Town boss Kieran McKenna felt there was a lot more good than bad in the Blues’ performance as they were beaten 4-3 by Leeds United at Portman Road, their first defeat of the season, but insisted the Whites’ fourth goal shouldn’t have stood due to a foul on skipper Sam Morsy.

The Blues went ahead in the seventh minute via an own goal but the Whites scored three times in nine minutes to take a 3-1 lead before Nathan Broadhead pulled one back in first-half injury time.

Town went looking for a leveller but Leeds, relegated from the Premier League in May, all but sealed the win with their fourth 15 minutes from time before Conor Chaplin’s second goal in two games brought it back to 4-3.

“I thought there was a lot more good than bad, there are so many positives to take in the game. I thought we were the better and more dominant team in so many aspects of the game on and off the ball,” McKenna said.

“There was lots to be pleased about and on another day the game could have gone differently.

“On the other side of that, there were, of course, things for us to improve, big lessons to learn. Disappointment with the goals that we conceded in the first half.

“But that’s part of the adjustment to playing against a much better team with much higher level players.

“We have to defend those moments individually better and we will. We’ll improve and we’ll learn from those mistakes and we’ll continue working to get better.

“I think overall there are so many things in the game that should give us confidence and belief in how we’re working and the improvements we’re making as a team, as players, as a squad and as a club.

“And I think more than any deflation, I think today should give us confidence to continue on that journey ahead of us.”

Reflecting on where the match was prior to Leeds scoring their three quick-fire goals, he added: “I think we had the game in a really good place. It was a really intense start to the game but we were competing in that, we got the goal and from there I think we were in a great position to go and take control of the game.

“I think if we’d have been able to do that for a little while, we would have been able to build up a lot more momentum.

“But we conceded a goal straight after, again it’s an individual bit of brilliance from a player who is at a much higher level than we’ve faced before as a team. But we can do better on that.

“I think the game could have gone either way. To be honest, I had the feeling that today would be a high-scoring game. I know we’re usually very good defensively but I had the feeling that today would be a high-scoring game, it could have gone either way, we could have many more goals. I think we had 13 shots in the first half.

“It was nice to get the goal at the end because I think that was more of a reflection of what our attacking play deserved and from a defensive point of view, I think we still did a lot of good things but in terms of the goals we conceded, we know that individually and as unit we can do better and I’m sure the players will go through that work.”

One notable aspect of the performance, was the lack of panic at 3-1, a position the Blues have rarely found themselves in since McKenna took charge.

“Absolutely,” he said. “The goals came so quickly after a good start and it would have been easy to go into our shells at that point or not to continue to playing our football and sticking to our plan and being brave on and off the ball, and big credit for doing that.

“That’s what got us back in the game, what got us the goal before half-time, which had been a long time coming with the 20 minutes that preceded that and we kept going right to the last whistle.

“I have to say, I thought the fourth goal was a clear foul for me against Samy Morsy and I think if it’s anyone else apart from Samy Morsy he gets the free-kick. I thought it was a clear foul as he wins the header and then gets emptied out, which means there’s a big hole in the middle of the pitch where Samy would have been.

“I think that was a key moment because at 3-2, we’ve just brought our subs on, we’ve brought on the fresh legs and I think we were prepared to push for an equaliser for the last 20 minutes and the fourth goal took the sting our of that comeback.

“But again, credit, we kept going and I think it was a nice way to finish the game with the goal at the end.”

McKenna says his team learnt that mistakes get punished more clinically at this level: “That’s the case. Leeds have got so many good players, it’s why it’s remarkable really that there’s an outside perspective that we will compete with Leeds this season.

“I’m not saying that’s not our goal internally, but from an external point of view that’s a remarkable perspective on it and is a good reflection that the players are doing and the work going on at the club.

“On an individual level, their talent pool right across the pitch is really, really high, especially in those forward positions.

“That’s an adjustment for us to make on an individual level, but the players will learn from these experiences, they will learn so much from that game and from the opponents that they faced.

“So much of that will be positives but also there’ll certainly be things in there that they know they can improve on and that’s an exciting place to be.”

Asked how he strikes a balance between playing down those expectations and giving players belief, McKenna said: “I think for us, we never speak about those things and we don’t speak about outcomes that much.

“I’ve said it before, last season in League One, we rarely ever spoke about getting promoted, we just spoke about performances week in, week out trying to improve every day individually, trying to improve the team and trying to perform well every week. And we focus on that this season.

“So again, we haven’t said anything about where we might finish, what points we might get or what end of the table we’re going to be fighting at.

“We’re just going to try and be the best version of ourselves, try and play in a style that we believe in every week, a style that our fans can get behind, that can give them a good football team to come and watch every week and a style that will help our players to improve individually as they clearly are. We’ll focus on that and block out any external noise.

