x

McKenna: Narratives About the Promoted Teams Aren't of Interest to Us - Ipswich Town News

Town boss Kieran McKenna says he’s not going to be concerned by the league table for some while and takes similarly little notice of narratives regarding the three promoted clubs.

The three sides elevated from the Championship have taken only four points between them after four matches each with the Blues and Leicester having two each and Southampton yet to get off the mark.

The Foxes are currently the leaders of the three in 15th place ahead of Town two places behind them on goal difference with the Saints, who the Blues travel to face on Saturday, in 19th.

Last season, the three promoted sides, Luton, Sheffield United and Burnley, had only one point between them at the same point, leading Match of the Dayto the conclusion that the gap between the Championship and Premier League is getting even wider.

However, McKenna says that’s scant evidence to go on and he’s not interested in perusing the table this early in a campaign.

"Four games is a small sample,” he said. "For ourselves, when we have played two of the top, top teams and we have a very new group, we are fighting for every point. But I am not concerned or looking at the league table and I don’t think I will be for a while.

"It is about how we are competing as a team, how we are developing. Other than that, I think the jump is big [from Championship to Premier League]. I think it is felt by everyone.

https://x.com/BBCMOTD/status/1835095869886001197

"The finances of the Premier League, the level of player that even teams who can establish themselves in the Premier League for one or two seasons, the level of player you can bring to the football club, the financial benefits of being in the Premier League for one or two seasons, I think makes it a big jump for anyone who comes to the division.

"It certainly is for us who have come to the division for the first time in 22 years. It is a huge jump, there is no doubt about that, but it is not one we are afraid of.

"We are enjoying the challenge of taking on and seeing if we can go on and create a new narrative, as we have over the last couple of years, to see what’s possible to do and what’s possible as a double-promoted team.”

McKenna said last week that Town oughtn’t to be lumped in with the Foxes and Saints as they had had lengthy spells in the top flight before one season in the Championship, while the Blues were in League One only 16 months ago after more than two decades away from the top flight.

And he reiterated that the Blues are a different case: "I think we are, to be honest. I spend too much time and energy thinking about the other clubs, but I think our position is different.

"The expectations from a realistic perspective are different because those are clubs that have dropped one season into the Championship but kept the majority of their Premier League squads together and were able to bounce straight back to the Premier League.

"I think that is very different from a club who has spent as long out of the division as us, and not just in one element, not just in playing squad or anything like that, just in every single facet of the football club.

"The training ground, the infrastructure, the staffing and I think we’ve come into the summer from a very different perspective.

"But I’m really proud of how we’ve approached it so far, not just the playing squad, not just the matches but as a football club we’re rising to the challenge of trying to be competitive in this division.

"I think we’ve given a really good account of ourselves so far but we know that in the summer it was a massive jump in all elements and it’s taken an awful lot of hard work to even get to this point where we are.

"Four games in, we feel like we’ve been competitive across the games and we’re looking forward to the games ahead.

"Outside narratives about newly promoted teams and things like that, it’s something we spoke about with the group at the start of the season, but it’s not something we can waste or spend any energy on with what happened last season with the three teams going down and going down with not big points totals.

"It was always going to be a narrative but it’s not really of any interest to us, it’s just ourselves, our journey, enjoying the challenges ahead of us, making the most of this season, doing our best to be competitive and doing the right things day to day and if we do that I think we’re going to have a really, really strong season and it’s going to be a good one for the club.”

Having scored their first Premier League goals, first point, first clean sheet and last week first point on the road, only the first win remains elusive.

However, McKenna is typically in no panic: "Of course, you always want to get your first win, we would loved to have got it against Liverpool or Manchester City second game. You want to get the first win as soon as possible, you want to collect as many points as possible as you go along the course of the season.

"We’re going to give our all to make that happen on Saturday, but we can’t guarantee it going into any game. We can’t can’t guarantee a victory in any game this season, we can only control all the things that give us the best chance of doing so and we look to do that on Saturday.

"Whichever way the game goes, if we win on Saturday, fantastic, we’ll have had to do a lot of things well, but there will still be an awful long way to go in the season and it would probably turn the narrative completely one way for us and the other way for the opponent.

"But in reality there would be a lot of games to go and we’re playing against a Champions League team the following weekend at home that is going to be another mammoth challenge to prepare for.

"For us, it’s sticking to our beliefs, our mantra over the last couple of seasons, just one game at a time.

"There’s always going to be a narrative. I could list 20 different narratives about us as a team over the last two and half seasons - we don’t score enough goals, we score too many goals, we concede too many goals, we don’t score set plays, we only score set plays.

"There’s always going to be a narrative about a team and about a club, especially in the Premier League, the most followed league in the world and it’s fantastic to be part of it.

"Our focus is only going to be on ourselves, on the next game, the next challenge and whichever way it goes, we’ll try and learn from it and go out in the next one and see where we’re at. That’s served us pretty well and we think it’ll serve us well this year.”

What to read next:

O'Shea: Partnership With Greaves Growing With Every Game
Town defender Dara O’Shea believes his partnership with fellow summer signing Jacob Greaves is growing with each game and training session.
U18s Host Mansfield in PDL Cup
The Blues’ U18s are in PDL Cup action against Mansfield Town at Playford Road on Saturday morning (KO midday).
Al-Hamadi Out of Iraq Squad
Town striker Ali Al-Hamadi has pulled out of Iraq’s October internationals due to injury.
Delap and Hutchinson in England U21s
Town duo Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson have been named in the England U21s squad for the final Euro 2025 qualifiers against Ukraine and Azerbaijan.
Town Women's Striker Fisher in England U17s Squad
Ipswich Town Women’s striker Isabella Fisher has been named in the England U17s squad for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic later this month.
O'Shea: I Felt Ipswich Was the Right Place For Me
Town defender Dara O’Shea says the culture and togetherness in the squad played a huge part in his decision to move to Portman Road during the summer.
Luongo Out of International Retirement and in Australia Squad Alongside Burgess
Blues midfielder Massimo Luongo has come out of international retirement and is named alongside Cameron Burgess in the Australia squad for their October internationals.
McKenna: West Ham Are Still Building But We Have a Lot of Respect For Them
Town make their first visit to West Ham United’s London Stadium on Saturday with the Blues looking for their first win of the season and the Hammers their first point at home.
[Podcast] Blue Monday - New Podcast Now Online
A new podcast from the Blue Monday team is now available.
McKenna: Adding to Our Set-Play Coaching Was Really Important
Town boss Kieran McKenna has been outlining set-piece coach Mark Hudson’s role at the club, the former Crystal Palace, Cardiff and Huddersfield defender, and one-time Bluebirds manager, having joined the club in the summer.