Blues boss Kieran McKenna feels December was a good month in which to win the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month award having been selected for the gong earlier today.

It’s the second Manager of the Month award McKenna has picked up this season, having previously won in September. In total, he has won six since taking charge of the Blues in December 2021, two in League One and two in the Championship promotion campaign.

McKenna was asked whether he felt the latest success came during a period of progress, both in terms of results and performances, Town having won four, drawn two and lost one during the month, the best form in the division.
 
“I think so,” he responded. “Obviously, we must have had pretty good results or we wouldn’t have won the award. 
 
“I think I said it in the club press call, I think it’s a good month to win it. These things honestly don’t mean much in the season because there’s no time. Career-wise, at the moment, what I care about is trying to beat Blackburn tomorrow. 
 
“I think winning it in December is quite nice because there are a lot of games. There’s a lot of travel, a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice in terms of Christmas week, time away from family and things like that.

“So, to have a good month in that month takes a real good effort from the group. So, it was a nice month to win it.
 
“We had a couple of good results in there. Not every game in there went our way, but that’s also part and parcel of it. In this league, consistency isn’t just about a big, big winning run, it’s about when you have a little setback, getting back on it for the next game. And I think we did that well across December. 
 
“We’re into a new month and I know a busy schedule is coming up with six games between now and the next FA Cup game, so, all the focus is looking forward.”

As well as highs, such as inflicting a double on leaders Coventry, there were also tough nights, such as the restaging of the previously abandoned game away against tomorrow’s opponents Blackburn.

A last-gasp Sindre Walle Egeli goal rescued a 1-1 draw for the Blues at Ewood Park but afterwards McKenna was under no illusions that the performance hadn’t been good enough.

Asked whether that might prove to be a key moment in the season, McKenna reflected: “Was it a key moment? I think you decide your key moments at the end of the season when it adds up and let’s hope it could be.

“I’m not going to make excuses for the group, but it was the third away game in six days, so there were some circumstances there, but we didn’t perform on the night. 
 
“Not in terms of playing well, technically, because you can do that, but it’s one of the few games this season where I thought we didn’t win enough duels, we didn’t battle as well as they did and it was one of the very, very, very few games this year that they had better chances than us on the night. 
 
“Not that they had a lot of chances, but we really didn’t have too much. It was a game that, as you do after every game, we spoke honestly about as a group because there were bits that we weren’t happy with in the performance. 
 
“And we knew we had to step up individually first of all and take accountability and step up as a group. And I think the boys and everyone did that well.

“And I think that was the weekend then that we played Coventry at Portman Road and Stoke after that and I think the group showed some good character from there. 
 
“You need that over the course of a season, you’re going to have some disappointing nights over the course of the year. We’ll have a few more before the end of the season, but we bounced back well after that one.”

Photo: TWTD