x

McKenna: One of the Most Satisfying Parts of the Job - Ipswich Town News

Town manager Kieran McKenna says one of the most pleasing aspects of Tuesday’s 1-0 win at Doncaster was seeing things which had been worked on at Playford Road being put into practice in a match.

The Blues dominated the South Yorkshiremen from start to finish and the margin of victory should have been much larger than just Tyreeq Bakinson’s 39th-minute goal.

"One of the most satisfying moments as a coach is when you’re seeing things that you’ve worked on on the training pitch, that you’ve spoken about in meeting rooms, whether that’s a team concept or even individually, when you see that coming off on the pitch,” he said.

"I thought on Tuesday night, things that we’ve wanted to implement, things that we’ve been doing well, but some things that we haven’t always been doing quite so well, we managed to see a lot of that come out on Tuesday night.

"I thought on a team level, but also individually, some individual pointers that we’re trying to work with certain players on, which people wouldn’t know about from the outside.

""When you see some of those things being put into a game and you see it helping an individual with a performance, that’s one of the most satisfying parts of the job.

"Tuesday I thought was a game where, as I said afterwards, I thought some of our movement patterns and our running off the ball and our penetration was really, really good. But also I enjoyed our intensity off the ball and our counter-pressure and our hunger to get it back, especially in the first half.

"And I also thought individually there were a few performances that probably went up a notch or two from what I’ve seen over the last five or six weeks and that’s a key part of it as well.

"As well as improving the team, if we can improve individual players, if we can try and help players bring their game to another level and get another five per cent out of everyone, then it will help the team on the whole.

"It’s mostly about seeing the things that you’ve worked on and spoken about coming out on the pitch, that’s most pleasing.”

McKenna switches his front three on a match-by-match basis and knows that players will naturally want to play every match.

"That’s normal for footballers. In any given week they all want to play every game. Of course, a game like Saturday, they’ll all want to play.

"It’s just about being very open with that communication and dialogue with them as a group to start with to just let them know that we’re going to need the squad to the end of the season, we’re going to need healthy competition in each position and everyone’s going to have a part to play.

"Very often in football, for the players who haven’t played so much, when you feel like you’re not having a big part to play in the team, that’s very often when an injury or a suspension comes along and all of a sudden you’re thrust into the middle of it.

"It’s very much about reinforcing to the squad that it’s a squad game now. It’s about the 22 or the 24, not about the XI.

"Even when you’re not playing or not starting a game, it’s about how you contribute if you’re on the bench, or if you’re not on the bench it’s about how you contribute to training and how you contribute to the environment here and still give a positive energy and still compete and still train well.

"It’s very important that everyone knows that they’re an important member of the squad, whether they’re starting games or not.

"And it’s about communicating individually with players, making sure that they all know where they’re at, they’re getting feedback regularly in terms of what they’re doing well, what they’re contributing to the team, but also what they need to improve and what we want to see more from them going forward.

"That’s important for the starters, of course, but also it’s very important for the ones who haven’t played as many minutes that they feel like they’re still getting feedback, they’re still being watched and we’re still trying to develop and work with them on their game as well.”

What to read next:

U18s Host West Brom in First U18 Premier League Fixture
Town’s U18s will start their first ever U18 Premier League South campaign with a home game against West Bromwich Albion at Playford Road on Saturday 16th August (KO 11am).
Ndaba Completes Lecce Move
Former Town defender Corrie Ndaba has completed his move from Scottish Premiership Kilmarnock to Serie A Lecce.
McKenna: Hirst Primed For Good Season
Town boss Kieran McKenna believes striker George Hirst is “primed to have a good season” for the Blues, the frontman having netted three times in the Blues’ two public friendlies.
Hirst: Scotland Call-Up Has Made Me a Better Player
Town striker George Hirst says he has taken a lot from being in the Scotland squad and feels the international recognition has made him a better player.
[Podcast] Blue Monday - New Podcast Now Online
A new podcast from the Blue Monday team is now available.
Town 'Willing to Pay Hackney £35,000-a-Week'
Town are reportedly willing to pay Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney £35,000-a-week, TWTD having revealed that the Blues had made an approach for the 23-year-old almost a fortnight ago.
U21s Defeated By Luton
A strong Blues U21s side was beaten 2-1 by Luton Town at Bent Lane in a pre-season friendly on Saturday afternoon with Tommy Taylor's first-half strike cancelled out after the break by a much-improved Hatters side.
U19s Draw and Lose Final Games at Czech Tournament
Town’s U19s finished lost one and drew one of today’s place play-off matches at the Zlaty Kahan tournament in Czechia.
Hirst: Early Confrontation Sign of Morsy's High Standards
George Hirst has revealed he almost came to blows with departed captain Sam Morsy early in his Town career, but believes the incident was illustrative of the high standards maintained by the former Blues skipper.
Former Town Defender Ndaba Set For Serie A
Former Town defender Corrie Ndaba is set to join Serie A Lecce from Scottish Premiership Kilmarnock, according to reports in Italy.