Town boss Kieran McKenna says it's important the Blues maintain the focus they showed during Tuesday evening's game against Wigan when they face Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road on Saturday, despite there being nothing riding on the match.

Table-propping Crewe have already been relegated, while the Blues no longer have a chance of making the play-offs.

Town ought to have beaten the League One-leading Latics at Portman Road, the game ending 2-2, and McKenna is expecting a similar intensity from his team against the Railwaymen.

“I think it is important that we continue the focus that we showed the other night,” he said. “All I have asked and all I can ask of the players is that they give maximum effort and maximum concentration until the last minute of the season.

“I think we’ve had that in general over all the games and I think it’s really important that we continue that.

“The energy that was given, the effort, the focus, the intensity for the game the other night was outstanding really, I thought the crowd were also fantastic and really got behind that.

“And it’s really important that we continue that emphasis until the end of the season, starting with Crewe on Saturday and then finishing up with Charlton.

“If we do that, then it gives us the best chance of two good performances and from that hopefully six points.”

Crewe, who sacked manager David Artell earlier this month with assistant manager Alex Morris put in interim charge, have lost all but one of their last 10 matches, a 3-1 Good Friday victory over AFC Wimbledon at home in which they impressed the Blues boss. On Tuesday they were beaten 1-0 at Sheffield Wednesday.

“In terms of Crewe, they obviously changed managers a couple of games ago and have changed over the course of the season,” McKenna continued.

“In the last home game against AFC Wimbledon, I thought they played really well, probably back towards where they want to be as a club in terms of the style of play and how they dominated the game, which they’ve probably struggled to impose on teams over the last few months. They were dominant in that game.

“The game against Sheffield Wednesday, they ended up changing shape a couple of times over the course of the game.

“Generally they did a pretty good job of limiting Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night, so we can’t be sure in terms of the system or how they will approach it, but we do know that it is their last home game, a very young team that will probably enjoy the pressure of playing now without having to worry too much about the points.

“Their position is cemented, so they’ll want to go out there and put on a good performance and obviously give their supporters something to finish the season happy about.

“And we need to be ready for that and match that and make sure our big travelling away support get the feeling that it is a really motivated team giving everything until the last day of the season. If we do that we’ve got a good chance to win.”

Despite Alex interim-manager Morris having worked in his club’s academy before progressing up the ranks, McKenna says their paths didn’t cross during his time in youth football.

“No, I don’t think so,” he reflected. “I know he’s been around the academy for a good amount of time there and it’s very much the Crewe way to do things to promote from within and bring players and coaches through the academy.

“I’ve not had too much direct contact with him, but I know that Crewe have done a very good job of not just developing players but also producing some very, very good coaches over the last couple of decades that have gone on to do well in the game.

“So I’m sure he’ll be looking to get back to their principles of play, set a good marker at the end of the season of how they want to play going forward and set themselves up for next year.”

Looking back on Tuesday’s draw with Wigan, McKenna said: “I think there were definitely lessons learned. I think it’s probably cemented my feeling and our feeling as a club of where we’re at.

“We know that we’re improving in terms of the performances, we know that on our day we can, certainly football-wise, go and compete against anyone, go and impose our style against different teams and certainly in the Wigan game I felt like we could go and dominate against anyone in the league in terms of the pattern of the game.

“And even in the Rotherham away game [which the Blues lost 1-0 last Saturday] in the first half we really went and imposed ourselves well and gave them a lot of problems.

“But it also showed the areas that we need to improve on. We conceded the three goals across the two games and all three were from set plays. Obviously, the second Wigan goal was the second phase set play, but that’s very important as well. And there are other areas in which we need to do better.

“So I think it’s probably just consolidated my feeling - and I think the feeling within the club internally - of where we’re at with the group and the improvements we’ve made at times.

“I think if you look at the performances compared to the first time around against Rotherham and Wigan, we were much more dominant and improved in many aspects of our play.

“But we also know there are things that we need to improve to make sure that we’re competitive over the course of the 46-game season and to make sure that we come out on top in more tight games, or more games where we’re dominating the general pattern and flow of the game and make sure that we’re consistently coming out on top with goals scored.”

McKenna is unlikely to make changes to his back three with Janoi Donacien, Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess continuing ahead of keeper Christian Walton.

Right wing-back Wes Burns is set to be assessed ahead of the game having suffered an ankle knock on Tuesday. If the Welshman doesn’t make it then Kane Vincent-Young may well return to the XI.

On the left, Matt Penney looks set to miss out having suffered a dead leg in the first half against the Latics and Dominic Thompson looks set to return to the side.

Skipper Sam Morsy seems likely to be partnered by Tyreeq Bakinson in the centre of midfield with Bersant Celina and Conor Chaplin expected to be the number 10s with Sone Aluko missing out with a knee problem suffered at Rotherham.

McKenna could stick with Macauley Bonne as the central striker with James Norwood and Joe Pigott his other options.

