Boss Kieran McKenna believes the Blues’ two exceptionally tough opening games following their return to the Premier League will fast-track them for life in the top flight.

Town began their campaign with last week’s 2-0 home defeat to Liverpool, then travel to champions Manchester City on Saturday for potentially their stiffest test of the season.

“That’s how we’re looking at it and that’s what we believe,” McKenna said when asked whether being thrown in at the deep end will ultimately benefit his side.

“Certainly in this game coming at the weekend, but even Liverpool with their strength and they’d had a very good pre-season against good opposition. To face that early on is going to be really good exposure for the first time for these players to what the top, top end of the Premier League looks like.

“We know that the lessons in last week’s game, the moments in the second half when our organisation wasn’t quite right, Liverpool went through us to an extent that not many of the teams in the division can do.

“Of course, it would be nice to start with two wins and get as many points on the board as early as possible but that was always going to be a challenge, especially with the way the fixture list came out.

“But on the other hand, we approach the games in the right way, we take the lessons in the right way and we’ll hopefully come out on the back of it feeling that we’ve given a really good account of ourselves, we’ve had a taste of what the top end of the division really looks and feels like and the areas that we’re going to have to improve on to be successful in the season.

“We’re taking a positive from it. We certainly feel that we came out stronger as of last week and it’s going to take an awful lot but if we do the right things we could come out of the back of this weekend stronger as a group as well.”

Reflecting on that first game, McKenna felt the players came out of the game having greater belief in themselves, despite the result.

“I think it was a great experience for us to go through,” he said. “And, as I said after the game, I think the most overriding feeling in the dressing room after the game was positivity and I think the group came away more confident from the game that we could be competitive this season.

“The first-half performance, and even really up until the first goal, how competitive we were in the game, I think the group have taken belief from that and not just the fact that we were competitive, but also the way that we've done it in a front foot aggressive positive manner I think was a big, big positive.

“But there’s also big learning to take from the game in the first half in terms of how we could turn that, certainly not level of domination because it was still an even game, but the opportunities that we had into ideally an advantage at half-time. 

“And in the second half, especially after the first goal, how we could manage that period better because we felt first-hand how a team the calibre of Liverpool can go through the gears and they became a huge threat very quickly and had a number of big chances in quick succession and we need to manage that period better. 

“We spent some time talking about that this week and talking about all the different elements of the game, and I think we are stronger for it, and we have an even bigger challenge this week and the big goal will be to try and get some points.

“But you know underneath that, it's about coming out of the weekend stronger and that will be about how we take on the challenge, how we approach it, how we embrace it on the day, how we take our lessons from whatever the game brings and make sure that from these first two games especially, we come out of them stronger and we use it as a way for us to fast track our adjustment to the league.”

Liverpool went in front on the hour, then added their second only five minutes later and McKenna says he and the squad have reflected on that period of the game.

“It’s something that we spoke about in the debrief and it’s a really good lesson for us,” he reflected. “So many things I’ve said this year for us are going to be about a balance of what we’re been and what we want to be and the reality of the level and the jump in the level.

“I spoke about it after the game, one of the best things about us last year as a team was that when we conceded a goal, the players’ mindsets all immediately went towards getting a goal back.

“And sometimes when we conceded two goals, our mindset would be that the next action would be to get a goal back as soon possible, and that’s a tremendous character trait to have, that belief and that spirit in the group.

“But there’s a balance to have like all things in this division and in a phase of a game like we went through last week where Liverpool were very, very dominant and in full flow and were causing us a lot of problems.

“There’s also a moment in the game where we needed to be compact for longer and stay in our defensive shape for a spell and make sure that we could deny the space for a little bit to then stay in the game and give ourselves a chance to come back at a later stage and be aggressive again and try and get back on the front foot and try and get on top of the opposition again.

“That’s a great one for us to go through early, it’s more of a game management decision I would say than anything and a game management feeling that the players will have picked up and it probably won’t be the last time this season.

“For us, it’s about finding that balance between how aggressive and how positive we want to be in every situation and also recognising the quality of the opposition. And if you’re playing one of the best teams in the league, one of the best teams in the world, then you have to at moments respect their strengths as well.”

One of the positive aspects of Town’s performance against the Reds was their pressing stats, which were highlighted by Sky Sports earlier in the week.

“It's certainly going to be an important element of what we do and I think it has been over the last couple of seasons as well. I think our pressing metrics in both divisions we've been in have been very high,” McKenna said.

“Like I said last week, our pressing metrics in League One were the best in the league, last year in the Championship, we were one of the top teams and in the Premier League this year, we're not going to be the highest pressing team in the league, that's the demand and the jump on the level that we're going into. 

“But our core identity as a team is to be as aggressive as we can be without the ball and disrupt the opposition and win the ball high and impose ourselves on them as much as possible, and I think we showed last week for a good period of the game that we're capable of doing that.

“I think that's a testament to the group and how hard they've worked both from a physical point of view of the course and the tactical point of view and we want to keep that essence to ourselves as a team. 

“On the other hand, as I've always said, we're a group that works on all elements of the game. We want to be really good on our high pressing, but we also want to be really good at defending compact in shape, and I think there were elements last week where we've done that really well.

“And over pre-season in some of the games, elements where we've defended really well in a compact manner and denied space, stayed really close as a team and made it difficult for teams to play through us. 

“We know there are other games where we're going to have to defend deep and defend our goal with all 11 players pretty close to our goal and certainly elements of Saturday where it's going to come into that type of game is going to be apparent for parts of the game on Saturday.

“So, like our in-possession stuff, we want to have variety, we want to be able to attack in different ways, score goals in different ways, build up in different ways and defensively we want to be able to press high and be aggressive and keep that core essence that we have.

“And we showed the bravery and the quality to do it last week against one of the best teams, but we also know over the course of the season we're going to have to be very good at defending in a deeper block and defending deep close to our goal very well as well. 

“So, it was great to show our front foot last week, it was a great marker to lay down for the season, and it's going to be a really important element of how we approach the season as a team.”

Looking back over his first week or so as a Premier League manager, McKenna seems unfazed.

“Honesty, it’s not that different,” he insisted. “That’s probably the one thing people say from being a youth team coach to a first-team coach to a first-team manager, I don’t find it that different. The process is the same.

“Come to work on Monday morning, try and help the players get better, try and help the team get better, work on ourselves first and foremost, get close to the weekend, work on the opposition that we’re playing, try and prepare a game plan, give a good account of ourselves on the weekend, learn the lessons and start it all over again.

“I don’t find it that different. Of course, the challenge of the opposition is higher, there’s more media around the games but the process of how I work as a coach and how I work as a manager, I don’t think it’s changed a whole pile in the 16, 17 years that I’ve been doing it.

“I’s like to think I’ve continually evolved but the core essence of how I try and do the job and what I enjoy most about the job, that’s not too different.”

Photo: TWTD

victorysquad added 19:11 - Aug 22 Everyone is writing us off for Saturday but Chelsea had a good few chances and gave them a game, a not particularly strong Chelsea either. Let’s keep calm, stick to the game plan, and see where it takes us. Whatever the outcome these first two games have come at a great time for us while we are still building our squad. It shows us what we need to get to and the lessons we will learn will be invaluable.

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backwaywhen added 21:16 - Aug 22 This man just knows his onions doesn’t he , listen to his insights all day .
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Bert added 09:50 - Aug 23 I cannot think of a more articulate, grounded and insightful manager than KMcK. What an asset !
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