New boss Kieran McKenna says he was impressed by his new players’ commitment, aggression and mentality during his first look at them during Saturday’s 1-1 home draw with Sunderland.
McKenna, 35, who was appointed manager last Thursday but let caretake John McGreal take charge of the game against the Black Cats, says he already knew a number of the squad, having worked with two of them at Tottenham.
"I know quite a lot of the playing squad, partly through Kane [Vincent-Young] and Tom Carroll who were both at Tottenham who I had experience coaching there,” he said.
"I know quite a few of the other boys through the academy system and especially the boys who came through the London academies so I know quite a few of them through that.
"And then I know some of the other players through us football coaches watching football and thinking football 24-seven. So I know quite a lot of the squad.
"With regards to the game on Saturday, I enjoyed it. The occasion first of all, in terms of how the club set it up with the support and to have almost 30,000 people here was a fantastic occasion to see.
"I thought the performance in the first half especially was really positive and I really liked the commitment, the aggression and the mentality of the team.
"It certainly looked like a team that is still fighting for things this year and they are not prepared to give up on the season just yet.
"So, I really liked that, and I really liked the way the fans and the players interacted and the players relished the crowd and the noise, and the fans really got behind the team. I enjoyed seeing that on Saturday, and that’s something we have to harness going forward.”
He says he’s spent time catching up on recent performances: "In terms of impressions of the team, I’ve watched a lot of games this season, especially over the last few days. I’ve been going through the footage of the last eight to 10 games and seeing different things from games before that as well.
"So I feel that I’ve got a good scope on what the strengths and the most positive parts of the team and the squad are, and I’ve also got a good feel on where the improvements can be made and where we can focus our work, so it’s been good meeting them.
"We haven’t had our first official training session yet. There were a few of the injured boys in today, but this morning was more about meeting the staff. The players had a prearranged two-day break off with having such a busy period last week with the Barrow game before Sunderland and such a busy period coming up.
"So, I spoke to the players on Saturday in the dressing room. I’ve met them, I’ve got a bit more of a further talk with the boys who were in at training today and look forward to meeting the whole group and getting our first proper session on the grass tomorrow.”