McKenna: Squad Has Bounced Back and Taken Positives From Forest Performance Thursday, 6th Mar 2025 16:05 Blues boss Kieran McKenna says his squad has bounced back well in training following the disappointment of the on-penalties FA Cup fifth-round loss at Nottingham Forest and have taken positives from the display. A Town side featuring eight changes from the previous game against Manchester United held Forest, the Premier League’s third-placed side, over 120 minutes having gone ahead, before losing 5-4 on spot-kicks with Jack Taylor the man whose effort was saved. “I think the group's bounced back as I would expect them to do in training,” McKenna said. “It's been a pretty short week and everyone was tired after Monday night. It was a late finish and a late return, but, as I said after the game, I think the group has taken some positives from Monday night. “From the performance and how we competed. Everyone was gutted to go out on penalties, but we also know that that's part of football and when the game's tight and goes to 120 minutes it's going to be decided in that manner and one team's going to come on the wrong side of it. “The boys have taken some positives from the game. Now we know there are 11 games left and everyone's just determined to look forward to those games. “In terms of Jack Taylor, as I said after the game, somebody's going to miss one and both teams had very well-taken penalties and their goalkeeper made a good save, and Jack's absolutely fine.” Can moments of adversity such as Monday’s FA Cup loss be beneficial in building team cohesion? “I think if you can find the right response it certainly gives you a boost,” McKenna reflected. “If we can go and find the right response on Saturday to some hard luck and something not going away on Monday, it certainly gives you a boost. But I think that would do anyway, to be honest. Every experience for us this year is a big challenge. “Some go your way and plenty don't go your way, but I think if you keep approaching them in the right way, then if you keep finding the right response in your daily work, whether it goes well or it goes against you, if you stay consistent in your behaviours, stay consistent in our processes, stay consistent in trying to drive the culture here, I think that builds trust between the group, builds trust especially with a group that hasn't been together that long, builds a trust in the pathway that we're on. “We keep reviewing and renewing the things that we're doing well and keep looking for ways to get better and I think that has been really consistent and common across the three years here, and we're doing it in a different context this year. “And it's not necessarily going through those things, but I think it's finding the right responses and that might be, hopefully, winning a game on Saturday. “But it can't just be that, it's finding the right response in training and how the next few days are. I think that does build a trust and a strength in the group that hopefully will serve us well in the next few months and the next few years.”
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