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Bonne: I'm Not Frustrated, I've Been Through This Before and I'll Go Through it Again - Ipswich Town News

Top scorer Macauley Bonne insists the fact that he has not managed to find the net in his last nine games is not playing on his mind as he looks to impress new boss Kieran McKenna.

The Ipswich-born striker, who is on a season-long loan from QPR, made a tremendous start to the current campaign, netting the 11 goals he has so far contributed in the space of just 16 league games.

But since then he has drawn a blank and the goal famine now covers a further seven League One fixtures plus two FA Cup appearances, both coming in the first ties against Oldham and Barrow before the Blues exited the competition at the second round stage in Cumbria last week.

Asked how the drought was affecting him, Bonne replied: "I’m not frustrated at all. I’m a striker and I’ve been through it in my career many times and I’ll go through it again many times.

"I’m on 11 goals before Christmas and I said to myself before I came here in the summer ‘Just go and get between five and 10 goals before Christmas and then have the conversation afterwards’.

"With where I’m at now I’m happy with what I’m doing and really looking forward to cracking on and scoring more goals for this club.”

Bonne will be hoping that Town’s recent change of manager, with Kieran McKenna arriving this week to fill the gap left by Paul Cook’s departure almost three weeks ago, could bring about a change of fortune in front of goal.

But while the goals have dried up at least Bonne made a key contribution in the 1-1 home draw with Sunderland last week in setting up the opening goal for strike partner James Norwood as interim boss John McGreal decided to go 3-5-2 from the start in his fourth and last game in temporary control of team affairs.

So what sort of impression has new boss McKenna made in his first few days at Portman Road, having left his role as first team coach at Manchester United to accept the challenge offered to him by chief executive Mark Ashton on behalf of the club hierarchy?

"He’s a really positive guy who talks as if he’s ready to come in, get a hold of the club and take us forward,” said 26-year-old Bonne.

"Seeing where he has come from and what he has done in his career so far would make it exciting for anyone working under him, especially when you consider he is coming from being the first team coach at a club like United.

"We were all looking to impress him in his first training session, around the building and then hopefully in his first game in charge.

"It’s still early days but the main thing that came across is that he wants to get us playing and to be enjoying our football again.

"I think that was the main thing he said. We’ll soon know over the next few weeks, with the training sessions we have and what style of play he wants us to play and I’m really looking forward to it along with the rest of the players.”

There has been mounting speculation in recent weeks that parent club QPR could call time on Bonne’s loan deal in the January transfer window, which could be a serious blow to Town’s chances of pushing for a play-off place during the second half of the League Two season.

But Bonne said: "I’m on a season-long loan so the way I see it, yes, I’m going to be here until the end of the season.

"That’s probably as much as I can say on that front until further notice. I’m doing something at the moment that I’ve always wanted to do and now that I’m doing it I don’t want it to end.

"I’m on a season-long loan and I’m working my hardest to get Ipswich back into the Championship so that is what I’m going to focus on, nothing else.

"It’s the same with the African Cup of Nations and whether I’ll be part of the Zimbabwe squad. Personally, I think that ship has sailed for me at the minute.

"We’re not going through a good time with the management and I just want to focus on playing for Ipswich. The prospect of playing international football is probably only going to be at the back of my mind until further notice.”

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