McKenna: Proud of the Season We're Having But No Dreams About Premier League Thursday, 4th Apr 2024 17:07 Town boss Kieran McKenna says he’s proud of the season his top-of-the-Championship team is having but insists he hasn’t spent even a moment dreaming about potentially being in the Premier League next season. McKenna’s Blues beat Southampton 3-2 in a pulsating Portman Road encounter to return to the top of the table with only six games remaining, including Saturday’s East Anglian derby against Norwich at Carrow Road. “We're very proud of the season that we're having up until this point in all aspects, really,” he said. “In terms of performances, how we've performed, the identity that we've built on from last year, the connection and relationship between the whole club, the players, the supporters, everyone involved is really really strong and the work here day to day it's all in a positive direction. “Of course, it's not always smooth, it's not always a straight upward trajectory. We've had setbacks along the way and I'm sure there will be more to come, but we're really happy with where we're at, we're enjoying the season, we're having a great time, we're looking forward to each game and this one's no different.” Asked whether he allows himself time to dream of being in the Premier League next season, he said. Asked whether he allows himself time to dream of being in the Premier League next season, he said. “No, honestly, not at all,” he said. “I've experienced that division. Of course it's brilliant, but it's a football division. You're planning against some big teams, bigger stadiums and things like that. “But representing this football club as well as I can is my only focus, whether that was in League One, whether it was in the Championship, whether at some point in time, it could be in the Premier League. “I don't think it would it would change drastically what my day-to-day life looked or felt like, to be honest, the job still the same. “So no, the focus is always on what's ahead of us, on the next session, on the next game. “Of course, it's more in supporters’ inclination to dream and look ahead. For us inside it's about doing the job to the best that we can.” Reflecting on the win against the Saints and the way his side were able to turn the game around, McKenna added: “It is a really good sign of the culture and the development of the players. “Culturally, it probably reflects a group that is together, that sticks together and deals with adversity well. “One of the mantras of the club is ‘running towards adversity’ and dealing with adversity well. “Of course, in our context, that's just a football match, but problems and different scenarios come up in a match that you have to deal with and dealing with those things really, really well is an important part of our group, and trying to find the right solutions. “We work hard every day in training to develop the players from a tactical point of view, to develop their understanding so that they can adapt to different situations in games and try and come up with the right solutions. “Yes, Southampton was one of those challenges. They're a very flexible team in possession, a very adaptable team. “The game on Monday, they had [Jack] Stephens inverting from left-back, which we didn't expect, they had [James] Bree playing as a deep right-back building up as part of a back three really, which we didn't expect, so there's a lot of things to adapt to and that was a challenge in the first half. “But I think one really good thing about this group compared to what it could possibly be is that when things are difficult, everyone sticks to the task, nobody goes off message, and they work really, really hard to stay in games, trusting that we know that we'll work really hard to find solutions. “We’ll stick to the plan in terms of our identity and late in games we can come really really strong with our fitness and with the options that we utilise in the squad. So I think Monday was a good sign of all those things.” He says his players have no problem maintaining their ethos despite the current situation. “I don't think so, to be honest,” he reflected. “For our group last year, for our football club last year, the football club didn't want to be in League One. It was a big, big, big step to get out of that division. “It's a really hard division to get out of. If we hadn't managed it last year, there are no guarantees we would have done it this year, it's a tough division. “In some ways, it was a bigger challenge for us in terms of some of the styles of play, the pitches and things that we came up against, so it was a massive, massive carrot and it was something that the club needed to do and needed to do pretty quickly. “The incentive there was really, really big, even for the players. Not too many of the squad had performed regularly in the Championship, so to get out of League One and to give themselves a chance to perform in the Championship for this football club was a massive, massive goal. “I think the motivation last year was very, very high. This year, it's very, very high, but on the other hand, we know that as a club, we're way ahead of the trajectory that anyone could have predicted or expected and we've already achieved some fantastic things this season. “And we'll look to do our very, very best to continue in that vein for the last six games, but around the group this year I feel probably even more so than last year an enjoyment of this experience that we're going through, looking forward to each game and a determination really to just make the most of this, stick to identity, play as well as we can and enjoy what each game brings.” He says the Blues are drawing on their experiences in the second half of last season as they won 13 of their last 15 to secure promotion. “It's something that I think we've used all season, to be honest, in terms of us being a team and the culture is to really just focus on ourselves, our performances,” McKenna continued. “We never really speak about points totals, we don't really speak about our position in the league, we focus on being the best of ourselves, performing as well as we can every game and doing that off the back of doing the right things and training every day, and that's continued right through this season as it did that season. “We know at this stage of the season things around the team and around the club get a little bit noisier, and every game gets built up to be a must-win game. “We went through this last April where I think we had eight games, some of them against massive divisional rivals, home and away, tough matches, and the team managed to find an incredible level of consistency of performance and mentality first and foremost. “And we've tried to do the same this year and we also know when you have games in quick succession and big games at the back end of the season there can be some highs and lows in there. “This year we conceded a couple of late goals to Cardiff. I think last year we were on a record run of clean sheets and wins and then conceded maybe in the 90th minute against Cheltenham away on a windy bank holiday Monday. “Either way, you have to just move on very quickly to the next game and prepare the next performance and the club and the team have stuck really, really well to that ethos. “We did it last year and it helped us to be successful. Of course, this year it's more difficult because the games are much more difficult, but I think we've drawn down on those experiences over the season, certainly over the last month or two, and we'll try and do the same over the next six games as well.”
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