Wing-back Wes Burns has revealed that he has been watching clips of Leeds United pair Jack Harrison and Raphinha as he looks to improve his game, and manager Kieran McKenna says role-modelling of this type is a big part of coaching.
The Welshman said yesterday that he has recently been watching clips of the duo and other players with McKenna’s assistant.
"Me and Martyn Pert were looking at clips of those two, looking at their movement,” he said.
"They way they can get behind defences and how they get the ball to feet, stuff like that. But we also watch a lot of clips of other teams and other players, and it’s really all about learning.”
McKenna is a firm believer in the approach: "I think that’s a really useful strategy in coaching. We do that with quite a lot of the players here, and I’ve done that everywhere I’ve been, really.
"I think in general the boys like to watch football and they are like the supporters, they have role models, they have people they look up to, they have people they aspire to and people they probably see a little bit of themselves in.
"That’s part of our work pretty regularly, looking at other teams, looking at top teams, looking at top players, trying to draw things from our players that are similar, ‘Look, you can do these things to, this is a player that is working at a really high level’.
"But also look at aspects from other players that our players can implement into their game, and that will take them to another level.
"So, I think role modelling through best practice is a big part of coaching now and it’s something that the players enjoy, they respond to, and it’s something we do with a lot of our players, Wes being one of them and it’s useful.
"Martyn, myself and Charlie Turnbull do quite a lot of that work on an individual basis, and the players enjoy and respond to it.”
Burns, who took his goals tally for the season to an impressive 10 last weekend, will be up against his previous club when the Blues travel to Fleetwood this weekend and McKenna expects the 27-year-old to take it in his stride.
"I think I’m as confident as you can be, he said. "I think Wes is so focused at the moment on his goals here for the team primarily and what the team is trying to do, and for himself.
"He’s working hard and he wants to keep improving, keep getting better and keep showing how good he can become.
"I think he’s very much focused on the here and now and the present and the future of this team.
"Obviously, he’s got a lot of respect and gratitude for his time at Fleetwood and had some good years there and performed well enough to end up at this football club.
"I know he has affection for the club, but no doubts on Saturday that he’ll be completely focused on Ipswich Town and doing his best for us and when he does that, the performance tends to take care of itself.”