McKenna: Two Big Games, We'll Take Each One as It Comes Tuesday, 7th Feb 2023 10:28 Town boss Kieran McKenna says Burnley will be formidable opponents in this evening’s FA Cup fourth-round replay at Turf Moor as the Blues play the first of two big games in five days with League One leaders Sheffield Wednesday at Portman Road on Saturday. The Blues and Clarets drew 0-0 in Suffolk 10 days ago with Town more than holding their own against Vincent Kompany’s runaway Championship leaders. “Two big games and that’s what we want to be involved in,” McKenna said at a rare morning-of-the-match press conference from the team’s hotel in Lancashire. “Two different competitions, two completely different contexts but we’ll take each one as it comes and enjoy the challenge of each one as it comes. “That challenge is big tonight, playing against a formidable Burnley side but a challenge that we’re looking forward to, seeing how we match up and, of course, then a really big game in the league in front of a full Portman Road and a game to relish.” McKenna was as disappointed with Saturday’s performance in the 1-1 draw at Cambridge as he has been with any display during his time at Town. “There’s no getting away from it, we fell below the levels that we’ve set ourselves and what we expect of ourselves, so nobody was happy with that, players or staff,” he said. “We haven’t had too much time to train since then. We’re looking forward to getting back out on the pitch tonight, making sure that we get our core identity back, in terms of the intensity that we play with and then it’ll be all eyes on Saturday and looking to pick up a big win in the league. “We’ve spoken about it in-house and some things are best kept in-house. You have to respect the opposition, playing away to Cambridge when they sit so deep and compress the pitch so much on what’s already a small pitch is a difficult game and not how they typically set up, so it makes for a challenging game. “But there are things that we have to do much, much better and we’ve spoken about that and I’m sure the players will be hungry to rectify that the next time we’re in a similar situation.” While that performance was a huge disappointment, the Blues manager was very impressed with his team in the first match against the Clarets. “I think there was a lot to like,” he recalled. “I thought our core identity of the intensity and the bravery and the speed at which we play on and off the ball was there to be seen. I thought we were really aggressive and brave with and without the ball. “We pressed them high, we took risks in terms of the numbers that we committed to the pressure and that can go one way or the other but it gave us a chance to be competitive in the game and not let Burnley set into their rhythm as they usually do. “And I thought we were really brave with the ball, which against a really, really good high pressing team you have to be brave to do it, but if you do that then you can get your rewards with some space higher up the pitch that you wouldn’t otherwise get against such a good team. “I thought we really played as ourselves and how we want to be in the face of playing against a really good team. “But we know tonight the challenge is going to go up again. We don’t have the fantastic home support that we had in that game. Burnley are in more familiar surroundings and we know it’s going to take more than what we gave at Portman Road and realistically are going to have to catch Burnley not at their absolute best to have a chance to progress in the tie.” McKenna says he and his players can take belief from the previous match. “We can certainly take confidence from the first game, but it’s a fine balance between confidence and humility,” he said. “We’re playing against a fantastic team, who are dominating the Championship and we’re competing in a very competitive League One. “We can take confidence, we can take belief from how we’ve played for most of the season and how we played in the first game, but we also know that we’re going to have to be at our absolute best to even be competitive in the game. “And it’s going to take a massive amount of sacrifice and hard running to keep Burnley at bay for large parts of the game. “We’ll look to go and be positive, we’ll look to go and play with confidence but we’re under no illusions about the size of the challenge and I’m looking forward to seeing the other side of us tonight where we’re underdogs in the game and are playing against a team who are going to dominate the ball at times and we’re going to have to show a real level of resilience.” Might his team have to take a more cautious approach tonight playing in front of Burnley’s home support? “I want us to go and play our natural game, to be honest. We can lose this tie being cautious or we can lose this tie being brave. “We believe that we can win the tie and the best way to do that will be to be ourselves and be brave and that’s how we plan to approach the game.” If level at full-time, the tie will go to extra-time and then penalties. Asked whether his players had been practicing spot-kicks in the run-up to the match, McKenna said: “No, the players who played on Saturday were on recovery yesterday, we’re going to need such a big physical effort, so it was absolute minimum time on the pitch. “We’ll be ready for penalties if they come, we’ve