McKenna: Being Top Isn’t of Any Importance at This Stage of the Season Saturday, 13th Aug 2022 18:32 Town boss Kieran McKenna insists he’s taking little notice of the League One table at this stage of the season, this afternoon’s 3-0 home victory over the MK Dons at Portman Road having taken his side to the top. McKenna was delighted with his side’s display with Wes Burns, Marcus Harness and Conor Chaplin on target as they comfortably defeated the Dons in sweltering conditions. “A very good performance,” McKenna said. “Obviously to anyone who was here enjoyed us on the ball and the number of chances and our attacking play, but I loved our defending I have to say. “I thought the intensity of the pressure, organisation, commitment to defending as a team against a really good footballing team in those conditions was top drawer really and continued on with the subs when they came on. “A really good performance, pleased for the fans. But for us now, it’s all about Tuesday night, it’s three points, no more than that, it’s very early in the season. “Things went our way today and I felt we deserved that but it doesn’t mean anything for Tuesday night [at Burton] when we’ve got a completely different type of opponent and a different type of game and a different type of challenge, so our heads move on to that very quickly.” MK Dons boss Liam Manning cited Town’s relentless pressing as a factor which led to his side’s defeat. “I thought right the way through, I thought the intensity of our pressure in those conditions against a team that give you a lot of different problems to solve was very, very good,” McKenna concurred. “It’s a credit to the attitude of the players, it’s off the back of a really strong pre-season where we pushed really hard in hot conditions and that obviously sets you up well for days like today. “And the organisation was good and what was really important for me were the moments late in the game when the subs came on when it would have been easy to drop off and we were still pressing and working for each other and covering each other, and that was really pleasing.” McKenna laughed when asked about the Blues being top of the league on goal difference from Sheffield Wednesday three games into the campaign, the first time Town have hit the summit under his management. “It isn’t of any importance at this stage of the season,” he said. “It’s one game at a time, it’s a long season, all the cliches that you want, I couldn’t care less where we are in the league and won’t do for quite a long time. “It’s about performances, that was the best performance we’ve had so far. We’ve had two performances in the league that have had very good spells, that was the longest that we managed to maintain it and it’s all about delivering another performance on Tuesday night to give us the chance to get the points.” The Blues boss admitted it was nice to hear the crowd singing about being top of the league but knows nothing is won at this stage of the season. “Yes, but football changes quickly, let’s get it right,” he continued. “If we hadn’t have won today, with the margins of a football match, it could have been very different. “Football changes very, very quickly. I think our performances and development as a team will continue to improve and I’ll continue to focus on that and not get too high or too low whether we win, draw or lose a football match, and keep our eyes on the bigger picture. “And for us the bigger picture is delivering performances every week and being humble enough to accept that. “In this league, the challenges are very varied and today was a really good football match against a really good team who tried to play is and have an open and exciting game and we know there are lots of other teams in the league who are going to take a completely different approach and we need to find ways of being successful against both. For me, I enjoyed the day, as everybody did, but it’s eyes now towards Tuesday.” At Forest Green Rovers last week Town wobbled in the second half despite being 2-0 up at the break but there was no sign of anything similar this week despite the Blues being in front by the same scoreline. “We spoke about that at half-time, we spoke in the build-up to the game about being close to getting clean sheets, we weren’t really giving away many chances in games but a couple of moments had cost us and we wanted to really push for a clean sheet today,” the Northern Irishman said. “And that was very much the message at half-time. Last week, we were good for going on to get three or four goals against Forest Green but we took our eye off the ball defensively and if you allow a team a goal, then games can change very quickly. “The big focus at half-time was not doing that, it was making sure we were prepared to suffer and sacrifice and run and stay concentrated without the ball for the whole 90 minutes. “And for the most part of thought we managed to do that and if we manage to do that, I always think that with how we play I know we’ve got goals in us and we’re getting better and better with our chance creation and our bodies arriving in low zones and if we keep doing the fundamentals well, then we know we’ve got a great chance to win.” McKenna was pleased to score three goals having been thwarted by Colchester in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday. “Obviously it was a different group of players, different type of game, so happy with the goals, probably could have had more, they were maybe for of the chances that they had, but we could have had more,” he said. “I think our chance creation has been good this season in every game and if we do that then I think the goals are going to be there and we will score plenty. “Obviously it’s not going to happen every week and other weeks we might have to win it later, but getting the early goal sets us up well and gives us a good chance to push on.” New signing Richard Keogh was left out of the matchday 18, but McKenna said the former Republic of Ireland international was involved with the squad throughout the afternoon. “He only arrived and had his first session with us on Thursday,” he said. “He here’s to contribute in all different ways and when he plays he’ll contribute and when he doesn’t play, today he trained this morning, he was in every unit meeting and the team meeting, in the dressing room, as were the other subs, and he’s going to contribute on and off the pitch. We’ve got real clarity on that and it’s good to have him here.” McKenna is pleased that the six goals his side have scored up to now have been shared by players from throughout the team. “It’s important that we score from different areas,” he reflected. “I have to say, I thought Freddie [Ladapo]’s performance all-round was excellent. “He led the line, his pressing was fantastic, back to goal he was excellent, he stretched the play whenever we needed him. I thought he was excellent, as he has been, to be honest, and I think he’s going to continue to improve for us. “His chances will come. Today it was Wes and Conor getting off the mark. We have other forwards in the squad who are waiting to do that and that will come. “For us, it’s about imposing our style of play, imposing our patterns of play, getting lots of bodies into dangerous areas and people arriving in different spaces. “If we do that then I think the goals will be shared across the squad and, as I said before the game, it doesn’t matter who scores in any given game, it’s about the team and everyone’s buying into that.” But it was not conceding for the first time this season which pleased the Town manager more. “Very important, the clean sheet was one of the most enjoyable bits for me today,” he said. “I’d probably take more from our defending today than our attacking was very good, but in general it has been in lots of games. “I thought the intensity of our pressure went up a notch today, even from where it has been and it certainly needs to against MK because they’re a very good footballing team and I think in these conditions and in that heat, I thought that was a really special effort for the players and credit to them on that.”  MK Dons boss Manning was disappointed with his side's display and says they'll need to put it behind them quickly. “I think it has to be in terms of what we do next. We have to suck it up and move on, we can't dwell on it, but also make sure it hurts because you don't want it to happen like this again. “We've got a few young lads who will need time, and they need to reflect, be honest with themselves, take responsibility, and it's our job to challenge them to improve and get better. “We're in the early stages of a long journey. We have to be realistic - we're in a transition, a rebuild, we've got new players and some key ones missing through injury. That aside, our performance was not up to the levels required. The players are disappointed, everyone is, and we have to learn quickly ahead of Tuesday. “Ipswich are a really strong side, they've got a level of consistency from last year but they've added well to it and I think they'll be there or thereabouts this season. But we're at a different stage and it won't be a smooth journey in getting to where we want to be. “It's a tough one to take but we have to suck it up and learn from it, progress and don't repeat it.”
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