Aluko: We're Excited, I'm Sure the New Gaffer is as Well Sunday, 19th Dec 2021 11:26 Forward Sone Aluko says he and his team-mates are looking forward to starting work with new manager Kieran McKenna on Monday, the incoming manager having briefly spoken to them prior to watching Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland from the stands. McKenna, 35, was appointed on Thursday evening but left interim boss John McGreal and assistants Kieron Dyer and Rene Gilmartin to take charge of the game against the Black Cats. Aluko, 32, says the Blues’ improved display against the Wearsiders was very much needed given some recent showings, particularly the 2-0 FA Cup loss at League Two Barrow on Wednesday. “We needed a reaction after our last few performances in the last couple of weeks,” the Nigerian international admitted. “We said before the game it was something we needed to do, the energy needed to be there, the application needed to be there. “We started off really well, we pushed, we dominated most of the first half, got our goal. All in all it was a good performance. “But we had a bad five or 10-minute spell and they scored their goal, so that was disappointing, so it does feel a little bit like two points dropped at the end.” Unlike on previous occasions this season, Town reacted well to the setback and looked the more likely winners during the second half. “We got back on the front foot, played in their half and dominated to the end really,” Aluko, who joined Town in the summer after leaving Reading, continued.  “They tried to hit us on the break a couple of times but I think we dealt with it well, so all in all it was a good performance. If we play most games like that we’ll be fine this season.” Town played in the 3-5-2 system they moved to at half-time at Holker Street and it appeared to suit a number of players, Aluko among them. “It was different, it’s a role I’ve played before so it wasn’t completely foreign,” he reflected. “I think for the players we had available it suited having Wes [Burns] back as well, it gave him the whole channel, that helped. JD [Janoi Donacien]’s good on the ball on that side. “It was easier, it was man-for-man, you know who your opponent is, it was an individual battle almost, so that was straightforward.” Burns had been out for a month with a hamstring injury and the Welshman made a strong impression down the right playing from wing-back. “It helped, obviously,” Aluko added. “But if you’re going to win games all the players’ performances have to be up there. The last few games, no matter who we picked, we didn’t perhaps seem to find a style that worked and the energy wasn’t there.” Portman Road was packed almost to the rafters with 29,005 fans following the successful ticket promotion, the biggest attendance since 2015, but Aluko says he’s been impressed with the support all season. “They’ve been fantastic since I joined,” he said. “To be honest, I’ve not really had a game where I didn’t feel the fans could be a real help. “They really got behind the team today, they made noise, the atmosphere was good. I’m sure it will continue like that, we just have to give them to get excited about, something to cheer, something to celebrate.”  Asked what he made to new manager McKenna when they met for the first time prior to the match, he said: “He came in for maybe two minutes, it wasn’t long at all. He spoke well, just introduced himself, so we look forward to working with him and taking the next step forward.” Good to have him in place and a bit more stability at the club? “Of course, it’s always good to have a manager and a plan going forward. John [McGreal]’s been fantastic, to be fair to him. He’s come in and really helped the team and given us a bit of confidence. “A club always needs a long-term project going forward. The new manager’s come in, they’ve appointed this guy and we’re looking forward to working with him.” Aluko says McKenna’s CV working at Manchester United and before that Tottenham is exciting. “He’s a young coach but he’s got some experience,” he said. “He finished his playing career early, so he’s been coaching for a while, he’s worked with the best of the best. I’m sure tactically, information-wise, he can give us a lot to learn from. “He’s going to come in and everyone’s going to get a fresh slate and he’s going to look at it with new eyes. We’re going to learn a lot from him and he’s going to learn a lot about us. Hopefully it gels quickly. “We’re excited, I’m sure he is too with taking over a good squad, a big squad and a big club. “But whoever they’d have brought in, if you play for a club this size, coming out in front of fans like this, the ambition of the club, it’s always exciting to be here. It was no different with the last manager, it’s irrelevant, you have to give everything.” McKenna’s name was one unfamiliar to a lot of fans but Aluko says he didn’t have to do much online research into his new manager, while some of the squad already knew him, including Kane Vincent-Young, who played for the Northern Irishman in Tottenham’s academy.  “Some players might, but I knew a little bit about him,” he said. “I grew up supporting Manchester United as a child so I knew about him. Some players knew him before, so he’s not completely foreign to us. “Ultimately it’s going to be what we do on the training ground, no matter how much you research someone, you don’t learn from Wikipedia and the Internet, you learn on the pitch. “We have to work hard, I’m sure he’s going to bring staff in and work hard with us, so we’re looking forward to it.” The players must feel Saturday’s performance has shown the new manager that there’s plenty for him to work with “I think we had to show ourselves just for personal pride,” Hounslow-born Aluko continued. “The last few games haven’t been anywhere near good enough for the quality we’ve got in the dressing room. “First of all, it was for us, just between ourselves to say ‘Come on, let’s get ourselves together’ and then with him being here, he needs to see what we can do and that will start from Monday and we’ll take it from there.”  Was that a discussion the players had prior to the match: “Yes, for a few weeks we’ve been saying that. It’s high time we started getting some results and better performances first and foremost. Results almost take care of themselves. If we put in performances like that, we’ll be there or thereabouts.” And Saturday everything seemed to be set for an improved display with the new manager, two of the American owners and a noisy and upbeat Portman Road. “I said it before the game in the huddle, if you can’t play today, I don’t think you should be playing football,” he said. “Everything was there for us, playing in front of 30,000 fans, big opponents, they brought a decent following as well, so these are the days in your career you look back on in your career and think ‘OK, I want to play well in these games’. “Full house, good team, new manager in the stand. If you can’ play today, you might as well pack it in.” Aluko felt McGreal, who will now return to his U23s job, deserved to bow out of his temporary role after a good display. “Credit to him, he came in at a tough time, we weren’t in great form and he’s tried to galvanise us and turn us around, has just found a formation today that works for us really well,” he continued. “He’s been fantastic, I can’t say anything but good things about him.” The one-time Rangers, Aberdeen, Fulham and Hull City man insisted Town’s season is still alive, despite the Blues sitting in 11th, 10 points off the play-offs with the Sunderland game having marked the halfway point. “Of course, it’s going to be alive to the very end,” he continued. “We’ll keep pushing. Thirty-thousand fans were in there today, we have to give them something to really get behind. As long as we’re wearing the Ipswich shirt we have to go for it. “It’s doable, we’ll keep pushing until we attain it or we don’t. In the end, that’s football. We have to work hard every day. “We have to make sure we do everything, that we try and improve and try and get results on the pitch, that’s what playing for this club and a club that’s ambitious like this is about. We’ll keep pushing to the very end.”
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