Town boss Kieran McKenna says his Blues side lining up against Manchester United - under new head coach Rúben Amorim - at Portman Road on Sunday will be a special, not so much from his personal perspective as someone who used to work for the Red Devils, but for the club and its journey over the last couple of seasons following 22 years out of the Premier League (KO 4.30pm).

The Blues go into the match - which is expected to be played in high winds - having grabbed a famous first win of the season, the 2-1 victory at Tottenham a fortnight ago, which saw them move out of the relegation zone up to 17th.

On Tuesday at the Fans’ Forum, McKenna described Sunday’s match as the biggest in the world anywhere this weekend and, at his press conference 48 hours before kick-off, was asked how he was feeling.

“Really excited,” he said. “I think having Man United come to your stadium is always a massive game. And with the position that we're in, it's one of the games that you're looking forward to most in the season.

“And when you're Man United or in the situation they are with the change of manager, it's always going to be big news on a global scale. 

“So, it's a great game to look forward to for us, first and foremost, trying to go and test ourselves against another very, very good side and a massive club, and build on recent performances and try and pick up another result and pick up some more points along the way.”

Quizzed on what the game means to him given his history with United - he was an U18s and then first-team coach at Old Trafford prior to taking charge at Town in December 2021 - McKenna laughed having been down memory lane ahead of the Spurs match a fortnight ago, having been a player and coach in North London before his move to United in 2016.

“I feel like I've done all the reminiscing before the Tottenham game. I can't handle another interview of reminiscing about the good old days!” he joked.

“It’s not necessarily about my association with Man United this one, to be honest, not for me. It's more about Ipswich Town and our journey, 22 years without being in the Premier League, climbing from League One to the Premier League and now hosting maybe the biggest football club in the world at home in the live Super Sunday match in front of a worldwide audience, and coming off the back of a really good game and a really good victory. I think that's absolutely massive. 

“So that's really, really special to be part of. One of the reasons why I wanted to be here this season is for days like this that are really, really special and are going to be fantastic to be part of.

“So, I have to say, any sort of emotion behind this one is more about being Ipswich Town manager, the journey that we've been on and having Man United come into our stadium. I think that's massive for all the supporters, all the players and all the staff.”

Reflecting on his move from the Old Trafford staff to Town, which many may have seen as a risk given the Blues’ struggles in League One, he added: “Leaving Man United at the time, where Man United were, where Ipswich were, was a big disparity. And some people saw that as a gamble in some way, but I was pretty clear in my mind. 

“I wanted to take the opportunity to be a manager and I wanted to find a project that I believed in to do it. And in a relatively short amount of time to now be leading Ipswich Town out against Man United in the Premier League is going to be something to be really, really proud of and a fantastic moment for me.

“But it's not really about me. This is going to be a fantastic game to look forward to for everyone associated with Ipswich Town. A lot of people who will be at the game have been associated with it for longer than me, so it'll be a great moment.

“It's another nice little landmark in our journey, in my journey. But again, my focus is going to be on the game and trying to help the players as much as we can.”

McKenna was asked whether it’s difficult to maintain a focus on the team’s performance and objectives with all the noise surrounding the game.

“It's a good point,” he said. “It's something that you always have. The last couple of seasons we've had lots of big games, so you always have some version of that.

“Whether that's a League One promotion race and games are on TV or a Championship promotion race or now, this season, from the first game of the season, it was live on TV against Liverpool.

“So you know that there's an extra little bit around it in terms of media and in terms of the buzz around the town, and that's something to enjoy.

“I think that's something to embrace. Of course, it's something to not focus on. The focus has to be on the performance, the details and the execution. But the extra noise, the extra interest around the game, I think that's something that is a nice buzz around it.

“And I think it just adds to the excitement for all of us. But I'm sure it won't distract us too much from trying to execute a performance.”

McKenna admits facing a team under new management, Amorim having taken charge during the international break after leaving Sporting Lisbon, presents different problems.

“It always creates a challenge,” he continued. “It's not the first time I've had that challenge now as a manager. But always when a team changes manager before you play them, it always creates a different sort of challenge. 

“Having the two-week international break has probably helped because we've got a little bit more preparation time. The process is that you usually watch quite a lot of the manager’s previous teams and identify the trends that you think are going to be very, very likely to travel across. 

“And it's a mixture between that and studying the current players at the club and the things that have been doing well and any weaknesses we think we can exploit. So, the process hasn't been that unusual. We've prepped the game as well as we possibly could. 

