FA Cup: League game bigger than Burnley replay, says Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna
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Kieran McKenna is trying to lead Ipswich back to the Championship after four seasons in the third tier
Ipswich Town head coach Kieran McKenna faces a selection quandary with an FA Cup replay and one of their toughest league games five days apart.
They are at Championship leaders Burnley in a fourth-round replay on Tuesday after the first game ended 0-0.
They will then meet League One leaders - and promotion rivals - Sheffield Wednesday at Portman Road on Saturday.
"I think we all know that Sheffield Wednesday is the biggest game of the week," McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk.
"But, on the other hand, we need to be competitive as a squad [against Burnley]. We've worked hard to get to that point and we need to make sure we represent ourselves with pride.
"We need to find the right balance to do that while making sure we have a good team ready for Saturday.
"Tuesday is a really tough game and we need to go there with a resilience and the right mindset to be in any way competitive in the game."
Ipswich drew 1-1 at struggling Cambridge on Saturday, leaving them third in the league and six points behind Wednesday and second-placed Plymouth.
Burnley, by contrast, won 3-0 at Norwich City to make it nine successive Championship victories.
Highlights: Ipswich force fourth-round replay against Burnley
McKenna said Saturday's result was a "setback" to Ipswich's "development as a group", but one they need to use in a positive way.
He added: "It needs to be a key moment of realisation for us of what the requirements are going to be, because in the first half we were way below the level that is acceptable for us."
Experienced defender Richard Keogh said the team were unconcerned with the gap between them and the leaders, and described the result against Cambridge as a "bump in the road".
"We've got two weeks now [with] Saturday-Tuesday [fixtures], so we're going to need everyone in the squad and it's exciting," he said.
The 36-year-old was not involved in the first game against the Clarets, having played against Bracknell, Buxton and Rotherham in the previous three rounds.
He added: "We'll go to Burnley now, obviously another great challenge and a very good team. But we've got a good squad so I'm sure there'll be rotation.
"The FA Cup is a special competition. It's another game for the group to attack and who knows, if we can get a positive result there, before you know it you can be in a quarter-final or a semi-final - that can happen."
The winners of their replay will be at home to Sheffield Wednesday or Fleetwood Town in the last 16.
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