Town defender Luke Woolfenden is certain boss Kieran McKenna has a fiery side to his nature — it’s just that it hasn’t surfaced yet during his brief time in charge at Portman Road.
Seven wins, two draws and two defeats, which McKenna has overseen from his 11 games so far, is a commendable record at any level of the game and explains why McKenna and his players have been able to revive a play-off challenge that many considered was beyond them.
McKenna has looked an oasis of calm on the touchline at Town games, never remotely close to losing his rag as some of his counterparts are prone to doing, and it has been the same in both pre-match and post-match press conferences when he speaks articulately, rationally and jargon-free in addressing the media.
Woolfenden said: "We have total respect for him and we can see the fire in him, which underlines his ambition to do well.
"I wouldn’t say he’s had to lose it too much in the 11 games so far because we’ve actually been playing quite well most of the time but we’ll maybe see it if we have a stinker. There have been a few little glimpses maybe but I can confirm we haven’t had the hairdryer treatment yet.
"The results and the way we have moved closer to the play-offs is confirmation of how well the manager has done since he came in. All the boys are on board with him and the squad size is a lot better because you don’t have so many players missing out and sitting around waiting for an opportunity.
"He’s made everyone, regardless of whether they are in the starting line-up or not, feel they are part of things and that they have a part to play, and that was probably his main aim in January when the transfer window was open.
"I think he’s made it clear that when he came in he thought the squad size was way too big in relation to the number of games we had left. It’s now a much tighter group and hopefully everyone can see they could have a part to play in our play-off push.”
Asked if he had surprised him, Woolfenden added: "Well, I’m a [Manchester] United fan and I had heard from a lot of people on social media how good a coach he was. There are also a lot of prominent football people — right at the very top of the game — who also speak very highly of him, so his ability to coach hasn’t really come as a surprise to anyone.
"Also, I can’t say I’m surprised at how well we have done in terms of our results, because he really hit the ground running and we’ve continued that way since his very first game.
"Overall, it’s been a great run but we know we have to keep it going. We’ve done well to narrow the gap to the play-off places but there is still work to be done in the next couple of months.”
Town’s only frustration so far came on Tuesday when they failed to take advantage of their first-half domination against Cheltenham and were unable to go in at the interval with even a slender advantage, eventually having to settle for a point when it seemed they were set to claim all three.
Woolfenden has played a huge part in keeping five successive clean sheets but the goals have not been flowing with the same regularity at the other end of the pitch.
Asked about the key to finding the right balance, he added: "It can sometimes be about just having the confidence in yourself, the belief that when you get into the box you’re going to score.
"It doesn’t matter what sort of chance it is, turning in a cross or putting your head on it, or even from a set piece, you have to believe in your ability to get it on target and score. Confidence and belief are a huge part of the game.”
"Defenders get the same sort of satisfaction when they are keeping clean sheets as strikers do when they are among the goals on a regular basis.
"The two positions are obviously very different but you could say the two situations are similar. Strikers want to score and defenders want to prevent goals, but the satisfaction of doing your job successfully is probably the same.
"On the run of clean sheets we’re on it feels like it almost comes naturally. You cover the runs, you’re aggressive on the front foot, but when you’re shipping a lot of goals it can play on your mind a bit.
"At the moment we’re going into games thinking that if we keep a clean sheet we’ll score at least once but unfortunately it wasn’t the case against Cheltenham.”
Town are at Morecambe tomorrow and the Shrimps have reappointed Derek Adams as manager following his sacking by Bradford City and his replacement last summer, Stephen Robinson, departing for Scotland to take charge of St Mirren.
Woolfenden said: "Now that they have their new manager, who is actually their old manager, you don’t know what to expect. We just have to make sure we go into the game confident in our own abilities, focusing on ourselves as a team.
"I can see it being a difficult game because despite their position in the league they have a lot of strong individuals throughout their team. It’s a long trip up there but we prepare correctly and will be doing our best to come back with the points.
"We head up north to play Fleetwood the following week and there’s a good chance I’ll be competing at corners with my former teammate, Toto Nsiala, and I’m looking forward to it. He’s a powerful, aggressive defender and I’ll just have to make sure I can match him.”
Finally, Woolfenden was asked about the dramatic hair colour change he displayed for the first time against Burton last weekend, his normal brown locks transformed to a much lighter silver-blonde look.
He said: "There’s no major story or inspiration behind it. I’d done it before and I just fancied doing it again, simple as that. I’ve always changed my hair a lot since I was a kid and there’s no real process to it — it’s just something I do.
"I just checked with the barber the day before I went in that he could do it. I’m not really the type of person who sits and thinks about things too much.
"If it was orange I’d have probably regretted it but it came out alright so I’m sweet. People have said it’s the Eminem look and I’ll take that. He hasn’t done too badly for himself, has he?”