“To be honest, from my perspective, it’s quite remarkable and I think we can only take it as a compliment for that to be an external narrative, but internally whether people were tipping us for the top end of the table or the bottom end of the table, our process and our discussions on the inside wouldn’t really change, it would just be about getting better as individuals and getting better as a team.”

Are the players doing a good job of blocking out outside noise? “Yes, they are. We’re pretty well versed in it, a consistent group from last year. Last year we never got too high, never got too low, so there’s a lot of players who have been through that and they see and feel the benefits of focusing on performance.

“I think they’re realistic about where we’re at and know the things we’re doing well and they know that there are areas for us to improve and they know that we’re still growing as a team, and today is another part of that growth and it’s up to us to make sure that we take those lessons and we use them to keep on trying to get better.”

The Blues boss says striker George Hirst isn’t going to be out too long but missed out due to the adductor problem which was flagged up on Friday.

“Not far away,” he said. “We hope it will be a matter of days. Let’s see how he is for next week.”

McKenna was delighted with Kayden Jackson’s performance in the former Leicester man’s absence.

“I thought he was excellent,” he said. “I’ve said it so many times, I’ve said it since I first arrived that I thought Kayden could be an asset to the football club because of the qualities that he has at the higher level will translate better possibly than the level we were playing at.

“He showed his work off the ball, he showed his ability to threaten space whenever we have the ball and I thought he was a real handful and a constant outlet and contributed well to the goals and some other chances that we had as well.”

New loan signing Brandon Williams came on moments before Leeds scored their disputed fourth goal.

“He’s not had much competitive action lately, so it’s good to get him on the pitch,” McKenna said. “Important to get him on the pitch so soon and he’s going to be a good asset for us, so it was good to get him the 20 minutes or whatever it was.”

Photo: TWTD

pablo123 added 18:51 - Aug 26 Fair comments as always kmk !! Great game today , yes we concede silly goals in the first half , but showed real backbone to keep going like we did and probably deserved at least a point!! Nothing to feel down about today , days like this are inevitable , but the future looks fab with this bunch of players and staff ❤️ COYB
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Tractorboy58 added 18:54 - Aug 26 Agreed with his assessment - missed chances, especially 2 'sitters' for Burns in the 1st half, and 2 goalkeeping blunders cost us. They took their chances well. However I still feel that our football is of a high quality and more than good enough to hit the top half of the table..COYB !
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Bazza8564 added 18:57 - Aug 26 As ever KM gives an exceptionally honest and accurate view of things, and he is 100% right. Im not at all down beat about today, I thought Leeds had quality all over the pitch and some of their defensive break up play was outstanding, so quick and light years ahead of what we have played against for the last 4 years. Let's be honest, They were playing against Spurs and Man Utd in May, we were playing Fleetwood. Bu the great thing about KM is he will use the learning points to improve the players and we will go again in a week much better for it. Im left thinking about 9 points from 12, offer me that a month back I'd have bitten your hand off......

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RobITFC added 19:00 - Aug 26 Not sure if Clarke was still on the pitch they would have scored their 4th, Williams just coming on and not played much 1st team football , maybe a mistake to include him so soon ?
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itfckenty added 19:00 - Aug 26 Couldn't agree more! At the end of the day Leeds should be beating us.. the cost of their team against ours is 10x over. But we held our own well and you need to make mistakes to learn and become stronger.
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Suffolkboy added 19:18 - Aug 26 Interesting stats say we created many chances BUT failed to score AND failed to get too many on target : this WILL need to be remedied — and it could translate into winning margins and points . One or two still need to display cooler heads ,but KM is careful not to concentrate on too much by way of individual critique ,other than to be positive . COYB
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Bert added 19:47 - Aug 26 KMcK is so cool and full of wisdom. Never over the top, always calm and collected. I wish I had his genes !
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blueboy1981 added 19:57 - Aug 26 REALLY ? - we Lost, and NORWICH Won 0-4 Away !!
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Bazza8564 added 20:10 - Aug 26 Blueboy, we were playing against a premier league side from last season they were playing a side that barely survived in this league. Is it always about Norwich or is there a bigger picture?
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ArnieM added 20:14 - Aug 26 Lose a close game against Leeds or beat Huddersfield … yip, very comparable opponents there! No doubt scum fans will be boasting they’re going to win the league now. They’re a Laughable Tin pot club.
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grumpyoldman added 20:33 - Aug 26 As usual Blueboy using his vast football knowledge to not look at the whole picture
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pablo123 added 20:41 - Aug 26 Perfect assessment arnie M !!! blueboy , take a break man
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churchmans added 20:54 - Aug 26 Blueboy is funny!! I like reading your comments as it makes me chuckle! I will give my honest assessment on what I saw today! We got served!!! And the new boy on reportedly 64k a week and is a cult hero in the eyes of the lack of life experience twitter yoot posters on here! He gone done for the 3rd goal big time! Woolfy also got turned inside out! We going to face this again when we play Leicester and Southampton! Good thing is that it is early in the season and km I'm sure will rectify it!

