to make the most of it, recover as well as we can. We gave the players Wednesday off because it was maybe half-three before they got back to bed after Tuesday, so we gave them Wednesday off.

“That means you have a bit of a shorter run into the game, but we still had two days to prepare the game and, of course, it works differently. some weeks. Southampton had an extra day and we were travelling and now Blackburn we’ve had an extra day than Blackburn and they’re travelling.

“These are the challenges over the course of a season and sometimes it’s in your favour, sometimes not.

“We have a really good team here, I have to say, supporting the players from a recovery and a physical perspective to get them in the best condition possible and I think that’s well reflected in that we had every member of the squad training today and hopefully it will be reflected in the energy levels that we can manage to give tomorrow.”

Vaclav Hladky will continue in goal with Harry Clarke probably again at right-back, despite Janoi Donacien having returned to training this week after his groin injury.

Similarly, Leif Davis was back in training today having hurt his ankle at Hillsborough, but may not be risked so soon after his return and Brandon Williams seems likely to make his full home debut at left-back, with Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess the central defenders.

In the middle of midfield, Massimo Luongo could rejoin skipper Sam Morsy from the start having come on as a sub for Jack Taylor at St Mary’s on Tuesday.

Wes Burns is likely to be on the right, Conor Chaplin in the centre and Nathan Broadhead on the left of the three behind the striker, despite Omari Hutchinson’s excellent goalscoring full debut against Southampton. The on-loan Chelsea man seems certain to come off the bench at some stage. George Hirst seems likely to get the nod as the number nine.

Like McKenna, Rovers boss Tomasson has been impressed with what he has seen of the team his side will face on Saturday.

“We’re playing against a good opponent who have had a great start,” he told RoversTV.

“They have 18 points, they’re towards the top of the league and have coped with the Championship really well.

“They’re used to winning and have a good home record as well. It’s going to be a really good challenge and one I’m looking forward to seeing.

“They have a good feeling and they’ve not conceded chances at all when you look at their last two games.

“They want to play football and they’re a good side who have a good coach. We need to do the right things and know what to expect from Ipswich.”

Icelandic international midfielder Arnor Sigurdsson, a summer loan signing from CSKA Moscow, is available after suffering a groin injury in pre-season and could be handed his debut.

Sigurdsson and another midfielder, Sondre Tronstad, who has also travelled, both played for Rovers’ U21s earlier in the week.

However, forward Niall Ennis (knee), defender Sam Barnes (thigh) and forward Sam Gallagher (calf) all remain sidelined. You can read more on the Blackburn squad in a blog here.

Town have had the upper hand on Rovers historically, winning 19 games (16 in the league), losing 16 (15) and drawing 18 (17).

Blackburn last won at Portman Road in November 1994 when they defeated John Lyall's Blues 3-1.

The teams last met in January 2019 when second-half goals from Danny Graham, from the penalty spot, and sub Joe Nuttall saw Blackburn to a 2-0 victory over the Blues at Ewood Park.

Callum Elder felled Adam Armstrong for the spot-kick converted by Graham on 65, then Nuttall added the second nine minutes later with his first touch seconds after coming on.

At Portman Road on the opening day of that season, which would ultimately end in Town’s relegation, debutant sub Tayo Edun netted a fortuitous injury-time equaliser as the Blues and Blackburn drew 2-2 in Paul Hurst’s first game in charge of Town.

Gwion Edwards put the home side in front with a debut goal of his own in the fifth minute but Graham and Bradley Dack put Rovers in front at the break and the visitors might well have sealed the win before Edun’s late leveller.

Blues keeper Christian Walton spent the 2019/20 campaign on loan at Ewood Park, making 46 appearances.

Striker Hirst was with Rovers on loan in the first half of last season but made only three starts and eight sub appearances without scoring before his spell was cut short and he joined Town on loan in January before making his move from Leicester permanent in the summer.

Former Town frontman David Lowe is first-team coach at Blackburn. Lowe made 144 starts and 15 sub appearances for the Blues between 1987 and 1991, scoring 44 goals.

Saturday’s referee is Keith Stroud from Hampshire, who has shown 26 yellow cards and one red in five games so far this season.

Veteran official Stroud’s most recent visit to Portman Road was for the pre-season friendly against West Ham last summer but it’s been more than four years since he last took charge of a competitive Town match, the 1-1 home draw with Nottingham Forest in March 2019 in which he cautioned only two of the visitors.

