Boss Kieran McKenna says his only focus is on the Good Friday game against Wycombe Wanderers as Town, who are chasing a club record-equalling eighth league win in a row, go into two games in four days with a visit to Cheltenham following on Easter Monday.

The Blues host the Chairboys in front of a sell-out home crowd in record-setting form having kept eight clean sheets in a row while not conceding for 776 minutes. During that time they have scored a remarkable 20 goals.

Town last won eight in a row in the league in the 1953/54 Third Division South title-winning campaign. The Blues’ longest winning run in all competitions is a nine-game streak during 1981/82.

McKenna’s men go into the weekend third in the League One table, two points behind leaders Sheffield Wednesday and second-placed Plymouth with a game in hand on the Owls.

Wednesday are at Oxford, who are managed by former Town academy midfielder and academy coach Liam Manning, while Plymouth travel to Morecambe. Barnsley, fourth, three points behind the Blues, are at Burton Albion.

McKenna says he hasn’t yet talked to the players about the trip to Whaddon Road with the Blues having maintained a one-match-at-a-time approach all season.

“It’s all eyes on Wycombe, to be honest,” McKenna said. “We haven’t spoken to the players about Cheltenham, I haven’t thought about Cheltenham too much because I don’t think we can afford to at the moment, I think it needs to be all eyes on Wycombe.

“The players are fit, the turnaround’s quick but we’re as fit as we’ve ever been and we need to attack Wycombe with everything and think about Cheltenham at five o’clock on Friday.

“It’s going to be a quick turnaround, the schedule is a little bit different, it’ll mean training on Saturday and travelling on Sunday and a three o’clock kick-off on the Monday, but for now it’s all eyes on Friday, three o’clock Wycombe and doing everything we can in the 90 minutes.”

Looking back to last Easter, McKenna was reminded of the 1-0 defeat at Rotherham and 2-2 home draw with Wigan Athletic. At the same stage of the season Town are 18 points up on where they were then.

“I haven't made the comparison, to be honest, in terms of the calendar,” he said. “I remember those two games well and they were good markers for where we were at.

“I thought in the Wigan game particular, we played fantastically. But I think over the year, we've developed and improved well. That's reflected in the position now compared to the position that we were in at that point and it's important to keep that going.

“It's not about looking back, certainly not at this stage of the season. It’s about looking forward and we know we've got a big challenge ahead of us on Friday, and that's where the focus is.”

Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield, whose side are eighth in the table, hails from Felixstowe, was a boyhood Town fan and came through the academy to make one senior sub appearance for the Blues before joining the Chairboys as a player in 2003 where he remained until his retirement in 2022 when he joined former manager Gareth Ainsworth’s staff.

Bloomfield also spent time coaching in the Playford Road academy during the latter stages of his time as a player at Adams Park.

The 39-year-old left Wycombe after 19 years in September last year to take over as Colchester United boss but returned as manager after only four months following Ainsworth’s departure for QPR.

McKenna says he isn’t close to Bloomfield but is aware of his background and history with the Blues.

“I don't know Matt well,” he said. “He knows a few of the staff here. He and [first-team coach] Lee Grant have got some background together [they were in the same England U19s squad].

“I know about his background as an Ipswich fan and as an Ipswich player growing up and still living locally.

“It will be a big game for him and his family as well and he'll be proud to bring Wycombe here and want to put on a good performance and a good show.

“But it's up to us to go and put in a performance and do all the things that are going to be necessary to get the result and make sure it's a day that the Ipswich fans can enjoy.”

Has much changed regarding Wycombe’s approach since he took over from Ainsworth? “You can certainly see some things that he's trying to change in terms of certain tactical things that he's trying to evolve and develop and put his own stamp on the team.

“You can see those things coming out in games and in parts of games but it's a process for any of us as managers and it doesn't happen overnight.

“I'm sure he's finding the balance of how quickly he wants to change things versus keeping that level of consistency which has been really successful for them in terms of getting a promotion from this division recently and performing well in the Championship, and last year they only missed out very, very narrowly in the play-off final.

