McKenna: We'll Look to Impose Our Style Friday, 11th Feb 2022 11:42 Play-off-chasing Town visit the MK Dons on Saturday aiming to win three games on the trot for the first time in almost a year and to further cut the gap to the top six. The Blues beat Gillingham 1-0 last weekend and then won at bottom side Doncaster by the same scoreline on Tuesday to reduce the deficit to the play-off places to six while remaining in ninth place. Town, who will be backed by a massive 7,000 away support at Stadium MK on Saturday, last won three on the trot in February and March last year in the final two games of Paul Lambert’s time as boss and at Accrington with caretakers Matt Gill and Bryan Klug in charge and incoming manager Paul Cook watching from the stands. McKenna has already managed to win two on the trot three times since taking over in December, with his overall record six wins from his eight games while recording an impressive five clean sheets. On paper the third-placed Dons, managed by former Blues academy midfielder and coach Liam Manning, are the stiffest opposition faced since McKenna took charge. It promises to be an entertaining encounter with the sides having similar footballing philosphies. “They’re a team who obviously like to play with the ball,” McKenna said. “They build up from the back well, they play brave and open with the ball. There are some similarities in that. “But for me it’s not about a competition to see who is going to have more of the ball on Saturday, it’s going to be a competition to see who scores the most goals.  “So we want to impose our style and we feel that the best way to score goals will be by playing our football, but I’m sure they’ll be thinking the same. “We have to weigh everything up, look at our team, our strengths, look at their team, their strengths. Look at the conditions. “I think at the moment they’re having some difficulties with the pitch at the stadium, which changes that dynamic a little bit as well. “We’ll look to impose our style, they’ll look to impose their style but at the end of the day both teams are going to be desperately going for a win and it’s not going to be a beauty contest, it’s going to be which team can find their way to be more effective in the game.” McKenna says the Buckinghamshire team are also an effective unit when they aren’t in possession. “They have a good mix across their backline of some experienced players but also some good young defenders,” he said. “I think they defend pretty well as a team. Generally, their defensive shape looks more like a 5-4-1, I think they’re pretty compact, they do press high at times, but at other times they’re happy to drop in that first 20 or 30 yards and let you come up the pitch. “But I think they have pretty solid principles defensively, they defend in a pretty compact way. They defend well as a team and they’re not going to make it easy for us to get the spaces that we want. “It’s going to be a challenge to go there and create chances but that’s what we’re going to look to do.” McKenna again seems set to stick with Christian Walton in goal, the back three of Janoi Donacien, Luke Woolfenden and George Edmundson, and wing-backs Wes Burns and Dominic Thompson.
In midfield, skipper Sam Morsy will return having served his four-match ban, almost certainly alongside Lee Evans. McKenna may again opt to shuffle his front players with Sone Aluko perhaps coming in for a start in one of the roles behind the lone out-and-out striker having been left out of the last two matches. The Blues boss will have to decide between Bersant Celina and Conor Chaplin for the other role - assuming that he sticks with the system utilised at Doncaster on Tuesday - with Macauley Bonne and James Norwood the contenders to be the number nine. MK will be without David Kasumu and Aden Baldwin but otherwise Manning has a full squad from which to select his side.