“Of course, we've been limited, as they will have been, by having lots of players away on international duty, so we haven't had the whole group together until the last few days.

“But I think wherever we are now, 48 hours before kick-off, I think we're in a pretty good place. And I've still got a session tomorrow, so I'm sure come Sunday, we'll be well prepared, and players are really excited to go out and put on a performance.”

It’s anticipated that Amorim will switch the United side to the 3-4-3 he utilised with Sporting, but McKenna says his team is familiar with similar systems.

“You take all these things into consideration,” he said. “But I've said many times that formations in football, I think get played up a lot, lot more in the media actually than the difference in our preparation. 

“Of course, the manager has been successful in playing what would be termed maybe a more standardised 3-4-3 at Sporting Lisbon. But our last home game Leicester played a 3-2-5 in possession.

“In the game before that, they played it with [Ricardo] Pereira coming into the double pivot.

“The game before that, we played Brentford. They played a version of a 3-2-5 with [Sepp] van den Berg inverting from left-back into a backline of three.

“The home game against Aston Villa they played 3-2-5 with Lucas Digne high on the left-hand side. 

“So, especially in possession, there are so many teams now that build up with a back three and with a double pivot and a frontline of five.

“Very often [Erik] ten Hag has done similar things as well at United in recent games, so we can still use them as a reference as well.

“So there are certain things that won't be very unfamiliar, to be honest, and that attacking structure is pretty common across the league.

“Of course, the manager will put his own slant and his own perspective on that, and I'm sure we'll be working on certain things on the training ground, and some of them we can probably speculate on from looking at his previous team. And some of them we won't be able to speculate on. 

“That's why predominantly we need to prepare to put in our best performance and focus on our principles, our structures, our intensity and our spirit, and know that we'll have to adapt to some situations in the game.

“Some we can predict, some we can't, but make sure that we stick really clearly to our identity and our principles and trust that, especially at home, if we do that with maximum intensity, then we can give anyone a really difficult game.”

United are currently 13th in the Premier League, seven points ahead of Town and only four behind Arsenal in the final Champions League spot.

Prior to the international break, they beat Leicester City 3-0 at Old Trafford, having drawn 1-1 at Chelsea the previous week, following a 2-1 loss at West Ham.

Away from home this season, the Red Devils have won one - 3-0 at Southampton in September - drawn two and lost two.

Given the strength of the squad, McKenna was asked whether United’s current position baffled him.

“They've got a really, really talented group,” he said. “There's no doubt about that. And we know the calibre of individual players we're going to face on Sunday is going to be really, really high. But it's a really tough league.

“To be honest, I've not followed their games with any particular attention this year other than how we do for all the teams that we prepare for. And obviously, we haven't played against Man United, so I can't comment in particular on this season, on too many other games in particular.

“I think they've got very, very good players. It's a fantastic club. But it's also the toughest division in world football, so you don't need to get too many things wrong to lose a football match. And that doesn't change much whether you're at Ipswich Town or Manchester United. 

“So, I've got no real thoughts on their position in the league. We just know and are expecting to face a really, really good United side on Sunday and everything that that entails.

“And we're going to try and make sure that they face a really, really strong Ipswich Town side at Portman Road and everything that we believe that that entails as well.”

Having worked with some of the Manchester United current players in similar situations in the past, does he know how they react to a managerial change?

“I think you have to say, first and foremost, there are a lot of new players, so without looking at their predicted line-up for Saturday, I would have thought there'd be quite a fair few who I didn't work with,” he said.

“Even without the insight from inside the club, I think you can look at the record when new managers take over, or record whenever interim-managers take over, and see that it's a club that, within the normal new manager reaction and new manager bounce, it seems to be evident. 

“In football, they are a team and a club that have certainly shown examples of that over quite a few years now, probably even if you went back as far as Ryan Giggs, but long before my time, so it's not just in my time at the club.

“I think it's pretty clear to imagine that we're going to face a Man United group and team that are full of motivation, that are full of energy, that are going to play at a really high intensity and they're going to want to do really well for themselves and they're going to want to make an impression on the new manager.

“So I think it's fair to say that it doesn't make the game any easier and their record in these types of situations would suggest that.

“But at the same time, we're going to back ourselves and we think, coming to Portman Road for a game like this, if we can bring our very best performance, it isn't going to be an easy game for any team in any scenario. So we're expecting to face a really motivated, really energetic, really intense Man United side.

“But our focus is on the things that we can control and that's trying to make sure that Man United face is the same version of ourselves.”

