McKenna: I'm Confident We Can Challenge Next Season Friday, 23rd May 2025 17:01 Manager Kieran McKenna is confident Town will challenge for promotion back to the Premier League next season with the Blues stronger for their year in the top flight and with talks with other clubs regarding potential targets having already taken place. McKenna’s side return to the Championship after one season in the Premier League and will play in a fourth different division in four years for the first time next season following back-to-back promotions in the previous two campaigns. While Liam Delap is certain to move on, having already held talks with Chelsea, Newcastle and Manchester United, Massimo Luongo is being released, McKenna is hopeful of keeping the core of his squad together with talks with out-of-contract pair Cameron Burgess and Axel Tuanzebe continuing. “I think we are very confident in terms of as much as we want it to be,” he said. “Some element of change and turnover is healthy in any business, certainly in football clubs. “We know we’ve got some really good players on long-term contracts, some very good young players, some good senior players and a lot of players who only arrived here this season and didn’t even do the pre-season with us. “That means they have arrived at the back end of August or in January and I think are going to be much better for the experiences they have been through. “Looking at the squad coming back for pre-season, there are good numbers and good qualities there. Of course, situations can change a little bit over the summer but I think we are going to be in a really strong position.” Last season’s relegated Premier League sides had mixed fortunes, Burnley joining Leeds in being promoted automatically, Sheffield United just missing out and facing a play-off final against Sunderland on Saturday and Luton plummeting to a second successive relegation. Asked whether he’s confident the Blues will do well in the Championship and challenge at the top end for a swift return to the top flight, McKenna was bullish. “I am confident, that’s the truth, but we know how relentless that division is as well,” he said. “Every year, there’s upsets where teams do better than expected and teams that do worse than expected. “It’s a 46-game season where everyone competes every week. There is nothing for granted. “We know we are starting from scratch and we know, in some ways, we will be in a better position than the last time we were in the Championship and, in some ways, more difficult as you are now in a position of being one of the bigger clubs. “It is just a new challenge. We know what we are going to face and we also know we can’t take anything for granted. We are not going to get any head-start or favours. It is going to be hard work and smart work that gets us what we want.” The Northern Irishman believes the Blues have made significant progress and has grown as a result of their year in the Premier League, which will see them well in the campaign ahead and back in the top flight in a year’s time should they go back up. “I am certainly optimistic and I am in no doubt that the club will be in a stronger position next season,” McKenna continued. “It has been spoken about plenty how quickly the club went through the leagues as we did with almost the same group of players. It meant that the turnover of players this season made it almost impossible and a really big challenge to turnover a squad that quickly. “There are a lot of players who will be in their second season and much stronger for it, I have no doubt about that. “I think the bit the supporters won’t see is the sheer amount of infrastructure and staff changes that we have had to make. Since I’ve arrived here, we’ve worked off Premier League standards in both League One and the Championship, but we certainly didn’t have an infrastructure, from a staff and facilities point of view, that is competitive with probably even the top end of the Championship. “For so many years, the club probably didn’t have the investment that it needed. There has been a huge turnover in playing squad and staff which leads to changes and processes that are really hard to bed in during the challenge of a Premier League season. “Going into the summer with more good players in the building and more good staff in the building, a year to develop our processes, I think they are things that lead us going into a much better place next year. “As a club, we would have learned a lot from our first year back in the Premier League for 22 years. I really believe if we get to that position again as a football club, we will be in a far, far more advantageous position than we were last summer. “But we know we are going to be in one of the most competitive divisions in Europe and we have to prepare for that first. “I think the club is in a completely different position than it was. You look out the window here and you see 42 diggers and 15 tonnes of sand and a new training ground being built, as well as massive work going on at the stadium. “There are some big visuals going on, but also behind the scenes there is a lot that will be in place next year and help the club be in a better place than it has been.” McKenna says thoughts turned towards next season as soon as relegation was confirmed, giving the Blues an advantage over Championship clubs who were still unsure of their divisional status at that point. “We’ve tried to [look towards next season],” he said. “Are we in a better position now than if we were playing West Ham on the last day and everything was still open? In terms of planning for next year, we are in a better position now as we have been able to have a conversation with our players and other clubs about players we would like to acquire. “Not that everything is done and dusted, but we are a lot further down the line, especially with the Premier League season finishing a lot later than the Championship season. “If things were going down to the last game, which, of course, we would rather they were, in terms of planning for next year, that turnaround would be really quick. “We’ve tried to use the time well and we have worked really hard over the last few weeks. We have plans in place for the squad and the club next year and it means we are going into the summer with pretty good clarity and confident in where we will be at in pre-season.” Asked if he had any preference regarding the winner of the Championship play-off final between the Blades and Black Cats on Saturday with the victors not competitors with the Blues for promotion next season, McKenna was diplomatic. “The eyes have been on this season here,” he insisted. “Both teams have got good groups and Sheffield United have got a lot of Premier League experience and quality in their squad and Sunderland have got some fantastic young players. Both are good clubs and I am sure both will compete really hard in the final.”
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