practiced them quite a lot through the course of the season anyway for moments like tonight if they possible come. “We’ll be happy if it gets that far, to be honest. We’ve got good takers and a couple of good goalkeepers on the trip, so if it gets to that point we would take that now.” Despite having such a big league game against the Owls at Portman Road on Saturday, the Blues manager says it’s not been difficult to concentrate on this evening’s match. “I don’t think it’s that hard tonight because it’s Turf Moor against in essence a Premier League side, who are completely dominating the Championship this year, have only been relegated this season and will be back in the Premier League,” he reflected. “It’s the toughest team that most of or a lot of our players will have ever played against, one of the biggest games they’ll have played in in terms of the stadium and I think everyone’s got their full focus on this. “We know anything less than 100 per cent tonight then it will be a very, very, very difficult game for us. “I don’t think it’s too hard. Of course, we know we’ve a big league game on Saturday on the horizon but for now the players who will be on the pitch tonight, their focus won’t be anywhere other than Turf Moor.” McKenna says the side which will line up at Burnley has been picked with something of an eye on the big weekend match but also on other factors. “Not just that but, of course, that’s part of the reason,” he said. “Also the fact that we have a strong squad, a competitive squad and we’re going to need them for the next few months of the season. “We need everyone ready to play, ready to compete in our league challenges, which are our priority for the season. “We need everybody fit and ready and game ready. We need to give players opportunities to compete to start more games in the league and we want to have enough freshness in the side to give ourselves the best chance on Saturday. We’ll take all that into consideration going into tonight.” And McKenna expects Burnley to make changes to their regular XI, in part as they introduce their January signings into the team. “I think they’re in a position where they’ve got a big squad,” he continued. “They’ve made signings in January, who they will want to contribute in the second half of the season and I’m sure they’ll see this as a game to get some of those signings some more minutes, as they did in the first match. “I think there’ll be changes between both squads and a lot of changes, but what I want to see on our behalf, and I’m sure we’ll see on Burnley’s behalf, is a constant threat in terms of the style and the identity of the team and the way the team goes about its business which should make for an entertaining and intense match as it was in the first game. “Both sets of players will look to represent what each club is trying to do and what each group of players are doing on a daily basis.” The Northern Irishman has been hugely impressed with Burnley, who have dominated the Championship this season under new boss Kompany following their relegation last term. “I think there’s a lot of good in what they’re doing as a club,” he said. “They’re in a position where they’re coming down from the Premier League with a lot of established Premier League players still in the squad, which is a different position to what we’re trying to build on. “But they’ve done that ever so well, in terms of their players that have developed and changed and adapted from the style of play that they had over previous seasons and the new players that they’ve brought in from the European market, who have adapted to English football straight away in a coherent playing style and a coherent recruitment model. “So there is a lot admirable about the things that they’ve done this year that I’m sure other clubs as well as ourselves and think that there are some good lessons there.” McKenna is pleased that the club flew his squad up to the North-West yesterday and doesn’t anticipate the long trip having too much of an effect on Saturday’s game. “It was nice to be supported in that way,” he said. “It’s an incredibly difficult game anyway so to be able to travel by the best means possible to give ourselves the best chance to perform and also to be have as little travel in our bodies as we can in an important week is important. “I think we’d be back late either way, there’s no getting away from it, it’s a long journey away. But it’s Tuesday night, I don’t think it’s going to have too much impact on where we’re at on Saturday at three o’clock, I don’t think there’ll be any issues with fatigue or energy levels for that game on Saturday.” The winner of tonight’s tie will host either the Owls or Fleetwood in round five - a stage of the competition Town haven’t reached since 2007 - with the League One pair also in replay action this evening, at the Highbury Stadium. However, McKenna hasn’t given that prospective tie much thought going into this evening’s match. “I think it needs to be on the here and now,” he said. “We know there’s a home tie awaiting the victor tonight and that would give us a better chance to progress. “But to look too far ahead I think would underestimate the scale of the challenge tonight, so that’s where our whole focus is at the moment.” TWTD's main match preview can be found here.
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