McKenna says be believes his side can compete with anyone at Portman Road: “We feel like if we impose our game, especially at home and with our intensity, then we can be a really tough opponent for anyone. We have to match that with a level of humility that we know that Man United can hurt us. There's no doubt about that. 

“They have the individual quality of player that if we don't execute our details just right, if our intensity comes off at any point, then they've got the quality to hurt us or hurt any other team in the league.

“So, we'll hopefully go into the game with the right mix of humility, but also the right mix of confidence and belief. And really with the feeling that we worked so hard, as I said so many times, to get a game like this, we certainly don't intend to go into it and play with a whole lot of fear and restraint.

“We earned these games and we earned our right to be here. We want to go out and try to showcase the best of ourselves in the game while respecting the opponent and the challenges we're going to have, trying to make it as difficult as possible for the opponent. 

“Of course, that's our preparation, that's the players and we know the crowd has a massive part in that as well, and I'm sure everyone's going to show up on Sunday and try and play their part.”

And McKenna hopes the Portman Road crowd will play their part, as they did in the opening home game of the 2000/01 Premier League season when the Blues drew 1-1 with the Red Devils, whose manager Sir Alex Ferguson said afterwards that the then-capacity 22,00 crowd sounded like 40,000.

“It's very important,” he said. “I think we've had five home games, across the five the atmosphere’s been really, really good.

“I think probably Everton was the one game when we weren't delighted with our performance, but also things in the game went against us with decisions and us not taking our chances, and the opposition taking their chances. 

“But I think certainly in the other four, I think all the other teams would have went away and really felt the crowd, really felt the atmosphere, really felt the intensity off the pitch, the intensity on the pitch and would have felt our identity as a team. 

“And that has to be the goal going into Sunday. I'd say everyone's got a part to play with that. Of course, the manager and the staff in terms of preparing the game plan with players in terms of what they put into the game and what they're bringing. 

“And the supporters as well, we want to really make ourselves felt on Sunday and the supporters want to make themselves heard.

“And we know that over a good period of time now, it gives our players a better chance to perform and win games and makes it tougher for the opposition, which is why we've been traditionally pretty hard to beat at home.

The Team

McKenna will probably stick closely to the team which won 2-1 at Tottenham last time out with Aro Muric in goal, following two clean sheets - although one curtailed in injury time - while away with Kosovo in the international break.

Axel Tuanzebe will face his old club on the right of the defence with Leif Davis at left-back, while McKenna has a decision to make at the heart of the defence alongside Dara O’Shea.

Cameron Burgess has impressed since coming into the side, but Jacob Greaves returned to training following a hamstring problem earlier in the week and could be in contention for a return.

Skipper Sam Morsy again looks set to be partnered by Jens Cajuste, who will be making his first home start, with Kalvin Phillips, available again following his one-game ban, a doubt with a minor problem picked up in the Leicester game.

In the three ahead of the double pivot, Ben Johnson may well reprise his role from the Spurs match with Omari Hutchinson in the middle and Sammie Smzodics on the left. Liam Delap will be the central striker.

The Opposition

New boss Amorim will be taking charge of his first United game having left Sporting Lisbon to become the new manager at Old Trafford at the start of the international break. He took training for the first time on Monday when he had only 11 senior players available due to international calls.

Amorim says he won’t make radical changes of personnel on Sunday but has identified things to work on.

“I think if you want to speak about the team, the way we play, I think we lose the ball too often and we have to keep the ball,” he said at his first press conference this afternoon. “We have to be better running back. I think that is clear for everybody.

“And we have to be very good in the details. Sometimes we are hoping to change a lot of things, big things. I think it’s the small things and we are here to improve on the small things.

“The way we see football, play as a team, understanding the game in one way, that is the focus. I can tell you in the small things I can help a lot these players.”

He says the players he is inheriting are keen to play in his 3-4-3 system, at the moment at least: “I think they want to play, in this first moment, they just want to play, so it’s easy.

“In the future, we will see. I have to understand. You can watch on TV, but you have to train with them to understand if they can cope with different positions. So we are in that phase.

“Everybody wants to play now, if they have an opportunity to play as a goalkeeper they will play in the moment! In the future, they will see. But they are open to change some positions.

“That’s for sure [that the players have lost belief] but this is normal in every team. When you don’t win games, you start to be suspicious of the way of playing. I cannot control the ball with pressure, so these small things, you start feeling in the players.