“I think they are finding a pretty good mix of what's worked well for them in the past and also trying to bring some new ideas in.”

Wycombe at home last season, in December 2021, was McKenna’s first game in charge of the Blues and a successful one with Town running out 1-0 victors.

“A really good night, a difficult game that we came out on the right side of the margins,” he recalled.

“Some players are still there from both teams, the Wycombe squad hasn’t changed all that much from then. It feels like a long time ago but we would certainly take the same result.”

Does he feel his team has moved on significantly since then? “I don’t want to talk about it too much because we won that game and I don’t want to say we’re much better now because I would certainly take a 1-0 win in any way it comes Friday.

“We feel like we’ve made really good steps forward here at the training ground and on the pitch. The points total would suggest that we’re an improved side, but we have to keep showing that every game.

“When the whistle blows on Friday, what we’ve done in the last games or in the last months doesn’t matter, it’s a fight between two teams and we need to just be focused on being ready for that challenge and it’s not a time to be reflecting on where we’ve come from or what’s gone on before, it’s for focusing on what’s ahead of us.”

McKenna was pleased with Greg Leigh’s performance in the absence of Leif Davis last week having previously stressed the importance of the Blues’ strength in depth.

“I think that was a big positive and a big boost for the squad going into what's going to be a really busy month,” he reflected.

“Because it's one thing to speak about the importance of the squad and how there are going to be different times when people are needed and everyone needing to be ready to go and step in, and there's another thing that situation occurring in a massive game against Derby and us then following up and putting players in the team and giving them the trust.

“And then them showing that they are ready to come in and perform, and Greg certainly did that and helped the team.

“And he's not the only one, to be fair. If you look at the recent run, there are other boys, Janoi [Donacien], and Kayden [Jackson], how he came into the team for the Accrington game and performed is probably a similar comparison.

“I think it reflects well on the group. We've got 20 or 21 players training most days, everyone working really hard, everyone understanding their roles, everyone understanding what's required and everyone fully committing to the preparation for every game.

“So if there are any late issues, then they are ready to step straight in and that was reflected well last week, and it's what we're going to need right through the month of April.”

McKenna is likely to stick essentially with the team which won at Derby last week with the one question mark whether he sticks with Leigh at left-back or brings back Davis, who returned to training earlier today following his hamstring injury.

With another game following so quickly, it might be that McKenna continues with Leigh giving Davis a few more days before he makes his return.

Otherwise, Christian Walton will be in goal with Harry Clarke, Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess at the back and Wes Burns wide on the right.

Skipper Sam Morsy will be in the centre of midfield alongside Massimo Luongo, while 20-goal top scorer Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead will be behind central striker George Hirst.

Bloomfield is looking forward to returning to Portman Road, where he once played for the England U19s as a sub in an international against Germany during his time as a player with the Blues.

“It’s no secret that Ipswich is a club that’s close to my heart,” Bloomfield told The Bucks Free Press.

“I was a fan of the club growing up, I only live 20 minutes away and my grandad used to take me to many games at Portman Road.

“The club had a huge influence on my life from those early experiences. I used to watch the team before being accepted into the centre of excellence which was later turned into the academy, and I worked my way up through the system.

“I started when I was 12 in 1996 and left seven years later in 2003 when I was 19. I made some great friends there, people who I am still in contact with.

“However, I didn’t realise the blessing it would be to leave the club and join Wycombe.

"It was a big moment to go away from home, stand on my own two feet and make a career in professional football.”

Regarding his one appearance for the Blues, from the bench in the 2-1 League Cup loss at Notts County in September 2003, he added: “It was a really proud moment, to make an appearance for the club that I supported as a kid was massive in my life.

“We went away to Notts County, [and I came] on as a substitute in the first half and we got beat.

“It wasn’t a good result for the club and sometimes you get associated with that as I never got a second opportunity, so that was disappointing at the time.”

Reflecting on sitting in the Portman Road dugout on Friday, he continued: “I hope my family enjoys it as they’ve been with me through thick and thin.