The 36-year-old MK boss was named Sky Bet League One Manager of the Month for January earlier today, his second such gong since taking charge in August. “I’m honoured to receive this award, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication and hard work of our staff as well the players, of course, performing on a matchday,” he told the MK Citizen. “We have a team-first mentality at MK Dons because we know the only way we will be able to enjoy sustainable success is by working together and believing in each other. “January had its challenges due to the transfer window but the players and staff remained focused and avoided all distractions, and were able to, ultimately, deliver on the pitch with some important results. “Those results have put us in a good spot with just over a quarter of the season left to play but we will continue to take each game as it comes. There are still lots of points to be won however our focus is only on Saturday’s fixture with Ipswich Town.” Asked how he might avoid becoming the latest victim of the Manager of the Month curse, Manning laughed: “I've no idea! I'm not changing anything we do. We gave the players a day off after the long journey home on Wednesday so they're best prepared for Saturday's game. That hoodoo is out of my control, we'll just turn up tomorrow and do our best! “It's a fantastic achievement but it's a collective. We've got a team-first mentality and I can only be as strong as the people around me. In January, we went through a huge transition and a huge amount of credit has to go to the players for continuing to chip away and pick up the results, and for the staff for keeping the players on track.” Regarding Town, he added: “I spent a long time there, and I’m still in touch with people there. I feel I still owe the club a huge amount of thanks for that, but I’m here and I’m looking at doing my best here.” On the start McKenna has made with the Blues, he continued: “He's done a good job in terms of clarity. They had huge investment in the summer, they've got great depth, and I've enjoyed watching their recent games.” MK go into the game having drawn 1-1 at Fleetwood after three wins on the bounce, 1-0 wins at Burton and Wycombe were followed by a 2-1 home victory over Lincoln. Prior to that they were surprisingly beaten 1-0 at home by Doncaster. The loss to the South Yorkshiremen is one of four at home in the league this season, in addition to eight wins and three draws. The Blues and the Dons have only ever met on seven occasions, six times in the league - three Town wins and three draws - and once in the Carling Cup at Stadium MK in 2007 when the game ended 3-3 before the home team won a penalty shoot-out 5-3, the Buckinghamshire side’s only victory over Town. At Portman Road in August, Bonne scored twice but the Blues were pegged back twice by the MK Dons in an entertaining 2-2 draw. Bonne netted an excellent opener in the 16th minute but the visitors levelled on 58 through Scott Twine. The Town top scorer put the Blues back in front on 72 before Town gave Matt O’Riley, now with Celtic, a helping hand to level again three minutes later. At Stadium MK in October 2020, Town dropped points and conceded in League One for the first time in 2020/21 as they drew 1-1 with the Dons having ended the game with 10 men after sub Flynn Downes was forced off with an injury. Jon Nolan gave Town the lead in the seventh minute, Daniel Harvie scored a deserved leveller for the home side five minutes after the break and the Blues, who dropped to third in the table, held on for a point. In addition to manager Manning's history with the Blues, first-team coach Chris Hogg was also at Town as a player without making a senior appearance and worked in the academy in various positions up to U23s coach. Former Blues full-back David Wright, who also had roles at Playford Road, is Manning’s assistant first-team coach, while ex-Town keeper Lewis Price is their goalkeeper coach. One-time Town striker Connor Wickham joined the Dons last month having been released by Preston. Wickham, now 28, made 37 starts and 35 sub appearances for the Blues, scoring 15 times, having come through the academy before being sold to Sunderland for an initial £8.1 million in the summer of 2011. Forward Troy Parrott, on loan for the season from Spurs, was on loan at Portman Road in the second half of last season, scoring twice in 13 starts and five sub appearances. Saturday’s referee is Oliver Langford from the West Midlands, who has shown 70 yellow cards and two red in 20 games so far this season. Langford's most recent Town match was the 1-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday in February 2019 in which he booked Flynn Downes and three Owls. Prior to that he was in charge of the 3-2 victory at Swansea in October 2018 in which he booked Trevoh Chalobah, Andre Dozzell and one Swan. Langford also refereed the March 2018 game between the Blues and Wednesday at Hillsborough, which Town won 2-1 when he yellow-carded Luke Chambers, Cameron Carter-Vickers and one Owl. He was also in charge of the 2-1 home defeat to Derby at the end of December 2017 in which he cautioned only Adam Webster. Before that he refereed the 3-1 defeat at Cardiff in October of the same year when he booked Tommy Smith and one home player. He also took control of the 2-0 home victory over Brentford two months earlier in which he booked Myles Kenlock and two Bees. Langford officiated in the 2-1 win at Burton over Easter 2017, cautioning only Freddie Sears, and also refereed the 1-1 East Anglian derby draw at Carrow Road in February that year in which he again yellow-carded Sears as well as Jordan Spence. Before that he was the man in the middle for the 2-0 home defeat to Fulham on Boxing Day 2016 in which he booked Tom Lawrence, David McGoldrick and one Cottager. Langford whistled during the 2-0 home victory over Burton Albion in October of the same year in which he cautioned Cole Skuse and two Brewers. Before that he refereed the 0-0 home draw with Charlton in April 2016, in which he yellow-carded Jonas Knudsen and two Addicks, and the 2-1 home defeat to Leicester in November 2013, in which he booked only Chambers. The only other Town game he has officiated in was the 2-0 defeat at Leeds in the preceding April when David Norris, by then with the Whites, was the only player to have his name taken. Squad from: Walton, Hladky, Donacien, Edmundson, Woolfenden, Burgess, Burns, Vincent-Young, Thompson, Penney, Evans, Morsy, El Mizouni, Carroll, Bakinson, Edwards, Celina, Aluko, Chaplin, Bonne, Norwood, Pigott, Jackson.
Photo: TWTD Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Blogs 295 bloggersIpswich Town Polls[ Vote here ] |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
