McKenna: We Know It’s a Big Three Points Friday, 10th Feb 2023 16:36 Town boss Kieran McKenna is hoping a sell-out crowd in excess of 29,000 will provide another big Portman Road atmosphere on Saturday as his third-placed side take on new leaders Sheffield Wednesday chasing three vital points. The Blues go into the game looking to make up ground on the Owls, who went top last week following their 1-0 home victory over Plymouth, who dropped to second as a result, Callum Paterson netting the only goal in the seventh minute. Town, who disappointingly drew 1-1 at Cambridge United a week ago, are six points behind Wednesday - who have a game in hand - and the Pilgrims, and now only two in front of Derby and Bolton in fourth and fifth with the Rams also having played one fewer game than the Blues and the Trotters one more. McKenna has been pleased with the role the Blues support has played in previous big matches, such as the visit by Argyle last month. “I think they’ve been excellent, especially in these type of games, I thought the atmosphere at the Plymouth game was really, really good,” he said. “I guess if you’re talking about the teams up at the top of the division, the atmosphere for Peterborough and Derby and Portsmouth and those type of games, I think the stadium’s been fantastic. “We know that that support will be there and we’re looking forward to feeling that behind our backs tomorrow, but we also know that we have to put in the performance and make sure that - as we usually have - we show the energy and the commitment and the intensity to our performance that the fans will really get behind.”  An electric atmosphere can affect players’ emotions and McKenna was asked whether it has a similar impact on him on the sidelines. “I don’t think so,” he reflected. “I think you can certainly look at the Premier League and see lots of high profile examples of the emotions that a manager can go through during a game. “But I think the job where possible is to try and stay calm, to make sure we’re able to analyse what’s happening on the pitch as clearly as possible. “Of course, what happens in the stands can affect what happens on the pitch and what happens on the pitch can affect what happens in the stand, but in terms of decision-making from the sideline or trying to influence to try and help the players from the sideline, that has to be separated as much as possible. “The atmosphere is there to be enjoyed. There are times before the game where you can enjoy it. There’s the odd occasion during the game where you can feel the support and feel the voice from the crowd and the encouragement and that can even give yourself a little boost. “But there’s no doubt that the best time to enjoy the atmosphere is after the game whenever we’ve hopefully put in a good performance and, of course, most importantly won the game, and that’s the time to enjoy it with the supporters. And that’s what we hope will be the case tomorrow.”
The teams drew 2-2 at Hillsborough in September, a game the Blues really should have won. But McKenna doesn’t believe that match will have too much impact on Saturday’s fixture. “I don’t think there’s too much relevance in that game from a tactical point of view,” he said. “I think their set-up and approach was quite different and they will have some different players in the team. “We will have some different players in our team as well with Tyreece John-Jules and a few others unavailable. “I think we know it was a really good and competitive game and we performed very, very well for the large majority of the game. “I’m sure we gave them one of the tougher days they’ve had at Hillsborough, so that will give us heart. “But we have also seen that they are a very strong team who have resilience and physicality and some good players who can also find ways to compete. “On that day, it showed [we're] two really strong teams in the division and I think Saturday will be the same. We will look to perform to a very similar level to what we did at Hillsborough, for the majority of the game, but obviously this time come out on top.”
Wednesday are unbeaten in their last 16 in League One, winning their last six. Until Tuesday’s 1-0 FA Cup defeat at Fleetwood, they had gone 22 matches without losing over 90 minutes in all competitions, their only loss an on-penalties Carabao Cup exit away to Premier League Southampton. The Owls have lost only three League One games all season, two of those away from home where they have won eight and drawn three. They have kept 17 clean sheets, eight on their travels, both more than anyone else in the division. McKenna says he isn’t at all surprised by the Owls’ impressive form: “I thought they were possibly the strongest team in the division last year from January onwards with my experience of the league. They’ve added in the summer and kept the large majority of the team that they had in the Championship [having been relegated in 2020/21]. “So they have a very strong base in terms of experience, physicality and quality and I expected them to be right at the top of the league and, of course, credit to them for doing so, so far. “I think they have strength and quality all over the pitch. They have got people who have scored goals at this level, one or two who have consistently scored a number of goals at this level and higher, and they also have a very good clean sheet and defensive record. “They have six outstanding senior midfielders, so they are a really good team. “We know that, we don’t need to overemphasise that to our players. Our focus has to be on ourselves and believing in ourselves and going out there and delivering a performance that we are capable of. “And knowing that if we can perform as close to our best as we can, then we are also a very difficult team to play against.” Having lost former Town loanee Mark McGuinness, who was recalled