Boss Kieran McKenna hailed Town’s 5-0 hammering of Sheffield United as a good night for the players and supporters and believes it was an important victory, but says there’s a lot still to work on.

Jaden Philogene bagged a first career hat-trick and George Hirst and Jack Clarke netted one apiece as Town dismantled the Blades, who fell to their fifth defeat in five Championship games this season and remain bottom of the table without a point.

“A good night for us, lots of things went how you would want them to go,” McKenna said. “A good night for the group, a good night for the supporters.

“It’s always important to get that first victory, it took a little bit longer but we’ve spoken plenty about the type of summer it’s been and tonight honestly felt like the first game for the group now.

“A good start, still loads to work on, loads that we can do better, but a good game to come through.”

Prior to the game, McKenna said his new-look squad wouldn’t be at their best this early in their development. That being the case, the result against a side which finished third in the division last season before losing in the play-offs is a sign of exciting things to come.

“It is, there are some good signs there,” McKenna continued. “But let’s not forget, it was a really tough game. The first half was really tough, I’ve got a lot of respect for [Sheffield United boss] Ruben [Selles], he sets his teams up to press really well, we’ve faced them in a couple of different competitions.

“Their pressure in the first half was really, really good, it was really difficult to break the pressure and to get out, and we had to battle really hard. There were a lot of duels, there was a lot of man-to-man.

“It was a really tough game. Of course, we got our rewards in the end and that was important because we needed to feel as a team that if teams come here and want to press us high and make it difficult for us in that way, that our football will win through and our individual talent at the top end of the pitch can hurt teams, so it was good to come through type of game tonight.

“But every game’s different, the challenge tonight was tough, but it’s a completely different challenge to what Derby or Preston posed in the games before.

“We know we’re going to be stretched and challenged in every single game this season, nothing’s going to be given to us, it certainly wasn’t tonight, we had to work really, really hard for it and it was a good one to get through.

“But everyone’s feet are very much on the floor, the players felt that was a really tough game in the first half and to get the rewards that we got in the second half, we needed to do a lot of things well and show a lot of resilience and a lot of strength.

“It’s a good one to come through, but it’s one game and we know it starts all over again and going to Blackburn next week is going to be really difficult.”

Reflecting on star man Philogene, whose Town career got off to a slow start following his £20 million move from Aston Villa in January with an injury curtailing his campaign before he had been able to make much of a mark, McKenna said: “A real boost for him on an individual level, no doubt about that.

“He arrived late [last season], was playing on the right side and we know he prefers to play on the left but we had some big injuries on the right side in the Premier League season last year, so he had to play all his minutes on that side.

“And he’s been working really hard and we’ve been working really hard with him through pre-season and into the start of the season, especially with the balance with him and Jack [Clarke] being more natural wingers on that side and Leif [Davis]’s role for us and how we can make that effective and add another string to our bow and get the best out of the players.

“Everyone’s been working really hard on that process, so big credit to Jaden, big credit to the other boys in that left-side unit and the staff as well.

“For him tonight, it will be a big boost to his confidence. We know his qualities, what he brings. It’s his best night for the club so far and he’s a humble guy, so he’ll work hard, he’ll get ready for next week.

“Delighted for Jack Clarke as well. I said to the boys downstairs, Jaden scored three great goals, but my favourite goal was the fifth goal because of the way the subs came on.

“Jack came on, worked so hard, was pressing, was tackling, was winning balls back. The good karma that gets you then is that you get your chance and you get your goal on the other end. Sam Szmodics the same, Ivan [Azon] the same, Sindre [Walle Egeli] and [Marcelino] Nunez getting their first minutes off the bench.

“The attitude of the boys off the bench to help the team with the clean sheet, to press and to run and then to try and bring their bits to it at the end of the game, that for me was the best goal of the night, that was the best bit of the night and that was a really good sign for us going forward.”

McKenna was asked whether he saw enough to be encouraged by the debut displays off the bench from recent signings Nunez and Walle Egeli.

“I think with all of them,” the Northern Irishman continued. “I don’t think it would be fair to single out any of them.

“We know that having the depth and the strength and the competition is going to be massive for us this season, it always has been, but especially when you’re seen as the top team and teams are doubling down their efforts. You need that quality to start and you need that quality to come off the bench.

