McKenna: We Need to Find a Balance Friday, 16th Aug 2024 17:12 Blues boss Kieran McKenna says Town have to strike a balance between the footballing principles which saw them climb two divisions in two seasons and coping the the significant leap in quality of the Premier League. Town host Liverpool at Portman Road tomorrow in a tough first Premier League game in 22 years, coincidentally their last opponents in the division on the final day of the 2001/02 season when a 5-0 defeat saw them relegated after two seasons in the top flight. “I think we’re going to have to find a balance of both, and that’s not a choice, that’s going to be an obligation put on us by the opposition,” McKenna said. “We went from a certain level of dominance in League One as a League One club where we were dominant in so many aspects, certainly by the second half of the season in almost every game. “To last year, we already had to adapt and I had to adapt and we had to find a way to keep our brave, bold, exciting strategy that’s scored so many goals for us in League One that made us such an entertaining side to watch. “We had to try and keep that essence, while also still leaving last year going to clubs who had just dropped out of the Premier League, which was a massive jump. “People who have watched us closely will know that we did adapt certain things from that league to the Championship and we still managed to keep our essence and our spirit and our real core principles as a team, but we also found different ways to score goals. “We scored more goals from set plays, we won more games by tight margins, we won more games from excellent game management, we won more games with transitions and we know that we’re going to have to do the same this year. Again, the jump is even bigger, so it’s the same process, it’s just a bigger challenge. “We need to keep our core essence that we’ve built of being a brave, exciting team that people want to come and play for, that players feel that will improve in our style, that supporters want to get behind and that gives us a chance to score goals and win matches. “But we also know that we’re not going to be able to play an open match for 90 minutes in every game because if we do, it would be counter-productive to getting the results that we want to get. “It’s going to be a balance. We’re determined to find that right balance. Sometimes, we would like to be the dominant team in every game and be the team that’s playing in the opposition half with 70 per cent possession in every game, but the level of the opposition teams and players is going mean that that’s not always going to be the case and we’re going to have to try and find different ways to compete if we’re going to do that. “It’s a good challenge for me, it’s a good challenge for the players. Lots of them have been on this journey have found those adaptations already and found that balance and we’re going have to try and find the same this year.” McKenna admits that Town’s swift rise to the Premier League caught even him unawares. “No, we didn't have the vision that it would happen in three years, that's the honest truth,” he said. “We knew the history of the football club, that was a big part of the attraction for me to come here. “I knew the ownership takeover was a real positive and was the beginning of some real positive momentum in the football club and I knew we'd have the chance to bring the football club back to the highest levels of the game and eventually to the Premier League. “So that was the longer-term ambition. I don't think anyone realistically thought it would come in the first two and a half seasons, but that's the product of a lot of hard and good work from a lot of people. “We never particularly set out at the start of each season talking about promotions or where we would finish in the league, we set out two and a half years ago to build an environment, a culture and a way of working at the training ground that the players would enjoy, that players would improve in, that players would develop in. “We set about building a playing style that the supporters would be right behind, that would be exciting, dynamic, great to watch and that would help players get better. “We set off on that journey, really, and of course each week you try and win the game that's ahead of you. Win, lose or draw we focus on learning and improving and coming to work the next week and getting better. “That's been the focus day-by-day, we've done that every day and it's led to a historic double promotion that in modern football is probably going to be really hard for anyone to ever match. “It's a great thing but what's important now is that our focus remains as it has been over the last couple of seasons, it's not now about where we're going to finish in the league or setting out a position or points total that we want to finish in. “It's about embracing the next challenge, continuing to try and learn every game, every day and every training session and fully commit to that process and see where it takes us at the end of the season.” Reflecting on his decision to stay at Town after coming close to moving to Brighton early in the summer, while also speaking to Chelsea and Manchester United regarding their vacancy, McKenna says that’s something to be expected in the wake of the Blues’ success. “I think it's natural when you do as well as we've done and the team has done incredibly well,” he reflected. “It's natural when we've achieved what we've achieved that there's going to be interest in myself, players and different people at the football club. “Of course, when those things are there, it's better to have that than when people are talking about you in a negative way and it's better to have those compliments and people saying that we're doing a good job. “But I'm so happy and so proud to be manager of this football club, I arrived here at 35 years old, the youngest manager in the EFL. The club have put that support in me, I've been the youngest manager in England for a couple of seasons, thankfully a couple of people have taken that mantle now, but I've had that support from the football club. “We've achieved something incredible together and I'm really determined and really glad that I'm going to be the manager leading the club into the Premier League for the first time in 22 years. “Anything other than that this season wouldn't have felt like the right thing to me and I'm really happy to continue the journey we're on and now take those steps with the football club into the Premier League and take on this challenge, embrace and enjoy it. Hopefully it can take us to some more good days ahead.” Yesterday, it was revealed that sponsor and lifetime fan Ed Sheeran had become a minority shareholder, taking a 1.4 per cent stake in the club. “It's been really nice,” he said of the pop star’s backing. “It's been ever-present really since I've been at the club over the last few years. “I know he's pretty much a lifelong supporter, he's pretty passionate about his home county and his home football club. “It's wonderful to have his support. Of course, he's a global superstar and one of the most talented musicians in the world. “To have him endorsing and backing everything we do and to have his sponsorship and as a part-owner now is a great boost for the football club and brings us onto another scale and we're really grateful.”
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