Before that, he refereed the 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa in January of the same year in which he awarded a highly contentious penalty against Alan Judge after John McGinn had gone to ground in the area, while denying the Blues what looked a more obvious spot-kick when Collin Quaner’s goalbound shot was handled by Tommy Elphick. In addition, Stroud booked Myles Kenlock and three home players.

He was also in charge of the 3-0 loss at QPR on Boxing Day 2018 in which Matthew Pennington, Luke Chambers and one home player were cautioned.

Stroud was the man in the middle for the 2-1 defeat to West Brom in November that year and again yellow-carded Pennington and three visiting players.

Prior to that he took charge of the 4-0 victory at Reading in April 2018 in which he kept his cards in his pocket throughout.

He also refereed the 4-1 defeat at Fulham in three months earlier in which he red-carded Jordan Spence and booked Chambers, Joe Garner, Callum Connolly, Martyn Waghorn and three Cottagers.

Before that he took control of the 2-2 home draw with Sheffield Wednesday in November 2017 when he booked Skuse and one Owl. However, he failed to issue a card of either colour for Glenn Loovens’s groin-high horror challenge on David McGoldrick.

He was also the ref for the Blues’ 1-1 draw at Leeds in February of the same year in which he booked only Jonas Knudsen.

Stroud was the man in the middle of the 3-2 win at Wigan in December 2016, awarding the Blues a contentious penalty, which was converted by Brett Pitman, and booked the striker, Andre Dozzell, Tom Lawrence and three home players.

Before that, he was in charge of the 4-2 victory over Barnsley at Portman Road on the opening day of 2016/17 when he also awarded the Blues a penalty which was converted by McGoldrick. He booked Bishop, Kevin Bru and three Tykes.

He refereed the 3-2 home victory over the MK Dons in the final home match of 2015/16, in which he cautioned Tommy Smith and one opposition player and awarded the visitors a spot-kick.

Stroud officiated in the 1-1 home draw with Birmingham in September 2015 in which he gave the Blues another penalty, again netted by Pitman, which was bitterly disputed by the visitors when Ainsley Maitland-Niles was felled by Jonathan Spector. He yellow-carded Christophe Berra, Jonathan Douglas and two visiting players.

A former Premier League referee and one-time FIFA assistant, Stroud also refereed the 3-2 defeat at Brighton in January 2015, the 1-0 derby defeat to Norwich at Portman Road in August 2014 and Town’s 1-0 home victory over Birmingham in March of the same year.

Squad from: Hladky, Slicker, Clarke, Williams, Davis, Ball, Woolfenden, Burgess, Edmundson, Baggott, Morsy (c), Evans, Luongo, Taylor, Humphreys, Burns, Jackson, Chaplin, Broadhead, Harness, Aluko, Hutchinson, Hirst, Jackson, Scarlett, Ladapo.

Photo: TWTD

MK1 added 20:35 - Sep 22 A full house at Portman Road is going to be rocking tomorrow. Bring it on.
3

gosblue added 09:18 - Sep 23 This ref is a jinx or a budgie. We can beat him too. COYB
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carsey added 09:22 - Sep 23 I think Town are going to need their scoring boots on today and make sure they take every opportunity to score. Blackburn's shots on target ratio make it very likely they will score at some point and the last two matches Town have not been at it with several good chances missed. Would be nice to demolish someone.
1

Nomore4 added 09:23 - Sep 23 A straightforward 3 points imo
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carsey added 09:25 - Sep 23 @gosblue I reckon you are correct and he's averaging 5 yellow cards a game so I fear for Morsy today.
2

carsey added 09:25 - Sep 23 @gosblue I reckon you are correct and he's averaging 5 yellow cards a game so I fear for Morsy today.
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carsey added 09:25 - Sep 23 @gosblue I reckon you are correct and he's averaging 5 yellow cards a game so I fear for Morsy today.
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gosblue added 09:32 - Sep 23 A Morsy yellow wouldn’t be such a bad thing if it gives him a night off on Tuesday. Is that how it would work?
1

Marinersnose added 12:18 - Sep 23 A really tough opponent today who score many goals. We need to be on our game from the start. I expect a game similar to Leeds but hopefully with a positive win. We will have a strong lineup which is encouraging
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