Ipswich Town: Kieran McKenna on impending Premier League relegation..
Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna says the club can use the pain of relegation to push forwards again.
Following back-to-back promotions and a near £150m transfer spend, the Blues have come up short in their first season at Premier League level in 22 years. A return to the Championship will almost certainly be confirmed at Newcastle this weekend.
Sunday’s 4-0 loss to Arsenal was a seventh home defeat on the spin, but the team was still applauded from the field.
“I’ve got mixed emotions about that because you’re so honoured and humbled by it, but also disappointed because you’d have liked to have given them a different outcome to the game,” said McKenna.
“We’ve got a fantastic supporter base and I think they understand better than anyone the scale of the challenge. They know that it’s been a massive jump for a group that has very, very few who have competed at Premier League level before.
MORE: Stuart Watson’s verdict on 4-0 loss to Arsenal
“I think they see that the group’s working really hard, that everyone’s giving everything and how that’s been reflected in a lot of the performances. Even in moments like today, where the result’s gone, they see the group are still working and fighting and the body language is good.
“It’s fantastic that they’re behind it. I think they know and believe that the club’s in a much, much, much better position now than it was a few years ago and that the club’s much stronger for this season.
“They know that if we keep doing the right things, if we keep showing the right values, keep working in the right way, then there’s a great chance that we can use this setback as another thing to push us forward. Because things aren’t always linear, things aren’t always on an upward trajectory.
MORE: Alan Pardew slams ‘insipid’ Ipswich and McKenna’s tactics
“Of course, we would have loved to have gone promotion, promotion, establish. The first bit of that journey’s been incredible but it looks like we’re not going to be able to do the third bit.
“But there are other ways to keep developing and building this club back to being, hopefully, a Premier League football club. The supporters are going to have a massive part to play in that and they’re certainly playing their part at the moment.”
Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna says the club can use the pain of relegation to push forwards again.
Following back-to-back promotions and a near £150m transfer spend, the Blues have come up short in their first season at Premier League level in 22 years. A return to the Championship will almost certainly be confirmed at Newcastle this weekend.
Sunday’s 4-0 loss to Arsenal was a seventh home defeat on the spin, but the team was still applauded from the field.
“I’ve got mixed emotions about that because you’re so honoured and humbled by it, but also disappointed because you’d have liked to have given them a different outcome to the game,” said McKenna.
“We’ve got a fantastic supporter base and I think they understand better than anyone the scale of the challenge. They know that it’s been a massive jump for a group that has very, very few who have competed at Premier League level before.
MORE: Stuart Watson’s verdict on 4-0 loss to Arsenal
“I think they see that the group’s working really hard, that everyone’s giving everything and how that’s been reflected in a lot of the performances. Even in moments like today, where the result’s gone, they see the group are still working and fighting and the body language is good.
“It’s fantastic that they’re behind it. I think they know and believe that the club’s in a much, much, much better position now than it was a few years ago and that the club’s much stronger for this season.
“They know that if we keep doing the right things, if we keep showing the right values, keep working in the right way, then there’s a great chance that we can use this setback as another thing to push us forward. Because things aren’t always linear, things aren’t always on an upward trajectory.
MORE: Alan Pardew slams ‘insipid’ Ipswich and McKenna’s tactics
“Of course, we would have loved to have gone promotion, promotion, establish. The first bit of that journey’s been incredible but it looks like we’re not going to be able to do the third bit.
“But there are other ways to keep developing and building this club back to being, hopefully, a Premier League football club. The supporters are going to have a massive part to play in that and they’re certainly playing their part at the moment.”
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