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McKenna Pleased to Be at Home on Opening Day - Ipswich Town News

Town boss Kieran McKenna is pleased to be at home on the opening day but says visitors Bolton Wanderers are a “high level opponent”.

The Blues host the Trotters before a first-ever visit to Forest Green Rovers the following week.

"It’s an exciting fixture,” McKenna told iFollow Ipswich when asked about the opening fixture. "Bolton are a really strong team who finished the second half of the season really well, so it’s a high level opponent.

"We are really pleased to be at home. We finished last season off at home against Charlton and there was a fantastic energy and atmosphere in the stadium. We’ll look to pick up where we left off with that.

"We spoke to the players earlier today and everyone is excited for Bolton in the first game, but Forest Green in the second would be the same three points.

"That’s the key mentality for us to have through the year. It’s a long slog of a season with a lot of tough fixtures and there’s going to be good days and bad days.

"We need to prepare as well as what we can and work really hard to make sure that we’re mentality and physically robust so we can then come out on top of that 46-game season with a good outcome.”

Town have been paired with Colchester at Portman Road in the first round of the Carabao Cup, while Arsenal U21s, Cambridge and Northampton are in the Blues’ Papa John’s Trophy group.

"It’s exciting to get Colchester who are obviously not too far down the road from us,” McKenna added. "It’s a fixture with a little bit more on it as they have lots of ex-Ipswich players who will be very motivated.

"The cup competitions are going to be important for us. We want to do well and we want to progress. It’s also a chance for us to utilise the squad and develop some of the younger players who we have a high opinion of here.

"We want to make sure that we have a strong squad so that we can compete across all competitions.”

McKenna learnt Town's League One fixtures at a breakfast with sponsors in Beattie's alongside CEO Mark Ashton and Mark Steed, the chief executive officer of Arizona’s Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, the pension fund who own a 90 per cent stake in Blues owner Gamechanger 20, which was hosted by Simon Milton.

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