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BobbyBell added 22:26 - Aug 26 I'm sure blueboy is really a yellow and green boy. He's so full of brainless negative comments.
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pablo123 added 22:30 - Aug 26 Jeez , one loss against a good side and some are already whinging !!! Great supporters
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pablo123 added 22:38 - Aug 26 Churchman 64k a week ?????
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Gdunkdafunk added 22:56 - Aug 26 Half expected this and for those that live in clod cuckoo land, here's some facts. Two of their players (who both scored) cost more than our entire front line, as an astute poster said we were playing Fleetwod this time last season! Yes, we leaked some poor goals and we will concede many more this season but we rallied & we competed against the team well fancied to bounce back. We're fancied to compete for top 6 & I will be ecstatic if we achieve that.

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PhuketPete added 04:08 - Aug 27 Disappointing result but considering Leeds may end up winning this league, we will probably look back on this super competitive match (which could have gone either way) as a really good example of how much we’ve improved. And as KM says we’ll learn so much from this and similar games. Do we need to try and sharpen up defensively - absolutely. But we’re not far off and we’ll improve with or without (hopefully with) some extra experience and talent in the defence department. Thought KJ was excellent. He’s had so few starts but again showed his class today. Suspect cover for GH is less of a priority now. Also thought Omari had some really nice touches. Is he working closely with Sone I wonder??

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tractorboybig added 07:47 - Aug 27 it was the reality check to bring the rose spectacle brigade to reality.We have a long way to go but are on the right road.
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SpiritOfJohn added 08:19 - Aug 27 Starting with the bad: we conceded 3 bad goals in the first half where our defenders were outplayed and outmuscled, and Hladky could only palm shots back into dangerous areas. Burns had a glorious chance to make it 2-0 before any of that happened, which could have given us a very different afternoon. Quickly on to the good: we dominated the second half in which the defence improved, apart from a couple of misdirected passes from Burgess straight to men in white. The most encouraging thing for me was that Morsy still bossed the centre of midfield, ably assisted by Luongo. This was against multi-million pound opposition who chose to writhe around on the ground rather than try to compete with our captain. Davis also had another great game, somehow managing to defend against a highly-rated opponent while still bombing forward at every opportunity. We will need to learn fast to stay near the top of the table but there were encouraging signs in this game that KM and the squad will be capable of making the necessary improvements.

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SussexTractor added 08:40 - Aug 27 Unfortunate to have lost, but on the plus side we bossed possession (57%) against an ex Premier league team and had more shots (21 versus 14). If we could clinically finish like Leeds, we win. That’s the difference in quality.
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PhilsAngels added 08:52 - Aug 27 Okay first loss in 20 odd games. First loss in the new Championship era. We will lose more games this season, we will lose more than we did last season. Look at last years final Championship table Apart from Burnley, 3 losses, the top 6 lost from 8 to 15 games. At worst that is one defeat every 3 games At best 1 every 6 (5.75) games. It is and will be a steep learning curve for some on this team. Lets look at the cost of the Leeds team, especially the forward line compared to our team. There was a quality difference. But if these players want to learn, and want to prove themselves then these are the players/teams they need to stand up and be counted against. We were not that bad, mistakes yes, lapses in concentration, lack of communication. Whatever it was it will be addressed. KMc the man of detail like no other will analyse, will deal, will sort it out. Will this sort of thing happen again, probably. We all make mistakes. Fans calm down and look at the bigger picture. If's, buts and maybes. If Walton was in goal would they have scored 3?. If Hirst had been in from the start? If Burns had scored? If some of those chances across goal had gone in?. Will other teams with parachute payments, squads put together with more money than us provide tough opposition, yes. We will beat the Rotherham's, Huddersfield's, yes. Things are not as bad after one defeat as soe of you think they are

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ChrisFelix added 10:48 - Aug 27 This was our Bolton from 2 years ago. One to forget & move on. All the talk of the millions spent on the Leeds forward line we shouldnt have lost this game. Our defending was poor & sadly our keper was at fault for at least 2 of the goals. I read the critism of Burgess but i didnt think our local hero ( Luke ) had a good game & was found wanting a few times
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Linkboy13 added 14:12 - Aug 27 When we made substitutions we were all over the place and that's when Leeds scored the crucial fourth goal. Some of the squad are struggling with the pace and physicality of the championship especially in attacking positions. Morsy magnificent again today and wouldn't be out of place in the Leeds team. Jackson put in a helluva shift and didn't look out of place. There's going to be lots of in's and out's in the next season or two so we must be patient. The owners must back McKenna with the necessary funds or he might become disenchanted. Clubs are not going to give their best players away just because we are Ipswich town.

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