Town boss Kieran McKenna felt his team was at full stretch trying to compete with Arsenal at 11-v-11 with the dismissal of Leif Davis making it an impossible task to get back into the game even if his side showed some good qualities in the second half.

The Blues were 2-0 behind when Davis was shown the first red card of his senior career for a rash challenge on Bukayo Saka.

“A really tough game, two different games to a certain extent,” McKenna said. “Tough at 11-v-11. Arsenal started really well, I probably felt at the start of the game maybe the highest standard that we’ve faced this year, to be honest.

“The group was absolutely at full stretch trying to compete in the first 20 or 30 minutes. We had a few moments where we could have hurt the opposition but in the end their execution was better than ours and their quality shone through in the goals and they were the better team and deserved their lead at that point.

“Of course, then the red card makes it almost an impossible task in terms of getting back into the game and I thought the group showed good qualities with 10 men, to be honest.

“The second half’s a really tough situation, I thought we managed it well. Defensive organisation, spirit, resilience was really good, didn’t give up too many things in free play.

“We knew if we did that we’d get one or two moments around their box. We had a similar situation in the Aston Villa game earlier in the season [when also down to 10 men] and we actually had a couple of little moments. You need it to go in the net really to have a chance in the game, but it didn’t.

“Just disappointed with a couple of short corners, which were difficult to deal with. They’re good on short corners and when you lose a man that’s a moment where it becomes really difficult because without giving up too much in the box, it’s hard to match up the numbers they have in the short [areas] even with 11-v-11.

“Disappointed that a couple of short corners ended up going in the net but I thought in the second half the group showed the right qualities that they needed to show in that instance.”

On the red card, McKenna added: “At the time I didn’t think it was but it was on the far side of the pitch and that’s more in line with knowing Leif as a player and I don’t think he’s got a malicious bone, really, so I don’t think there will have been the intent to injure.

“But when you see it on the video, it’s obviously a high challenge, and I’m pretty certain with no intent, but it’s a high challenge, so I can see why the referee gave it and when it’s given, it’s never going to be overruled, so we can’t have too many complaints.”

The defeat was Town’s seventh in a row at home, a new club record, and their 20th out of their 33 games in the Premier League this season.

McKenna was asked whether he was disappointed with that figure, even if perhaps it isn’t a fair reflection of the number of games in which they have been in contention over the course of the campaign.

“We could have more points at this stage,” he reflected. “The games that we’ve managed to be tight, we haven’t come out on top of the margins enough.

“There’s also then a category of games like today, maybe Man City, Newcastle, where the game just gets away, the opponent’s just too good, too strong.

“The challenge has been big, but we’ve picked up 13 results, you can look at it in another way, we’ve picked up 13 results. Of the teams that we’ve faced twice, it’s Arsenal, City, Liverpool, Forest, it’s a pretty small category of teams we haven’t taken something off.

“So we’re competing against some top teams in the top league in the world, we know how big the climb’s been. I think we’ve competed well lots of weeks, not every week, but we’ve competed well most weeks, which is how we’ve managed to take points off those teams, but we haven’t won enough games.

“When we’ve put ourselves in the position to win games, we haven’t managed to get enough games over the line, or take the margins enough whenever we’ve managed to make games really tight and competitive to have the points total that we’d want to have.”

Despite the heavy defeat and confirmation of relegation almost certain to come next week at Newcastle, McKenna and his team were given a warm reception by their fans after the whistle.

“It’s a massive testament to the supporters,” McKenna said. “Of course, mixed emotions because you’re so honoured and humbled by it but also you’re disappointed because you’d have liked to have given them a different outcome to the game.

“But I think we’ve got a fantastic supporter base and I think they understand better than anyone the scale of the challenge.

“There are some there, the older generation, who have seen 22 years without Premier League football and they’ve seen the jump that it’s been for the club and for so many of the players who have been on that journey, and then also players who have come into this team, into this group, but very, very few who have competed at Premier League level if ever before.

“They know that it’s been a massive jump, I think they see that the group’s working really hard and everyone’s giving everything and that’s been reflected in a lot of the performances. And that’s been shown even in moments like today where the result’s gone but the group are still working and fighting and the body language is good.

“And I think there’s not to much else that the players can give from that. Of course, we’d like to have made one or two fewer mistakes over the course of the season and been more clinical in one or two more moments, but they know that the group’s given everything and is continuing to do so.

