McKenna: In Many Ways It's Been a Normal Week Friday, 3rd May 2024 17:13 Town boss Kieran McKenna has tried to treat this week in as normal a manner as possible, despite the noise surround the club with the Blues just a point away from a return to the Premier League and their second promotion in two seasons. McKenna’s side put themselves in a brilliant position to become only the fifth side to win back-to-back promotions from League One and into the Premier League - following Watford 1997-1999, Manchester City 1998-2000, Southampton 2010-2012 and Norwich 2009-2011 - via Tuesday’s nail-biting 2-1 win at Coventry City which put them three points ahead of third-placed Leeds United with both sides having a game to play. While the Blues are hosting all-bit-relegated Huddersfield tomorrow, the Whites are visited by Southampton, hoping Town fall to what would be only their second home defeat in 39 league matches. Asked whether it had been a normal week as much as is possible, McKenna said: “In many ways it has been, to be honest. Of course, a three-game week is never a quiet week, especially when you have away games, Saturday and Tuesday, both night games. “That makes for a busy schedule anyway. But other than that, it's been pretty normal. It's been preparing now the last two days for what we have coming up on Saturday for a big game against Huddersfield and it's one we're all looking forward to.” McKenna says his message to the squad has been to treat it just like any other match, as he has every other big fixture over the last couple of campaigns. “That's what we've done all season,” he said. “That's what we did last season. A big part of what has made us successful up until this point is focusing on ourselves, focusing on our performance. And of course, enjoying the journey that we've been on, enjoying the steps along the way. “This is another one coming up tomorrow. But other than that, it's about focusing on the performance, getting our details right and trying to execute as well as we can. That will be the decisive thing tomorrow.” Quizzed on the importance the influence skipper Sam Morsy and the other experienced players in the squad, McKenna added: “Very important. I think not just Sam, Sam's a fantastic captain for us on and off the pitch, but he doesn't hold the whole burden of leadership in the dressing room to himself. “We've got some other fantastic senior players in there, Sone Aluko for one to mention. But we also have other players in the leadership group that do a fantastic job of helping to manage the players, helping to advise the players on how to deal with different situations and addressing issues if they come up. “Of course, tomorrow is a new situation for some, not for most. I think the majority of the players have been through a very, very similar situation last year with us, to be honest [the home game against Exeter which confirmed promotion from League One]. “You've got other players like Kieffer Moore in there who have been through this type of race before as well [with parent club AFC Bournemouth]. So we've got a really good balance in the dressing room and some fantastic senior players. “I have to say they set a really good tone for the young players and the young players we have have really fed off that and have shown great maturity all season as well. So I'm sure we'll see that on display tomorrow.” Reflecting on the scenes post-match at Coventry with the players and fans all celebrating together, McKenna said: “It was a fantastic moment and I think you have to enjoy those moments. “Of course, the professional and, I guess, the conscientious bit of yourself immediately after Tuesday night, as a manager you're thinking about Saturday, and we know we've got another game to come, but it's so important to take little pauses to be able to enjoy the moments as they come along. “Tuesday night will only be remembered as a fantastic night if we can execute and do our jobs well tomorrow, but in isolation it was a wonderful night, a big performance, a big victory and one to enjoy by itself. “We enjoyed the experience, we enjoyed the result, we enjoyed the moment with the supporters, but now it's on to a new game. “Both teams start from scratch and we need to fight and play and earn another performance and another victory, so that's what we're going to look to do on Saturday. “Of course, we know the support's going to be fantastic, we're going to get a good welcome and a great reception and we know the supporters will be right behind us for the 90 minutes, as they have been all season. “And again, that's something to enjoy. It’s something to use as fuel in the performance, but it's certainly not something that will distract us from the fact that it's a big match and we have to get our details right and execute our plan well as you do in every football match to give yourself a chance to win. “We'll enjoy the support. I'm sure it will be a big help to us, but the focus will still be on doing our jobs as well as we can.” It was notable that players who weren’t in the matchday 20 were also involved in the post-match celebrations on Tuesday, illustrating the spirit in the squad. “That’s very important,” McKenna said. “It’s clear you don’t achieve what we’ve achieved up until this point without a pretty special spirit in the group and we certainly feel like we have that. “It’s why we wanted to travel for Hull and Coventry games especially, we travelled with pretty much every player and everyone’s had a big part in getting us to this point in the season. “People have played different roles at different times, different people have stepped up across the course of the season and, as I’ve said many times, even those who haven’t played many minutes have had a big part to play. “Some of the names I’ve mentioned previously have had a big part to play and then you get people like Cieran Slicker, the third-choice goalkeeper, who hasn’t played any minutes in the league but has had a big part to play by how he trains and contributes every day. “It’s important to recognise and I know the supporters do realise, it’s not as easy from the outside, but I think the supporters know you don’t get to this point without a big squad and a big group of players all pulling in the same direction. “We’ve certainly had that. It was why it was nice to be able to share that with the whole group on Tuesday night and hopefully we’ll be able to share another good performance and another good victory on Saturday with the whole group, that the whole group will have had a part to play in in different ways.” Asked about the week’s training, he continued: “I don't know if you could call it a training week because Saturday-Tuesday was a quick turnaround and we've had to recover as a priority. “So, the couple of days after the game have been about that, but we've also had enough time to assess Huddersfield and look at their strengths that they're bringing, the qualities that they're bringing and the different ways they like to set up and prepare our team as well as we possibly can as we have done for every game this season. “We've prepared well. Despite the two games in quick succession, the players are feeling fresh and full of energy, as you're going to be going into the last game, and we look to primarily deliver a really good performance hopefully tomorrow. If we do that, we know that it greatly increases the chances of getting the result.” Despite the busy week and the enormity of the feat his team looks set to pull off, McKenna says he’s been sleeping well. “I’ve slept alright, to be fair, the last two nights,” he recalled. “I didn’t sleep very well Tuesday night, I have to say, it was a long journey back from Coventry, the roadworks on the A14 aren’t particularly helpful at the moment, so it was very, very late when we arrived back. “And, of course, it was a game with a bit of extra adrenaline. I didn’t sleep fantastic on Tuesday but other than that, Wednesday and Thursday, I’ve been in a pretty normal flow, I’ve enjoyed the training sessions we’ve had, enjoyed the prep and looking forward to tomorrow.”
TWTD Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Blogs 297 bloggersIpswich Town Polls[ Vote here ] |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