“You can understand when they walk to the game or the warm-up, you can feel if they are confident or not. So that is a normal thing. I think I have to help them to feel that. It will take time but they ready to cope with the demands of the Premier League because they have proved that.

“You can see even this year and last year sometimes they have a bad first half and then in the second half without any tactical change, they will turn up and change things. They have to find the mindset to play this way through all the game.”

He added: “As a coach, you have to choose one way or another. I choose always 100 per cent our way. I prefer to risk a little bit but to push in the first moment. Since the first day, I believe so much in our way of playing, they will believe, too.

“So there is no second doubts, no second way. It’s one way and we are going to do it. We will adapt some players because we don't have the right profile. This team was built for a different system.

“But it's the same thing playing with five or four, the principles are the same. The positioning is a little bit different. But maybe on Sunday you will see the starting XI and not feel a lot of change. But you will feel it in the game during the positioning in the way they receive the ball, covering the ball, you will see some changes.”

Regarding Town boss McKenna, he added: “Of course, he did a great job. I think he’s very smart and you can understand all the tactical changes he uses, especially against Tottenham,” he said. “You can understand the idea.

“Sometimes, I look at that idea and think I will do the same, you know? So I think he is a very smart, very intelligent manager. It will be fun [to face him].”

Reflecting further on Town's win at Spurs, the Portugeuse continued:
“I think this league is amazing because of that. You can win everywhere, you can lose everywhere. So we know it's going to be a tough game.

“But we have an idea how to play and I truly believe we are going to win.”

England left-back Luke Shaw is on his way back following a lengthy absence due to a calf problem but the Town game may come too soon.

Three Lions teammate Kobbie Mainoo and central defender Leny Yoro, who signed for £52 million from Lille in the summer but is yet to feature following a broken foot, are also close to a return.

Another centre-half, Victor Lindelöf, suffered a hamstring injury while on injury duty with Sweden, while another, Lisandro Martínez, withdrew from the Argentina squad with a back problem.

Harry Maguire has also been out with a muscle injury since the start of last month.

History

Historically, the Blues have won 19 games between the sides (17 in the league) and the Red Devils 29 (24), while nine have been draws.

The teams last met at Old Trafford in the Capital One Cup in September 2015 when manager Mick McCarthy controversially changed all his starting XI and Town were comfortably beaten 3-0 via goals from Wayne Rooney, Andreas Pereira and sub Anthony Martial.

Rooney put the home side in front in the 23rd minute, full debutant Pereira made it 2-0 with a free-kick on the hour and Martial added the third in injury time.

The sides most recently faced one another in the league in the Blues 2001/02 relegation season with United’s visit to Portman Road the final game at Portman Road.

Town were still hoping to scramble to safety but a controversial 1-0 defeat all but sealed their fate.

The only goal came via a penalty in first-half injury time won when Ruud Van Nistelrooy, who was in interim charge of the Red Devils until Amorim took charge, threw himself to the floor and referee Rob Styles awarded a penalty, manager George Burley branding it “a joke decision” afterwards. The Dutch striker netted the spot-kick.

Earlier in the season, in September at Old Trafford, the Blues were beaten 4-0, although the scoreline was a touch flattering to the home side with two goals netted in the closing moments.

United were dominant in the first half, but with the second period more even, although Town rarely threatened.

Ronny Johnsen opened the scoring on 13, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made it 2-0 on 20 and he and Andy Cole added the third and fourth in injury time.

Familiar Faces

Blues boss McKenna was at United from August 2016 until taking the Town job in December 2021. Having initially been brought in as U18s coach, he was promoted to the first-team staff by Jose Mourinho and stayed in the role under Solskjaer and briefly Ralf Rangnick before his move to the Blues.

McKenna’s assistant Martyn Pert was also a member of the first-team backroom staff at Old Trafford having joined the club in 2019 before following McKenna to Town.

Similarly, Blues first-team coach Lee Grant was a goalkeeper at Manchester United before retiring in the summer of 2022 when he joined McKenna’s staff.

Town defender Tuanzebe came through the youth system at United having joined them aged eight. He want on to make 21 senior starts and 15 sub appearances.

Former Blues loanee Michael Clegg is the strength and conditioning coach at Old Trafford. Clegg made three appearances during the 1999/00 promotion season while on loan from United.

Officials

Sunday’s referee is Anthony Taylor, who has shown 61 yellow cards and one red in 13 games so far this season.

The Cheshire-based official will be assisted Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn, and the fourth official Matt Donohue. The VAR official is Jarred Gillett (Australia) and his assistant is Neil Davies.