“The way that all the subs came on, the attitude that they came on with, especially those forward players, the willingness to come on and help the team work for the clean sheet, that was a big, big positive and we know that as a group then on another day it will be other lads who have the opportunity to start and players who are coming off the bench have opportunities to help the team, to try and score goals.

“That’s a massive thing for us this season and I think the group will have come out of tonight having really felt that and it’s certainly one of the most pleasing bits of the night.”

The win was Town’s first of 2025 in the league at home, although McKenna was quick to point out extended a decent run at Portman Road in the second tier.

“I think that’s 24 games in the Championship we’ve not lost a home game!” he joked. “We know last season was what it was and how difficult it was for the group, but we know in this division our home record is good and it’s going to be really important and that’s unbeaten at home and with the first big win at home as well, that’s nice.

“Good for a lot of the boys to experience it for the first time, to be honest. If I hung my whistle up today, I’ve had some great memories here, but for a lot of the boys, whether they’ve just arrived, some of them in the last week or two or some of them in the last six months or 12 months, they haven’t had as many days here to feel what it’s like to play in this stadium with the supporters right behind you, with a win, with domination in the game, to score lots of goals here, to win a game here.

“It’s a great place to play and I’m just happy for them to have felt that tonight and really what that needs to do is give you the hunger and the drive to have some more nights like this.”

McKenna says he has a lot of time for his Blades opposite number, who was the subject of calls for his head having taken over in the summer following Chris Wilder’s departure.

“He’s someone as a colleague I have a lot of respect for, to be honest, because I know how hard he and his staff work and I think they do some things really, really well, they made it really difficult for us in the first half,” he said.

“That’s five games into the season, but we know how quick people are to make judgements and stuff like that in modern football, so it is what it is.

“But in my opinion, any time I’ve faced his teams, it’s always been difficult. I think he’s a good person and a good coach.”

Ashley Young was absent from the squad and McKenna says the former Everton and Manchester United man had picked up a minor niggle.

“He’s had some muscle tightness over the international break, nothing serious,” he explained. “So we didn’t take any risk with him tonight, hopefully he’ll be back in training next week.”

In Young’s stead, Darnell Furlong, who signed from West Brom last month, put in an impressive display at right-back.

“Excellent, exactly as we thought and were hoping, really,” McKenna continued. “He’s a really well-rounded full-back, both sides of the game, a competitive leader, strong.

“He’s going to bring us those qualities and he’s brought them from the first night, which is the benefit of bringing someone in who knows the division really well and is up and running in the season.

“All your signings like that, it’s easier for them to hit the ground running, it’s not the case with all the signings, but it’s a good start for him.”

Regarding key midfielder Jens Cajuste, who underwent treatment in the second half not long before going off, McKenna added: “He rolled his ankle in that challenge, so he was still feeling it a little bit, but hopefully there’ll be no big reaction to the game.”

McKenna’s former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was picture in the stands having recently been sacked by Turkish side Besiktas.

“I’ll catch up with him now,” the Blues boss said. “He’s back in England now and said he was coming down to the game, so it’s brilliant to have that support. He’s a good friend and I’m looking forward to catching up with him now.”

Photo: TWTD

runningout added 23:45 - Sep 12 fab result although think Sheff Utd were a bit toothless. KMK spot on again
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armchaircritic59 added 00:46 - Sep 13 A pretty fair assessment I think. I hope and don't think anyone will get carried away, as I put in another post, Sheff U were fine until they got anywhere near either penalty box! I've not seen it mentioned anywhere else, but I'd like to give the referee some praise, we moan enough about them! He tried (largely successfully ) to keep the game flowing realising that it is at least a semi contact sport ( not full contact as many like to say, rugby is! ), wasn't fussy and got at least 90% of decisions right. Hope to see more of him this season. Lets hope it's onwards and upwards from here, we'll soon find out!

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Bert added 00:48 - Sep 13 Pleased for KMcK tonight. His calm level headed approach to everything is refreshing. His detractors could learn a thing or two about management from him including patience and respect. Tonight we saw many new faces in a team that looked comfortable with each other and that is down to the way KMcK uses his own personal qualities to bring players on. We have the making of a very exciting and talented squad. It’s still work in progress but tonight showcased what we are capable of against a team who pressed high.

