After their thrilling victory over Bristol City, Ipswich is still ahead of Leeds United; yet, with the close Championship title fight, Kieran McKenna is only concerned with his team’s performance.
Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna has acknowledged that his team’s penchant for scoring goals late in games to win the Championship is no accident, but he isn’t paying attention to the outcomes of competitors like Leeds United because he feels “disappointed” that his team isn’t leading the table.
Tuesday night, Leeds United appeared to be in second place when Ipswich fell behind Bristol City at home in the 77th minute. However, McKenna’s team scored twice in the closing minutes to maintain their stellar run of performance. The Tractor Boys’ season has revolved around their ability to come back from behind and win games; this was seen once more at Portman Road when they scored the game’s winning goal in the 89th minute.
After the final whistle, McKenna discussed Ipswich’s capacity to continue churning out wins despite dropping spots. “The more it happens, the more belief you have that it will come again,” he remarked. See, it’s not a coincidence.
It involves strategy, squad building, fitness, and, of course, a huge amount of character development. It has taken us some time to construct that. As you recall, it was a little problematic during my first year.
“We failed to break through strong defenders in many of the games we drew and didn’t score many goals in the closing stages. We didn’t have to in the second part of the previous season because the games had already been won.
We have endeavoured to cultivate those attributes throughout the team, and undoubtedly, we have required them this season. I’ve stated it many times: you have to battle for the margins to go in your favour because every game is really difficult. Late victories and not conceding goals late in the game have a significant impact on the number of points you earn at the conclusion of the campaign.”
McKenna informed Sky Sports that Ipswich does not keep track of the outcomes of Southampton, Leeds, or Leicester City. We stay silent about other teams’ schedules, and it is the ideal approach because, if we paid attention to other teams’ performances, we would undoubtedly be dissatisfied because, with ten games remaining in a typical season, we should be comfortably leading the table with 78 points.
“It’s preferable to ignore those things. Every game demands all of your focus, and the moment you begin to consider other teams or scenarios, you will lack the energy needed to compete. We as a group have good experience. Most of them have experienced a race for promotion, if you wish
“99% of teams at that point believe it’s not going to be their night, and we missed the penalty. I am aware that these athletes don’t have that kind of mindset or momentarily lose their cool. I was aware that they would return. That, in my opinion, best reflected the mindset.”
