Town boss Kieran McKenna says winning the Championship Manager of the Month award for September didn’t register that strongly on his radar with so much of the season still to go.
McKenna won the award for the third time at Championship level after a month in which the Blues won their two home games and drew away at Bristol City, their match at Blackburn having been abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch.
"It doesn’t honestly make too much of a flicker on my radar at the moment,” McKenna said when asked about the award. "We’re so focused on what’s ahead. It feels really early in the season.
"I guess our win record must have been the best over the month to get it officially. Of course, that’s a pretty good sign, but my biggest feeling is that the challenges, we’re in them, they’re ahead of us.
"We just need to keep our heads down and keep working. If we can build a successful group again here, a successful team, a team to be proud of, a team that can pick up results consistently in the style that we want, it’ll be a great achievement. We’re working towards that, but we've still got a long way to go.
"Honestly, more recognition for staff and people around the building, because I think they’re all working really well.
"But for us and the team and the coaches closest to the team, we know it’s all ahead of us. We need to keep working to keep improving the team.”
Asked whether his side is close to having the identity he wants it to have, McKenna reflected: "I think there are different types of identity in terms of how you want the team to play on the pitch on a consistent basis, how you want the group to be.
"And I think all I could say is I think we’ve already shown it in periods, but we’re a long way off consistent yet.
"You could look at phases of games and periods where you could say, are we a front-footed, aggressive, exciting, attacking team? Yes. Could you look at periods and see a great togetherness, spirit and resilience in the team? Yes.
"But it takes a lot longer to build that in a team that can show those things consistently week after week, two games a week in all sorts of conditions, both actual conditions and metaphorically, and the good days and the bad days, all those things. That takes longer to build.
"So, I think there have been some promising signs, but in terms of being really, really complete as a group and in all aspects, I still think we've got a long way to go.”
McKenna says plenty of fans approached him and his staff in the days after the 3-1 derby victory over Norwich City in and around town.
"That was nice, to be honest,” he said. "We’re all down here, so you don’t have any other option, or you wouldn’t want it any other way.
"We’re all local people, so it was nice going out on a Monday, I went for a late breakfast with my wife and everyone at the restaurant wanted to speak about the game.
"And then we popped through town and everyone speaks about the game, and I think we all felt it.
"Everybody lives down here, everyone’s invested in the community and before the game you try, certainly in my case, to keep your head down a little bit more, but in the couple of days after, it's okay to leave the house.
"It’s really nice, everyone can’t wait to come up and tell you what a brilliant day it was for them and how much they enjoyed it, and how long they’ve waited for it.
"So the glow of that was nice for a couple of days, but that then passes and our mindset and everyone else’s mindset turns to the next game, and trying to back it up with, hopefully, a good performance and have a good result.”