“It’s fantastic that they’re behind it. I think they also know and believe that the club’s in a much, much, much better position now than it was a few years ago, that whatever division we’ll be in, and it looks like we know what division we’ll be in, the club’s much stronger going into that.

“And that if we keep doing the right things, if we keep showing the right values, keep working in the right way, then there’s a great chance that we can use this setback as another thing to push us forward because things aren’t always linear, things aren’t always on an upward trajectory.

“Of course, we would have loved to have gone promotion, promotion, establish. The first bit of that journey’s been incredible but it looks like we’re not going to be able to do the third bit.

“But there are other ways to keep developing and building this club back to being, hopefully, a Premier League football club and the supporters are going to have a massive part to play in that, and they’re certainly playing their part at the moment.”

TWTD

Stato added 18:10 - Apr 20 McKenna completely overrated by the majority on here. He has produced a par performance this season and has hopefully learned enough to bring us straight back up. No shame in losing to Arsenal but the Southampton home game was a real low and was of course a must win game regardless of McKenna refusing to recognise that. I don't care if he stays or goes but would be relaxed if the owners stuck with him

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Leejames99 added 18:59 - Apr 20 Same drivel week in week out, always spins the margins excuse, treats football so weird is he woke, journeys and values nonsense we lost again claiming we got points off 13 teams I've heard it all
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ringwoodblue added 19:32 - Apr 20 McKenna still has a lot to learn but this season will benefit him in the long run. Just shows that all the speculation last summer about him moving to Brighton or Manure were premature. He will hopefully lead us back up to the PL and do a better job second time around.
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pablo123 added 19:44 - Apr 20 No sh#t sherlock
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pablo123 added 19:50 - Apr 20 Even Luton had a good go at it in this league !! We've been so poor , 120 million spent , and not layed a glove on it !! Mck so gratefull but out of your depth at this level
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virginblue added 20:21 - Apr 20 Luton got 26 points. Admittedly 5 points more than we have at this stage, but let’s not pretend they were near staying up. Forest and Everton point deductions made it seem closer than it really was. Not sure what fans expected today. Arsenal have just won in Real’s back yard ffs, they are clearly a top side, but to read many of the comments the lunatic element clearly think we should be beating them.

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Leejames99 added 20:59 - Apr 20 @virginblue So we can draw with Chelsea last week from 2-0 up but expect nothing from Arsenal at home who played a huge game on Wed in Spain and came here and made us look like we haven't trained all season, stop making any excuse for the muppet show under Mckenna. Another 4 goals conceeded its shambolic
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Suffolkboy added 21:08 - Apr 20 In every possible sense KMcK is light years ahead of some of the ‘unthinking’ contributors . Wonderful,progress has been effected all round ,and the so called high expenditure in fact will prove to have been extremely well planned out ! The analogy of ‘woods and trees ‘ comes to mind : the greater targets are being brought into sight ! COYB
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grinch added 21:14 - Apr 20 why start greaves davies and clarke together recipe for disaster and it happened then burgess came on to steady ship. But manager takes off best attacker to bring on Taylor who was poor and to cap it all he disrespects Chaplin with a 3 minute stint at the end appaling. MK has lost it completely and I know that Arsenal beat Real Madrid but it was like training ground for themthey did not need to get out of first gear manager has to take blame again pretty clueless in 2025 we have gone backwards. Burgess must annoy him as there is no sound reason why an inferior greaves starts before him PR is painful at moment

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pablo123 added 21:27 - Apr 20 So I'm a lunatic virgin blue ? We are down , I said on this platform in early Dec that mck wasn't up to it , and was ridiculed on here !! I said get Potter in , and right or wrong it couldn't be any worse than this !!!! And now I'm a lunatic ?
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Linkboy13 added 21:35 - Apr 20 Potters doing wonders at West ham just as he did at Chelsea and that's with world class players McKenna has only got championship players what tripe is written on here be calling for Rooney next or Gerrard two big name failures.
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peckam added 22:14 - Apr 20 So many on here have had unrealistic expectations for this season. Not sure the comments I’ve read on this post can actually be ITFC fans! So difficult to stay up with successive promotions as needed more time to build squad quality. These players have done well but we need to go down to build again and then strengthen again for the next promotion. KMcK is absolutely the man for now and the foreseeable future. I firmly believe our squad will be right up there in the champ next season. Support the Town up or down and positively please!