by parent club Cardiff City, Wednesday brought in veteran centre-half Aden Flint on loan from Stoke during the January window. “They have done well with their centre-half recruitment,” McKenna said. “I thought they did well in the second half of last season from a defensive point of view. Bringing in Harlee Dean last season and then [Ben] Heneghan and [Michael] Ihiekwe this summer means they have a lot of experience and physicality. “They’ve lost McGuinness through him returning but they have replaced him with Aden Flint, another strong, experienced defender. “They have been consistently pretty strong in that area for the last 12 months, but we know it’s up to us to find ways of breaking them down. “Other teams haven’t been able to find ways to score against them but we back ourselves to score most games. It’s up to us to find ways to break down a stubborn unit.” The Blues’ squad now includes Massimo Luongo, who until last summer was a player at Hillsborough. Has the Australian international been able to provide any inside information on the Owls? “We had conversations, as you do with most of your players about what it’s like at other clubs and, of course, he played against us last January,” McKenna continued. “Not in relation to this game, I had those conversations with him weeks ago about his experience of the game and how they found it and how they found playing against us. “He’s shared different insights about the mindset of the opposition as all the players do whenever we have conversations about previous clubs and previous experiences. “I don’t think there’s anything drastically different that we’re going to learn from tomorrow. We know the qualities of the opponent we’re facing and we know what we’re going to have to do and what we’re going to have to try and stop them doing.” Has McKenna ever been surprised by what players have told him about how other bosses have sought to address facing his Town side? “Not necessarily in specifics,” he reflected. “Sometimes there’ll be a little nugget or a detail that you find out that the opposition have spoken about that takes you by surprise. “But that goes on all the time, players speak after a game, so very often after a game players will share with players who they know well and have played with before details of their preparations. “Nobody is ever too keen or too foolish to give away any big details but you always hear little things from the other camp and I’m sure vice versa, but I don’t think that will have too much impact on the game tomorrow. “[Owls manager] Darren [Moore] knows our team very well, they’ve faced us before. We feel that we know Sheffield Wednesday very well, we know the players well and we know their strengths as a team, and I’m sure vice versa, so I’m sure that’s where the really important knowledge will come from.” McKenna’s team selection will be coloured by very different displays, the draw at Cambridge and the FA Cup matches against Burnley in which the Blues performed well against the Championship leaders before ultimately losing Tuesday's replay 2-1 at Turf Moor via an injury-time goal. “Of course, we weren’t happy with how we performed last Saturday so that’s a problem you don’t want. “That will all come into consideration for selection but it’s not the only thing. We had a difficult game physically and then there was all the travel during the week, so there is a freshness element. “There’s form in the previous games and also who is going to be suitable for the way we want to attack Sheffield Wednesday. “We will take all that into consideration, as normal, and pick the team we think is going to be giving us the best chance to win the game.” Reflecting on the fixture overall, he added: “It’s a great game to look forward to and makes it the end of a big week. When this one was in the calendar at the start of the season we knew Sheffield would certainly be in a very strong position and we hoped we would be in a strong position. “It’s certainly two of the stronger teams in the division and two of the best supported teams in the division, who we know are going to go hell for leather to try and get the three points. “It’s a game to really look forward to, it’s a game to embrace, it’s three points at the end of the day. “If we get them, it doesn’t mean we are going to achieve our goals and if we don’t get them, it doesn’t mean we are not going to achieve our goals. “But we know it’s a big three points and the best way to get them is to focus on our performance, focus on ourselves, control what we can control and make sure we put everything we can into the game tomorrow.” McKenna will start with Christian Walton in goal, while he has decisions to make at the back. Harry Clarke could return on the right-sided defensive role, Janoi Donacien having started at Turf Moor, while Richard Keogh and Luke Woolfenden are vying for the role inside the St Lucia-born defender and George Edmundson and Cameron Burgess for the other central position. Leif Davis will be on the left with Wes Burns likely to be on the right if considered fit enough. In central midfield, skipper Sam Morsy looks set to be partnered by Cameron Humphreys, who impressed his manager against the Clarets and with Lee Evans injured and Luongo a doubt against his old club. McKenna played a variation on his usual system at Hillsborough with Burns wide on the right and Kayden Jackson in a role wide on the left, with Conor Chaplin in the middle behind the central striker, on that occasion the currently injury Tyreece John-Jules. Freddie Ladapo, Nathan Broadhead or George Hirst, facing his old club where his father was a legend in his playing days, are the options for that position this time around. Wednesday have lost last week’s winning goalscorer Paterson to a long-term muscular injury suffered in the game against the Pilgrims, while left-back