McKenna: Palmer's Had a Great Start
Friday, 21st Feb 2025 16:13

Town boss Kieran McKenna says keeper Alex Palmer has made a great start to his time with the Blues.

The 28-year-old, signed for an initial £2 million from West Brom on deadline day, made his debut in the 4-1 FA Cup win at Coventry, then put in one of the outstanding Town Premier League debuts to see the 10-man Blues to a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa last week.

McKenna says Palmer, who looks certain to make his Portman Road bow tomorrow against Tottenham, has performed similar well in training this week.

“He’s done very well, as he has done in the games,” McKenna said. “A really good communicator, you can tell he’s played a lot of games over the last couple of seasons.

“He’s comfortable in his game, he knows what he likes to do and how he likes to play the game and he’s off to a good start.

“We don’t expect him to be perfect, no one is, there are going to be mistakes along the way from every player, but he’s a very good goalkeeper and he’s had a great start.”

Asked what Town can take from the gutsy 1-1 draw at Villa into Saturday’s match, McKenna said: “It was probably two different games. I think we’ll take some confidence from the first 40 minutes in terms it being a really stable performance.

“We controlled the game well without the ball, both being aggressive, which we were, very, very aggressive in terms of our pressure, but also whenever we had to drop into shape we were well connected as a team, blocked the spaces and we worked a few decent opportunities for ourselves as well.

“So we can take confidence in terms of matching Aston Villa across that phase of the game.

“I think the second half with 10 men, we can take a lot of confidence from the resilience that we’ve shown, the way we’ve dug in. Sometimes in those scenarios when you’re really, really against it, everyone’s level goes up 10 per cent, especially without the ball.

“The commitment from everyone to defend that extra yard, give that extra little bit of themselves to help the team because you know you’ve only got 10 men, and that’s the mindset that we need to carry, the team principle that we need to carry through every single game to the end of the season.

“I think the effort that we gave with 10 men last weekend, sometimes you get that with 10 men because the cause is so clear, it’s so clearly then a moment when everyone needs to be ready to suffer for the team and it’s carrying that mindset on, knowing that’s the mindset that’s going to help us get results 11 v 11.”

Photo: Action Images/Reuters

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