McKenna: We Need to Go There in a Positive Frame of Mind and Enjoy the Challenge Thursday, 15th Sep 2022 17:13 Town boss Kieran McKenna isn’t looking any further ahead than Saturday’s trip to Sheffield Wednesday, despite that match being quickly followed by games against two other teams challenging towards the top of the division. Reminded that after Saturday’s visit to face the Owls, who are fourth, Town are due at third-placed Plymouth a week on Sunday - international calls permitting - with Portsmouth, currently second, at Portman Road the week after, McKenna was at pains to point out that Arsenal’s U21s are in Suffolk for a Papa Johns Trophy tie before the matches against the Pilgrims and Pompey. “We have Arsenal on Tuesday night as well!” he said. “We haven’t thought anything past Sheffield at the moment and then come Sunday, we will be thinking about Arsenal. “You have different runs over the course of the season where, externally, people might look at it and say you have a run of teams at the bottom or you’ve got a run of teams at the top, or you’ve got a run of home or away fixtures. “We don’t look at it too much like that. We honestly just speak to the boys about the next game, what the opposition bring, what we have to bring and don’t look any further forward than that.” While admitting that Saturday’s game is a significant one for both clubs, McKenna says it’s far too early in the season for it to individually have a major impact on the season. “It is a big game. We want to beat the teams that are going to be up at the top of the division — that is always an advantage. I think it’s much too early in the season, of course, for it to be decisive, one way or another,” he said. “We are going to play all these teams again in three, four, five, six months’ time and those fixtures are going to be more decisive, in terms of where teams are looking in the table and where the positions are. “For now, it would just be great to continue our good form and go there and put in a good performance. “And, of course, if you can beat a team who you would expect to be right up there at the very, very top of the table at the end of the season, that’s a really nice three points.”
Town are unbeaten in their eight league matches this season plus an additional three at the end of the last campaign and visit Hillsborough in a rich vein of form. The Blues have won their first four away games at the start of a season for the first time in their history and a fifth victory would extend that record. “I think we need to go there in a really positive frame of mind and enjoy the challenge ahead of us,” McKenna reflected. “We know it’s a big challenge against a very strong side in a ground with a big home support but we’re really looking forward to it. “We want to go there, take on that challenge, show what we’re about as a team, show what we’re about as a club. “We’ve got a big away following going as well and we’ll look to go and impose ourselves on the game and on the occasion.” McKenna believes it’s crucial for his players to concentrate on the game rather than that occasion. “I think it’s important, it’s always important in these types of game,” he continued. “A big home crowd can be an advantage but it can also be a disadvantage, it can also be a difficult crowd to play in front of if the team’s not going well and the team’s not on top. “For us, it’s about going there, focusing our performance, take the atmosphere away from the home team and from the home supporters and impose our will on them and impose our football on them, and make sure that we control the game and how we want to control it. “And in the moments when we have got momentum against us, we need to be really strong physically and mentally to stand up to that. “It’s going to be great to have such a big away support, it’s going to be a factor for them to have such a big home support, but it’s what happens on the pitch that matters and that’s where we need to show our energies are focused.”
He added: “Injury aside with the couple that we have, we’re looking robust and physically strong and we added good profiles to the squad this year. “Mentality-wise, the boys are really hungry, they’re really buying into the next game approaching, focusing on what’s ahead of us. “We know that physically it’s a big challenge. The physical size of Sheffield Wednesday is really big point for them, I think that it’s an advantage in some aspects over every other team in the league, the physical stature that they have in their side. “But we have a different type of athleticism in our group and we need to use that and make it the type of game that that will stand out in.” McKenna is aware that the Owls’ physicality and height makes them a threat from free-kicks and corners. “For sure,” he continued. “They have outstanding delivery as well, of course, with Barry Bannan, whose set-piece delivery is of a very high level. “And they have a very high number of six foot-plus players, who are very good at attacking balls in the air. “That is one of the threats, but it is not their only threat. They have good quality, really good quality, in open play as well, so we have to be ready for that. “We have prepared for the game well today and we will tomorrow [Friday] in the meeting rooms. “As always, it is respecting the other team’s strengths, of which they certainly have a few, but it is also focusing on ourselves and what we can do and what areas we think we can hurt them on.”
