Town boss Kieran McKenna believes the Blues are on track having been competitive in the majority of their Premier League matches so far.

The Blues sit in 17th ahead of Sunday’s live Sky game at home to third-placed Aston Villa, still without a win, but having drawn their last three. Their only defeats have been to Liverpool, 2-0 at Portman Road on the opening day, and at Manchester City, 4-1, the following week.

Asked whether Town are on track as things stand, McKenna reflected: “I think our goal is to be as competitive as we can be each week. And I think in that way, you could say we're on track because we've been competitive for the large majority of most games.

“We've been in certainly the last three games in terms of the result and ended up with draws, which another day you could win, another day you could lose. 
 
“But I think if we can be competitive in each match, or in as many matches as we can, then you give yourself a chance to find a way to get a result. We know that we're not going to win four or five-nil every week.
 
“So it's about finding ways to prepare and compete so that we can be a difficult team to play against and be competitive in the match. And then it's going to be about now finding ways to go the extra yard and find a way to win games. 
 
“I've said many times, points totals, league tables, things like that, they don't interest me greatly, especially at this stage of the season.

“Of course, we want to pick up as many points as we can, but I think the first goal has to be to be competitive in the division while we're still trying to develop ourselves as a team. And I think, on the whole, we've done that.”
 
McKenna says maintaining the resilience which has been a key facet of the team over the last two seasons will again be very important.

“It's up to us to go and show that, but it's certainly going to be right at the very, very top of the ingredients that we're going to need to be successful this season.
 
“We know that it's something that has been running through the team and through the club over the last couple of seasons. It's something that we've worked really, really hard to make a core tenet of what we're about. 
 
“And it's something that we're going to need this season, and we can only show that to the public outwardly each week with how we commit and how we fight in every performance for the whole 90 minutes.

“But we can also show it day to day in here with how we train and how we develop and push ourselves irrespective of what happens the weekend before. 

“It's going to be a really, really important character trait for us and it's good to see that, especially in the last couple of weekends in different ways at Brighton and at Southampton.

“Two tough away games really early on in our season in which we've shown those qualities already with a relatively new group. And we're going to keep trying to develop that.”

A journalist described McKenna as pragmatic, which the Blues boss said was a new descriptor relating to him, Town having been referred to as rather more gung-ho in his previous seasons in lower divisions.
 
“It's the first time I've had that one! Thank you,” he said. “I think we would have been maybe described as opposite a year ago.
 
It's difficult imposing your game with the quality of the opposition you're up against. How difficult is that balance and how pragmatic are you having to be?
 
“It is difficult [imposing your game given the quality of the opposition] and it is part of the challenge of the season.

“I knew it coming in here. I came to Ipswich from Man United, where you have one of the better squads in the league and everything that comes with it.

“At Ipswich, then in League One, probably in my first full season, I think we had one of the better squads in League One, one of the bigger budgets in the league, and we imposed a style of football and developed a style of football that everyone enjoyed, got behind and brought us great success. And that we're all really proud of.

“We then went to the Championship. We managed to still impose a really aggressive, positive style of football that everyone enjoyed, everyone got behind. But there were differences in there and we had to find different ways to compete and pick up points as well. Even last season, going against the clubs in the division with bigger budgets and all the things that come with that. 
 
“And this season, that's on a whole new level. So again, it's about finding ways for us as a club, for us as a squad, for me as a manager to impose the football that we believe in, the football that has brought us this far, the football that we want to be known for in the future.

“But also, knowing that the jump is massive, we have to find ways to compete to get points. And that has to be done in different ways, in different weeks, against different opponents. 
 
“And that's going to require a really vast skill set. And I think that's a good challenge for the players, a good challenge for me. It's one that we all are adapting to and it's one that we've gone into eyes wide open.

“That was going to be the case this season. I think we've made a pretty good start on that. I think when you look at the games, we've had spells of games where we've been the dominant side, spells of games where we've pressed really, really well and had the ball in the opposition half. We want to have more of that as the season goes on. 
 
“But we've also had spells of games where we've had to defend for longer spells, be compact and in shape, and try to be resilient. And it's something that we're still developing, but we've done that for good periods of time in games as well.

“It's a big challenge being a team in this division. It's a really good challenge for me and I think it's going to make me a more rounded manager. And I think for the group, it's a great challenge and it's going to help us all develop as individuals. And in the end, give us the best chance as a club of being successful this year.”

McKenna says there’s a different rhythm to life in the Premier League compared with the Championship, the reduction in fixture numbers affording more time to work at Playford Road.

“It's enjoyable and it gives you a chance to try and develop the whole group more, spend more time individually and go into more detail,” he said.

“I think when you're in the Championship and it's a two-game week, really the sessions with the whole squad are preparation sessions and then you have one or two days where the boys who didn't play in the game will train, and I think we put more emphasis into them than any other clubs. 
 
“All the staff work really, really hard to develop all of those players individually to maintain their levels so they're ready to step into the team.

“But as a group, you don't get a chance to train very much as a whole collective and I think the rhythm at the moment is different. 
 
“We're only a couple of weeks into that rhythm, but certainly since the international break it has felt very, very different with the pause following the international break and then seven days before a game and now eight days before a game, so it give us a chance to train as a group.

“And sometimes that training can be developing things tactically as always, but also it's a chance to develop our culture on the training pitch because when you've got five or six days to a game you're not necessarily eyes on the next opponent, so you're able to work on ourselves.

“How we compete, how we push each other every day, how we try and make the standards here the best possible and I think that's really really important with a new group that we're able to lay that groundwork down now, while still knowing that you can get to the later stages of the week and you've got plenty of time to prepare for the opposition.

“You're able to fit in some more unit meetings, some individual meetings, you're able to get into the detailed preparation a day or two earlier than we would have been in the Championship and be really confident that going into the game, when the whistle starts, everyone will be really clear of their jobs and we'd have, we’d like to think, a good game plan to give us a good chance to impose ourselves in pick up points.
 
“It's a different rhythm. Of course, it brings its challenges. In the Championship, you know that if a game doesn't go your way, if you lose a game, the next one's coming around a couple of days later. If you don't perform how you want to perform, you get the chance to have a meeting, have one prep session and go again.

“At the moment everyone internally, externally they're judging performances and talking about how we're doing in the division and what areas of the game that we are doing well or we need to improve on, but the sample size is so small, it’s one game every eight days and the narrative will be built completely around that, but in a 90-minute football match things can happen.

“So, the sample size is small at the moment, there aren't so many minutes to share around the squad, so that's bringing some challenges, but I think at the moment having the time with a group on the training pitch is something that everyone's enjoying, and it's beneficial for us.

“It’s a different rhythm for me, different rhythm for most of our players and it's one that we're adapting to.”

Photo: Action Images

BuckieBlue added 20:38 - Sep 27 Interesting article. The time between games certainly gives plenty of prep. time which clearly KMcK relishes and I'm sure makes as much of as any manager. Reading this it struck me that not being in Europe (even League Cup!) gives us a bit of an advantage over some sides. Ok they've big squads but those in Europe at least, if not the cup, will have most of their top players playing those games and PL matches. We need all the help we can get as we step up!

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