“A life in football is a rollercoaster and they’ve been with me in the good and the bad. So for me, it’s not about the emotion as I just want to win the football match. I’m proud to be the manager of Wycombe and I want to try and get a good result.”

Considering the game, he added: “It’s a busy spell for anyone involved in football, but it’s one game at a time.

“We have treated this game like any other and we have faced several teams this year when they have been on good runs of form.

“No different to any other team, they have their strengths and weaknesses and have got some great players.

“Ipswich have recruited really well, and they are a club that is currently growing. The fans are optimistic about the future so they can go back to where they once were a few years ago.

“They had a bit of a lull as they were relegated out of the Championship to League One, but they are on the up.”

Wycombe are without a win in their last three, a 1-0 defeat at home to Barnsley having been followed by a 1-1 draw with Charlton and last week a 2-2 draw with MK Dons at Adams Park.

Away from home this season, the Chairboys have won eight, drawn three and lost eight.

The Blues and Chairboys have met only five times competitively, all in the league in the last two seasons and in the Buckinghamshire side’s 2019/20 promotion campaign, with Town having won two, Wycombe one and two having ended in draws. The Chairboys are yet to win or score a goal at Portman Road.

At Adams Park in December, Town dropped to second in the League One table following a 1-0 defeat, their first ever loss to the Chairboys and one of only four in the league this season.

Brandon Hanlon skipped his way into the area before slotting into the net five minutes before half-time with Town dominating the second half but rarely looking like finding an equaliser against a determined Wycombe side.

The teams last met at Portman Road in manager McKenna’s first match in charge of the Blues at Portman Road in December 2021.

James Norwood’s third goal in three games saw Town to a 1-0 victory, the striker pouncing to net from close range a minute before half-time with sub Chaplin coming close to making it 2-0 when he hit the post in the dying seconds.

Blues centre-half Richard Keogh had just over a month on loan at Wycombe between November and December 2005, making two starts and one sub appearance.

Friday’s referee is David Rock from Hertfordshire, who has shown 90 yellow cards and five red in 25 games so far this season.

Rock’s last Town match was the 4-0 victory over Morecambe at Portman Road in which he booked Lee Evans and two visiting players.

Prior to that, he officiated in the 1-0 home victory over Plymouth in March last year in which he yellow-carded winning goalscorer Morsy, Burns and one Pilgrim.

He was also the man in the middle for the 2-2 home draw with AFC Wimbledon in August 2021 in which he awarded the Blues a penalty after Burns was felled by Will Nightingale, booked Vaclav Hladky and three of the visitors.

Before that he was in charge of the 3-3 pre-season friendly draw at Colchester in July of the same year, as well as the 1-1 draw at MK Dons in October 2020 in which he cautioned Flynn Downes and two home players.

Prior to that, Rock’s only previous Town fixture was as a replacement referee in the 3-0 defeat at Watford in March 2011.

Having been the fourth official, Rock took over from fellow Hertfordshire whistler Grant Hegley in the 10th minute after he had suffered a hamstring injury, showing yellow cards to two Hornets and no Blues.

Squad from: Walton, Hladky, Clarke, Donacien, Woolfenden, Keogh, Burgess, Burns, Jackson, Vincent-Young, Davis, Leigh, Morsy, Luongo, Ball, Humphreys, Camara, Chaplin, Broadhead, Harness, Edwards, Aluko, Ladapo, Hirst.

Photo: TWTD

dirtydingusmagee added 21:53 - Apr 6 expecting this to be a tough game, as nerves will be a big factor in the remaining games just hope we can hold ours, COYB
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Bazza8564 added 08:34 - Apr 7 They are all tough games now, but we have the squad and the ability to win every game provided we stay in the present and give 100%. At Derby last week, watching the players getting off the bus, it was obvious how absolutely focused they are, ive every faith in KM to get the mindset right again. We do that, we are tough to bet....
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IpswichT62OldBoy added 09:49 - Apr 7 Its all about focus, and professional execution, for the first time in many years we have the right mindset to do this.
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