McKenna: Really Tough to Play Dominant Football in the Championship This Season
Friday, 6th Mar 2026 16:16

Blues boss Kieran McKenna says he’s learnt it’s really difficult to reverse a club’s momentum following relegation from the Premier League and believes it’s more difficult to play dominant football in the Championship this season than it was during the 2023/24 promotion season.

While Town are third in the table, tomorrow’s opponents at Portman Road Leicester City are currently third from bottom, although would be 19th had they not been deducted six points for breaking EFL financial rules.

Southampton, last season’s other relegated top-flight side, are seventh having made a significant improvement in recent weeks after struggling earlier on.

“It’s been interesting, to be honest,” McKenna said when asked whether he was surprised by the two other relegated clubs’ form.

“And I think I understand the challenges even better this year, having lived it now as a team coming down from the Premier League. And, of course, our journey, our recent history, is really, really different than Leicester and Southampton.

“There are definitely some things that I’ve learned and seen over this last couple of seasons, and certainly this season. The truth is, I think it’s really, really difficult to turn the momentum around when you come off the back of a relegation.

“You feel that, teams coming down from the Premier League have an advantage. They have parachute payments and they have good squads. And certainly you feel that when you can get a positive run of results, and maybe if you get a good start and you’re off and running, then it’s really easy for the whole club to get behind it and be together and look forward to being at the top of the Championship rather than the bottom of the Premier League. And that can be a really exciting season.

“But on the other hand, when you don’t get a start like that or when you don’t get good results, it can be really hard to turn that momentum around and to be ready for this division and the challenges that it brings every three days.

“I don’t think or spend too much time thinking about those two clubs, but having experienced some of the things we have this year, I can understand how it can be really difficult to turn around.

“And we felt how it can be really difficult to turn that momentum around and how hard you have to work for it, how strong you need to be mentally to turn that around.

“It can certainly go one way or another and it’s not easy, and it’s not a given. I think there’s that element that we’ve learned over the course of the year.

“I also think you look at the Championship this season, and maybe there’s a direction of travel a little bit in the Premier League this year as well.

“It’s a really, really tough league to play dominant football in. The games, even compared to two seasons ago, are much, much, much more broken.

“The emphasis on set plays and man-to-man marking, lots of people have spoken about that in the Premier League recently, and Premier League managers have spoken about it.

“You put that in a Championship on a lot of poor playing surfaces, if I’m honest, and that [can impact] extra technical quality or extra quality that you have. It’s a pretty small margin because there are so many equalisers in this division.

“Having Premier League experience or having quality in your squad is equalised by a lot of different factors.

“And in contrast to that, fighting against maybe the momentum of coming off a relegation season is a bigger factor than having some extra technical quality or Premier League experience in your squad.

“So, I understand the challenges. We’re living them and we’re working really, really hard this season to pull the team together, to pull the club together, to pick up good results, to enjoy the battle of being one of the top teams in the Championship who teams want to beat.

“But it’s certainly a different challenge and it’s a big challenge. So, in that way, to answer your question, it does, but it doesn’t surprise me to see other teams finding the division tough because I think it is relentless and genuinely one of the most competitive divisions in world football.”

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BlueArmy999 added 17:23 - Mar 6

He has run out of ideas… he’s got to go!

That’s the kind of nonsense you hear from the same clowns who would happily turn this club into another managerial merry-go-round like Watford, chopping and changing at the first sign of difficulty.

What some people fail to comprehend is that building a winning side doesn’t happen overnight. Overhauling a squad, embedding a philosophy, and developing players takes time. Sometimes half a season, sometimes longer. The idea that a few training sessions with multi million pound signings should magically produce perfection is laughable.

Look at the evidence. Under McKenna we went from League One to the Premier League. That doesn’t happen by accident. That happens because a manager knows how to develop players, motivate a squad, and create a system players, staff and fans believe in.

Players like Matusiwa and Mehmeti are exactly the kind of hungry, coachable players who thrive under a manager like him, players who want to improve, who buy into the process. Others like Egeli need time to adapt and settle. That’s football. Development isn’t instant gratification.
But some supporters seem to think football is a video game, press a button, change a manager, instant results. Real football isn’t like that. Stability, belief, and patience are what build successful clubs.

So to the morons calling for McKenna’s head every time things don’t go perfectley maybe take a step back and look at the bigger picture. This club has already achieved something remarkable under him.

The real question isn’t whether McKenna is capable.
The real question is whether some fans are capable of recognising what good management actually looks like.

IanLowe added 17:36 - Mar 6 I never post. Blue Army I agree totally. I also think a lot of the other clubs are quite big clubs, with good managers and good players. We don’t have a divine right to promotion. You can see from the premier that money and wages are not the be all and end all.. Still hoping though…cmon Ipswich..
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Hamish1979 added 17:51 - Mar 6 With the greatest of respect BlueArmy, I don't normally comment, but that is one of the most ignorant and thoughtless posts I have yet to witness. May I ask what your credentials are for making such comments? Are you working in the upper echelons of world football? I suspect not...yet you have triggered me anyway. Well done!
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Hamish1979 added 17:54 - Mar 6 BlueArmy - I am so sorry, I have reread your post and realised I have got completely the wrong end of it. We are in fact in agreement! I must have just read your first line. Sincere apologies, I will get back in my box x x
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StrathdonBlue added 18:01 - Mar 6

Absolutely spot on, BlueArmy - once I got past your first devil's advocate sentence, which nearly made me throw my phone across the room before I'd read the rest.
I don't think Kieran gets everything right - who does? - but when you look at where we are compared to the other relegated teams, and how we've come on over the season, you have to say the whole staff have done a fabulous job.

Suffolk_n_Proud added 18:41 - Mar 6 Spot on bluearmy999. I'd like to think the majority of fans completely agree with that statement. Thr minority seem to stand out the most, though. Especially on social media/HYS
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armchaircritic59 added 19:13 - Mar 6 bluearmy999, a lot of your post is indisputable, but you left out an opinion on why we were also relegated under the same stewardship. Not particularly trying to stir the pot, just interested in why it was missing and what your take on it is?
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BlueArmy999 added 20:10 - Mar 6

Armchaircritic59 - Here’s my take.

In all honesty, context is important. When we won promotion from the Championship we were still, in many ways, operating with the foundations of a League One squad. In our very first Premier League game against Liverpool we had seven players starting who had been with us in League One. That shows how remarkable the back-to-back promotions were, but it also highlights the scale of the jump.

A lot of it also comes down to recruitment realities. As Mark Ashton has said before, it’s extremely difficult to attract established Premier League players when contracts need to include clauses for potential relegation — wage reductions, incentive cuts and so on. Many average Premier League players simply won’t agree to those terms when they have more secure options elsewhere.

We also have to remember who we were competing against in the Championship. The relegated sides coming down had parachute payments and squads already built at Premier League level, whereas our squad was largely made up of players who had climbed from League One together.

For me, the relegation wasn’t about the manager lacking ideas. It was more a case that the journey had been so rapid that the squad simply hadn’t had enough time to evolve to Premier League standard. The truth is, as much as those players gave everything, many of them just weren’t quite at the level required for that league yet, we were yet to learn the dark arts of the game.

The positive side is that the foundations are there. With the right recruitment, development and stability under McKenna, there are players in this squad who can grow into Premier League quality.
Continuity and patience will give us a far better chance of building that rather than chopping and changing left right and centre.