Taylor’s most recent Town match was the 4-1 defeat at West Ham last month in which he booked only Jack Clarke.

He also refereed the 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Maidstone at Portman Road in January in which he yellow-carded George Edmundson and two of the visitors.

Before that, he was in charge of the 1-1 play-off semi-final first leg draw with Norwich at Portman Road in May 2015 in which he yellow-carded Paul Anderson and two Canaries.

Prior to that, his last Blues game was the 1-0 home victory over Derby in October 2009 which ended Roy Keane’s Blues’ winless league start to that season at the 15th attempt.

Squad From

Muric, Walton, Slicker, Davis, Townsend, Tuanzebe, Johnson, H Clarke, O’Shea, Woolfenden, Burgess, Greaves, Morsy (c), Cajuste, Phillips, Luongo, Taylor, Hutchinson, Chaplin, Szmodics, J Clarke, Broadhead, Burns, Delap, Al-Hamadi.

TWTD

chepstowblue added 22:34 - Nov 22 Surely Burgess can't be dropped !! I'd sooner have Omari out wide and Szmodics behind Delap. Having said that, Szmodics seems to play the wide role well, but the same can't be said for Omari in the centre.
2

shakytown added 02:03 - Nov 23 I hope ALL our fans enjoy this no matter the result. Who would have dreamed 3 years ago we would be hosting Man U. Enjoy the game no matter what happens.
4

Marinersnose added 10:35 - Nov 23 Greaves if fully fit should return as he is our best Central defender. Burgess has done well after a poor start against Everton. Slightly concerned that Omari could miss out with injury which would be a big loss after the way he performed at Spurs. Sounds like Phillips also struggling with injury but Cajuste had a good game at Spurs and worked tirelessly. A tough game but one we should win against a mid table team. Hopefully not too many neutral fans tomorrow.

2

blueboy1981 added 11:04 - Nov 23 shakytown - Winners only enjoy when they WIN ! And Yes, we as a Club have made enormous progress, but to live in the past is just that and nowt else. Ever heard of ‘never Rest on your Laurels’ … ?? And have you ANY idea at all, as to IMPORTANT it is, and will be, to our Club Owners that we stay in the Premiership ?? If not, I suggest you do !
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blueboy1981 added 16:57 - Nov 23 Results against us today - 2nd Bottom tonight - 3 points needed tomorrow now !!
0

armchaircritic59 added 00:57 - Nov 24 I think everyone knows there are things that can be improved on in the Premier League, but I reckon most would rather go and watch the guys pit their wits against the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Man city and United instead of (and I mean no disrespect) the likes of Fleetwood or Oxford, Preston etc. In my opinion there's no point of a professional football club if it doesn't have ambition, and ours has had a bucketload over the past few years, thankfully

3

shakytown added 04:12 - Nov 24 More rubbish from the blue budgie. Any excuse to be negative towards town. Hilarious how pathetic his life must be to post this crap day after day.
3

blueboy1981 added 07:54 - Nov 24 shakytown ….. you’re more than likely the Budgie, always in denial of FACT, no Ambition, and always condoning and happy with Defeat !! That’s a Budgie trait, in the wrong nest, if ever there was one. Accepting loser !!
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tractorboybig added 10:38 - Nov 24 shakytown.....surely yours is the pathetic life if you enjoy another defeat??
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Ebantiass added 11:26 - Nov 24 Tough game ahead but we could easily get something out of the game. Burgess should keep his place and I would have Phillips on the bench. Best of luck today. Come on you blues
1

dirtydingusmagee added 13:54 - Nov 24 Utd have been going through a poor period but it would be massive if we could get 3 points,am I expecting us to beat them,?well no ,to be honest but I can dream,COYB,on a day like today anything could happen perhaps with wind behind us Muric will hit the winner from a goal kick , either way Lol.
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Lukeybluey added 14:41 - Nov 24 Off to FPR, lets make some noise and let the hostilities begin!
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shakytown added 14:44 - Nov 24 Tractorboy big mouth. Real fans can accept that we are not going to win all the time in this league and have the brain capacity to understand that we are way ahead of the long term plan and will keep improving but as they say Rome was not built in a day. Enjoy the ride and support the team and manager is the best thing true fans of the club can do. As for my comment to the budgie troll thats all the sad little blip deserves.

0

Jcb2007 added 15:15 - Nov 24 Mason Mason Sedgeley A repeat of the game in September '94 will do nicely. Look at the team the boys faced back then.
1

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