While Elkan Baggott has been a regular in the squad in recent matches, and made his league debut at Rotherham last week, he could be joined in the travelling party by some of his U23s team-mates with midfielder or left-back Cameron Humphreys and forwards Tawanda Chirewa and Zanda Siziba perhaps the most likely to be included.

Crewe interim assistant manager Lee Bell wants the Alex to be more positive as they look ahead to a return to League Two after two campaigns away.

“We have to be on the front foot, and not just because it’s the last game of the season and what’s gone before, just to make everyone happy,” he told his club’s official site.

“That’s what we’ve got to be like at home. We’ve got to be more on the front foot next season.

“I said to the players after the game [at Sheffield Wednesday], they’re like caged animals, there’s so much more to come from them in terms of what they can show with a football. It’s just getting that little bit of confidence to do it.

“We’re looking forward to seeing that on Saturday. We want high-energy performances, particularly at home.

“Away from home, particularly at this level, you have to make changes and sacrifice one or two things in games, but certainly at home we want to get on the front foot, we want to be aggressive with what we’re doing, we want to get shots away, we want to put crosses into the box, we want to try and be the dominant team.

“Now that’s not going to be the case sometimes, particularly against big clubs, good teams, but we want to try and impose ourselves onto them as much as we can.”

Regarding Town, he added: “Kieran has done a brilliant job since coming in at Ipswich and I’m sure they will have a successful season under him next season.

“He is a proper football guy and a really good guy as well. I am sure they will come and play their football and try to dominate the ball.

“He will be saying the exactly the same thing to his players that we are. People can say there is not a lot on the game but as a professional you want to win every game and play well.

“That doesn’t change and it is an opportunity for whoever plays. Ipswich will be wanting to carry on the momentum they have managed to build under Kieran into next season and we will be wanting to do the same with the games we have left.”

Defender Travis Johnson will miss out with a foot injury, while the weekend is likely to come too soon for forward Dan Agyei.

Arsenal loanee Ryan Alebiosu has returned to the club having been with his parent side after suffering a back injury.

Midfielder Josh Lundstram has a groin problem but Crewe are hopeful the midfielder will be fine to face the Blues.

Former Blues academy youngster Ben Knight hasn’t featured since December having suffered an ankle injury, while veteran striker Chris Porter has an achilles issue.

Historically, Town have won 12 matches between the teams (10 in the league), Crewe three (two) and with four (three) ending in draws.

The Blues have won the last six of the last seven games between the teams and are unbeaten in nine against the Alex, who have been victorious only once in the last 14 games meetings, a 1-0 success at Gresty Road in August 2003.

At Portman Road in November in what turned out to be Paul Cook’s final league game as Town boss, a Luke Offord own goal and a brilliant Celina chip saw the Blues to a 2-1 victory over Crewe.

Offord turned an Aluko cross past his own keeper in the third minute, then Celina added a fantastic second in first-half injury time.

Chris Long’s 73rd minute goal for the Railwaymen made the closing stages more nervy than they ought to have been with Town having missed plenty of chances to put the game out of sight.

The teams last met at Gresty Road in January last year when sub Aaron Drinan netted his first and ultimately only senior goal for the Blues as 10-man Town claimed a 1-1 draw.

Charlie Kirk gave the home side the lead on 59 but Drinan bundled home the leveller on 75, seven minutes before Teddy Bishop was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence.

Town midfielder Rekeem Harper is on loan with the Railwaymen but is unavailable against his parent club.

Harper, who joined the Alex in January, has made 11 starts and three sub appearances since making the switch.

Crewe’s squad also includes former Town academy youngster Knight, who is on loan for the season from Manchester City, the Railwaymen having signed the 19-year-old after also eyeing Armando Dobra for the same role.

Knight has made only six starts and four sub appearances for his loan club having spent much of the season sidelined.

The Alex’s goalkeeper-coach is be-masked glovesman Fred Barber, who made one appearance for the Blues on loan from Luton in December 1995, a 2-2 draw at Wolves.

Saturday’s referee is Simon Mather from Manchester, who has shown a not inconsiderable 125 yellow and 10 red cards in 30 games so far this season.

In his first year as a regular EFL referee, Mather hasn’t previously taken control of a Town match.

Squad from: Walton, Hladky, Donacien, Woolfenden, Baggott, Burgess, Burns, Vincent-Young, Thompson, Penney, Morsy, El Mizouni, Carroll, Bakinson, Humphreys, Celina, Chaplin, Bonne, Norwood, Pigott, Chirewa, Siziba.

Photo: TWTD

alfromcol added 20:21 - Apr 21 Another top rate official in charge!!!
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Ipswichbusiness added 10:22 - Apr 22 I would rather have Humphreys start than Bakinson, not least because he is our own player.
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bobble added 22:52 - Apr 22 its our current poor focus that has cost us promotion , we need a new focussing lens ,not maintenance of the current poor one..
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backinbeige added 07:50 - Apr 23
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