There’s been a fair amount of change at Hillsborough over the summer with manager Darren Moore having strengthened his squad. One-time Town loan keeper David Stockdale signed after leaving Wycombe, while defensively Michael Ihiekwe joined from Rotherham, another former Blues loanee Mark McGuinness moved on loan from Cardiff City and Akin Famewo signed after leaving Norwich City. Midfielder Tyreeq Bakinson was recruited from Bristol City, having been on loan with Town in the second half of last season, while midfielder Will Vaulks was another to sign from Cardiff, although in his case on a permanent basis. Striker Michael Smith was another Rotherham player to opt to stay in League One and move to Wednesday rather than staying with the Millers in the Championship. Forward Mallik Wilks signed from Hull City and winger Alex Mighten joined on loan from Nottingham Forest close to the deadline. Despite the number of new recruits, McKenna believes the Owls still play in much the same way as last season. “I think style-wise they’re pretty similar, their squad is very, very strong,” he said. “I think they were very strong last year. They accumulated 85 points, which would have been enough in most seasons to go up automatically and they very nearly did so [they finished fourth before losing in the play-off semi-finals to Wycombe]. “And they’ve added very, very high end additions to that this season with however many who have come in, so there’s no need for me to say that it’s a very strong squad, powerful in quite a few different areas and we have to respect that and respect their strengths and defend against that very, very well. “But also we back what we’re about and we’ll look to impose ourselves as a team and how we go about things and look to deliver a really good performance.” Regarding Bakinson, he added: “He was Bristol City’s player so it wasn’t a matter of not offering him a longer term deal, it was a matter of whether we were going to try and purchase the player. “I thought he did very well in his time here. It came in a good time of his career, when he wasn’t in the picture at Bristol City. “I think he improved considerably during his time here, he was a really good player to work with and I enjoyed working with him. He made some good strides. “Like everything else, we looked at all our options in the summer. Anyone we bring in, we have to make sure it is the right thing for us and also the right fit for them, and the right step for them in their career, and the right opportunity. “That wasn’t quite the case for Tyreeq in the summer, but we were still in contact with him and delighted he got his move in the summer, which is a good move for him. “He’s had some good moments for Sheffield already and I am sure he will be a good signing for them.” Wednesday were reported to have switched their system from the 3-5-2 usually employed to a four-man backline during Tuesday’s 3-0 win at Morecambe, however, McKenna felt it was essentially the same. “I know the shape on Tuesday night was publicised as a back four, but it was very similar to their normal shape,” he said. “It was a very similar set-up and Alex Mighten’s role was not drastically different to a wing-back role, not very dissimilar to how Wes Burns has the role for us. “We have a really good grasp on what their general structure would be — they don’t tend to change that too often and too much. “They have really good quality within those structures and we have to be ready for what they do tactically, and also their individual qualities. “I think we have a good grip on what is to come. But it is one thing knowing what is coming and another dealing with it. We need to make sure we deal with those threats very well.” Is there much he can learn from the 1-0 defeat at Hillsborough in January, one of only four league defeats he has faced with Town. “There are some things we can take from it,” he reflected. “There are some things, tactically, that aren’t very different and their system is very similar to what it was then. “There were things we did in the game very well and there are things we can improve from the game. “There are quite a lot of new players in both teams. Players influence matches as much, if not more so, than tactics do, so the individuals will change the dynamic of the game. “But structurally, there are some things I have looked at that we can repeat and want to do again and some things that we need to do a little bit better than last year.” McKenna is unlikely to make too many changes from the team which comfortably beat Bristol Rovers 2-0 on Tuesday. Christian Walton will be in goal with Janoi Donacien and Luke Woolfenden in their usual positions ahead of him but with Cameron Burgess missing out having suffered a facial injury against the Pirates. George Edmundson is most likely to return to the side at left centre-half with Richard Keogh another option. "Leif Davis and Wes Burns will continue in the wide roles with skipper Sam Morsy and Lee Evans in central midfield. League One top scorer Conor Chaplin, who has already netted six times, and Marcus Harness, who has bagged five in all competitions, will be behind lone central striker Freddie Ladapo, who was praised by his manager following Tuesday’s victory. Fourth-placed Wednesday are four points behind the Blues, having won five, drawn one and lost two so far this season. At Hillsborough, they