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barrystedmunds added 22:18 - Apr 20 Lots of candidates on here to replace KMcK all with such obvious insight into everything really! Amazing they weren’t all interviewed for the job prior to the start of the season so as to spare the rest of us this current situation. Hell, we’d have been pushing for Europe by now.
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Motown added 23:01 - Apr 20 I'd put good money on us finishing above Leicester and Southampton next season, and that's because there is calmness, continuity and long term thinking at the club. Sure, we all wish we'd performed better and done certain things differently this season, but there is nothing kneejerk about ITFC these days, and we will be all the better for it.
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Leejames99 added 00:25 - Apr 21 Linkboy13 Do your parents know you still up. Gerrard had huge success at Rangers and Liverpool and Roony won everything in his career. Some of these posts about right track, right direction, long plan, we are relegated with the worst manager for home losses in the history of club. Needs to go straight after West Ham game if not before.
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PhuketPete added 06:07 - Apr 21 It’s really boring reading the same negative know-it-all stuff on here in multiple threads almost every day. Always from same guys. Yes Leif has been caught short this season but it’s been as much a learning curve for him as anyone else. (Meantime that goal he scores v Leicester from Sam’s pass was a moment of sheer magic). Others too have under performed at times but everyone has done their best and deserves respect not brickbats. Including the manager. Finally has to be said that injuries have been unkind to us and similarly Refs and VAR in first half of the season. But as we enter the Championship next season, we’re in a vastly stronger position than when we entered it two seasons ago.

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bluesman added 08:40 - Apr 21 Some idiot comments as usual. We’d effectively spent nothing for x years. 5? 10? Do people really think a premiership squad costs £120m? What planet are they living on? Every single established club has three or four players worth more than that at this season’s values. Enciso has added quality and he’s not good enough for the Brighton squad. Get a brain some of you.
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bignics added 10:18 - Apr 21 Phuketpete Davis has been on a learning curve….. 30 odd games is a long old learning curve!! And still he gets it wrong and the manager and coaches allow it to happen. Here in lies the issue I expected relegation but I hoped for effort and commitment but 1 win at home all season just isn’t good enough. Kmc has had 30+games and to me he doesn’t know his best 11 and he hasn’t got a clue how to change a game now that is a fact as we have no plan b c or d so literally every team knows how to beat us as nothing ever changes. I like McKenna but he is out of his depth in the premier league if he stays they need to get in an experienced number 2 he can learn from.

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Gforce added 14:34 - Apr 21 @@Leejames......I agree with some elements of your posts,but to suggest Rooney or Gerrard to replace Mckenna is absolutely ludicrous. Rooney had a great playing career, but his management career to date is dreadful,he's failed at every club he's managed.He only got those jobs ,because he is a so called 'name '.His next job will probably be at a club near the bottom of league two,alongside Mark Hughes at Carlisle. As for Gerrard he was also terrible at Villa,had a bit of success at Rangers,but let's face it, he only had to finish above 1 team,the rest of the Scottish premiership is league 1 standard. And he is now managing in Saudi Arabia for a reason.

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itfc7861 added 15:00 - Apr 21 Though I belive we have had to come to the realisation that we havent been good enough, I firmly belive in some games it has been by short margins . Losing like winning is a habit in football and two wins equals 6 points . It is obviously the hardest leauge in the footall world . But teams like Bournmouth and Brentford etc establised them selves after many of a fight . I think McKenna is a very good manager who is taking it realy hard at the moment. He looks realy run down and exhasted .I think the goalkeeper at the begining of the season was a problem and he hanged his hat on Muric , you cant just play him for a couple of games and then drop him . So lets get behind him again or we may lose him , he has learnt awfull lot this season .

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The_Prof added 11:20 - Apr 22 Next season we need to build a defence that are capable of defending as a priority, and also get some physically stronger players into the club who won't be so easily dispossesed by Premier League opponents. Our 'best' results this season have come when we've defended deep and hit teams on the break (a model that Forest are having some success with) because when we try to play out from the back we're caught out time and again, especially down the left. All too often there are easy passes played into the box at pace and we're nowhere near them. I have no idea how he's doing wherever he is now, but someone with the size of Baggott might help? Perhaps we can build a settled team of 'stronger' players that would be better equipped should we come back up again?

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