Reece James is 50/50 to make a return having been stretchered off at Wycombe a month ago. Owls boss Moore is looking forward to a succession of big games his club has been involved in in recent weeks. “I expect a tough test,” he said. “They play front-foot football, attractive football and they're a well-rehearsed and well-coached team. “They have firepower and so we expect a good game. For us, for the second week running, it's another good game. It's about us remaining calm and positive and a continuation of building on the platform from recent weeks. “All the big games we've played - Newcastle [who they beat 2-1 in the FA Cup], Plymouth - have been played in different contexts. We expect the same against Ipswich. “There's a large crowd there tomorrow but the players are used to that. It's a wonderful game though and if we wanted to have any success we knew games like this would be on the horizon.” Asked whether it’s important for his side to back up last week’s 1-0 victory over the Pilgrims, he added: “For me, nothing changes. Since I arrived here our remit has been to win games. The remit now is to continue winning games. “I'm coming up to two years in charge and I've always wanted to put out a competitive team that plays good football and wins games. Even where we are at now, nothing changes in my approach.” 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 15 (14) matches having ended in draws. The teams are both among the division’s top scorers with Town highest on 54 and the Owls third having netted 48 times. Wednesday have conceded the fewest in the division, 18, 11 fewer than the Blues, who have the division’s sixth-tightest defence. At Hillsborough in September, Michael Smith’s 89th minute goal - which video evidence showed was offside - saw the Owls come from two goals behind to claim a 2-2 draw. Town looked on their way to their fifth away win in a row from the start of the season after Jackson’s opener on four and an own goal by ex-Blues loanee Dominic Iorfa in the 71st minute but George Byers hit back on 75, then Smith headed the leveller. When the sides met most recently at Portman Road in September 2021, Owls keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell, who faced Town for his current club Burnley on Tuesday, gifted the Blues a last-gasp leveller as the sides drew 1-1. Dennis 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. January loan signing George Hirst started his career with the Owls where his father David had been a legend in the eighties and nineties. Having come through the academy, Hirst junior made two subs starts before moving on to Belgian side OH Leuven in the summer of 2018. Another of Town’s January additions, midfielder Luongo, was with the Owls from August 2019 until last summer, making 57 starts and 16 sub appearances, scoring four goals. Blues forward John-Jules, who is getting close to a return after hamstring surgery, 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. Town left-back Matt Penney, who is currently on loan at Charlton, signed for 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 Iorfa spent 2017/18 on loan with the Blues from Wolves making 22 starts and three sub appearances, scoring once. Wednesday keeper David Stockdale, currently their second-choice, was with Town on loan in the first half of 2011/21, making 18 starts. Midfielder Tyreeq 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 U21s manager. Saturday’s referee is Geoff Eltringham, who has shown 55 yellow cards and two red in 15 games so far this season. The County Durham-based official’s last Town match was the 1-1 home draw with Cheltenham in November in which he cautioned Morsy and three Robins. He was also in the middle for the 2-1 home victory over Accrington Stanley in January last year in which he booked Edmundson, Tom Carroll, Bersant Celina and three of the visitors. Prior to that, he was in charge of the 2-1 loss at Reading in March 2019 in which he yellow-carded Jon Nolan, Toto Nsiala, Gwion Edwards and four Royals. In the preceding December he had taken control of the 2-0 defeat at Stoke in which he again cautioned Edwards as well as one Potter. A couple of months before that, he was the man in black for the 2-0 home defeat to QPR in which he booked just one visiting player. Before that he took the whistle for the second half of the 2-0 defeat at Middlesbrough in December 2017 when he replaced Robert Jones at the break and booked Celina and one Teessider. Eltringham refereed the 3-2 defeat at Leeds in September of the same year when he cautioned Jonas Knudsen, Cole Skuse, Jordan Spence and one home player, and was also in charge of the 2-1 win at Barnsley the previous month in which he yellow-carded Iorfa, then on loan with the Blues, Knudsen and one Tyke. Prior to that he was the referee for the 3-1 loss at Fulham in April 2017 in which he booked three home players and Blues captain Luke Chambers. He also took control of the 2-2 draw with Reading at Portman Road two months earlier in which he cautioned Knudsen and two of the visitors and the 0-0 draw at Blackburn in October 2016 in which he booked only one home player. Eltringham also refereed the 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday in April 2013 when he kept his cards in his pockets throughout. His first Blues match was against Leeds at Elland Road in January 2012, which ended 3-1, in which he red-carded on-loan Town keeper Alex McCarthy for handling outside the area thereby denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity and booked Luke Hyam and one Whites player. Squad from: Walton, Hladky, Clarke, Donacien, Woolfenden, Edmundson, Keogh, Burgess, Burns, Vincent-Young, Davis, Leigh, Morsy, Humphreys, Luongo, Edwards, Chaplin, Harness, Aluko, Broadhead, Ladapo, Hirst, Jackson.
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