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WestSussexBlue added 07:20 - Sep 13 Fantastic result. We’ve some seriously good quality in the squad, to bring on the likes of Azon, Sindre, Nunez and Clarke is depth that many teams could only dream of. They all played a superb part in getting the clean sheet and win also. I can only imagine how the rumours would have started with Ole watching on if we’d lost that one. COYB here we go!
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nowinecrisis added 07:28 - Sep 13 So pleased to see Philogene silence the critics on here. Appreciate that one swallow doesn’t make a summer, but that was class.
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BobbyBell added 08:37 - Sep 13 When teams sit deep like Derby and Preston it seems that every deflection, every bounce, every loose ball goes to defender and it's so frustrating. In this game we got the luck of some deflections and loose balls but boy we did finish them well. If teams press high or play football we will be fine. When they sit deep we need to break them down and that is something we may see a lot more of. Hopefully some confidence from this result will help.

2

WhoisJimmyJuan added 09:27 - Sep 13 Worth bearing in k8nd that Sheffield United will inevitably get better as the season progresses so 5-0 as opposed to say 2-0 is an added bonus.
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Orraman added 09:38 - Sep 13 Have to agree with ArmchairCritic regarding referee. Excellent performance probably due to him having previously been a player and therefore understands how the game flows and can pick up on what is a fair tackle and what are the darker sides of the game
6

pauldart added 10:30 - Sep 13 Brilliant From Mck... never too low when things are going badly (unlike some on this forum) and never too high when things are going really well ( while we/me just dam well it enjoy and drink it!!). really good signs and time to watch the other teams suffer for this weekend. Got a feeling Ogbene might be a good loan signing for Sheffield though - COYB
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poet added 11:09 - Sep 13 Well I’ve watched the highlights twice now, probably do it again before the day is out. I thought McKenna’s post match comments were spot on, while acknowledging Philogene’s goals, he stated that there is no such thing as individualism, those goals wouldn’t have been scored without assists and teamwork. How right he is. Just a point in question to those who seem to have lost confidence in our manager…. The teamwork includes him, his tactics and confidence building of his players was superb.

3

Linkboy13 added 11:10 - Sep 13 Yes still work to do Sheffield United were getting far too much room early on and better teams would have punished us. Nunez looks a quality player and once he gets fully fit he will be a starter in the team.
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FabianMalyon added 11:23 - Sep 13 @armchaircritic59 is spot on. Especially about the Ref - he did a good job at keeping the game going, not stopping play unless he really had no option. More of that kind of Ref please! And yes, it was a superb result and decent performance. It was good to see more incisive play (not being afraid to send it long) and the new signings immediately making us look better. One thing that still bugs me is playing it about at the back too much, inviting pressure from the opposition. If we'd been facing a better team last night, I could have seen a goal or two being conceded. When it doubt, hoof it out!

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poet added 11:38 - Sep 13 There will be some on here after this emphatic win who say let’s not get carried away. Well that’s true, still work to be done, however, getting carried away works both ways, many on this platform got carried away in a negative way with our poor start over the first 4 games.
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darkhorse28 added 17:57 - Sep 13 We were mostly second best between the boxes. More quality where it counts though and Nunez will be massive for us. Great qualities that we need. Forwards.
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virginblue added 18:25 - Sep 13 “Mostly second best between the boxes”. What? Comedy gold. We took 20 minutes to grow into the game, but other than that Sheff U offered nothing. Just because they had a bit of the ball doesn’t make us “second best between the boxes”. Time will tell if the result was down to us being good or Sheff U being hideous, but that comment highlights your agenda perfectly.
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Van_Blue added 18:49 - Sep 13 KmK mentions the left side unit of Leif and Jadon, I also thought Jacob played a part in that as well. Having just watched the match I saw Greaves in the opposing half numerous times adding numbers to play round the defence. Good to see the courage of CBs to get forward.
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Van_Blue added 18:49 - Sep 13 KmK mentions the left side unit of Leif and Jadon, I also thought Jacob played a part in that as well. Having just watched the match I saw Greaves in the opposing half numerous times adding numbers to play round the defence. Good to see the courage of CBs to get forward.
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