have won twice, drawn once, 3-3 with second-placed Portsmouth, and lost once, a 2-0 reverse to Barnsley a fortnight ago in which former Town striker James Norwood was on target. The Owls will be without centre-halves Ben Heneghan (hamstring) and Akin Famewo (knee) and midfielder Dennis Adeniran (knee). Manager Darren Moore is looking forward to locking horns with another of the division’s high flyers. “They are a good team. Both teams are in real good form at the moment and we go head-to-head on Saturday,” he said. “It will be wonderful in front of our home crowd. There is plenty of work to do between now and then in terms of getting ready for that game.” Regarding Blues boss McKenna, he added: “He has done an excellent job. He is somebody that has been well head-hunted by them. “He is showing his true potential. I spoke to him after the game last season and we were in the manager's office afterwards and he knew he had some work to do. But he implemented and started that work at the back end of the season when he had a real good look. “He had a good summer of recruitment. They had a good pre-season and started the season very, very well. “He has got the right components in each position all across the pitch. The beautiful thing with them is I can see they have been coached and taught well. You can see the work he has done on the training ground is paying dividends in the league in terms of what he is doing. “He has brought stability to Ipswich and his team are playing well. They have applied to his patterns and way of thinking.” Following the recent death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, the players and coaching staff of both clubs and also the match officials will wear black armbands. Prior to kick-off, members of the Armed Forces will place floral tributes inside the centre circle, before a minute’s silence and an acapella rendition of the national anthem by Sheffield singer Maxwell Thorpe. Elsewhere, second-placed Portsmouth take on Plymouth, who are third, at Fratton Park and Bolton, fifth, host seventh-placed Peterborough. Historically, matters are very evenly balanced with the Owls just having the edge, Town having won 20 games (19 in the league), Wednesday 21 (20) and with 14 (13) matches having ended in draws. The teams are both among the division’s top scorers with Town’s 16 putting them second behind Portsmouth’s 17 with the Owls third with 15. Town have conceded the fewest in the division, four, while Wednesday have shipped seven, the fourth-least. At Hillsborough in January, Marvin Johnson’s sixth-minute goal saw Sheffield Wednesday to a 1-0 victory over the Blues. Johnson volleyed Nathaniel Mendez-Laing’s cross into the net from the Owls’ first attack of the game and Wednesday had a number of chances to increase their lead with the Blues rarely threatening to get back on terms. When the sides met at Portman Road in September last year, Owls keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell gifted the Blues a last-gasp leveller as the sides drew 1-1. Adeniran gave the visitors the lead in the 26th minute and the South Yorkshiremen looked set to claim all three points until the final minute when Macauley Bonne hid behind Peacock-Farrell, stole the ball off him and Chaplin netted his first goal for the Blues. Town left-back Matt Penney, who is currently on loan at Motherwell, joined the Blues from Wednesday in the summer of 2021 with his contract up, having joined the Owls as an eight-year-old. Penney made 22 starts and 10 sub appearances for the South Yorkshire side. Owls defender Dominic Iorfa spent 2017/18 on loan with the Blues from Wolves making 22 starts and three sub appearances, scoring once. Wednesday keeper Stockdale was with Town on loan in the first half of 2011/21, making 18 starts. Centre-half McGuinness is on loan at Hillsborough from Cardiff having spent 2020/21 with the Blues from Arsenal, making 24 starts and one sub appearance, scoring once. Midfielder Bakinson was with the Blues on loan during the second half of last season, making 14 starts and three sub appearances, scoring twice. Former Town left-back Neil Thompson is the Wednesday U23s manager. Blues forward Tyreece John-Jules spent the second half of last season on loan with the Owls, making one sub appearance in an injury-hit spell, coincidentally against the Blues at Hillsborough. Saturday’s referee is Peter Wright from Merseyside, who has shown 22 yellow cards and no red in eight games so far this season. His most recent Town match was the 1-0 defeat at Rotherham in April in which he cautioned Woolfenden, Burns, Sone Aluko, James Norwood, Bersant Celina and one Miller. Wright was also in charge of the 2-1 defeat at Cheltenham in August last year in which he booked Lee Evans and three home players. Wright has refereed only one other previous Blues fixture, the 2-1 defeat at Sunderland in November 2020, in which he certainly made his mark, showing Andre Dozzell a controversial red card before awarding a similarly contentious penalty against then-Blues loanee McGuinness, decisions manager Paul Lambert slammed as “absolutely incredible”. Squad from: Walton, Hladky, Donacien, Woolfenden, Edmundson, Keogh, Burns, Vincent-Young, Leigh, Davis, Morsy (c), Evans, Ball, Harness, Edwards, Chaplin, John-Jules, Ladapo, Jackson, Ahadme.
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