Ipswich v Norwich: East Anglian derby returns with both sides in form
- Published
Ipswich manager Paul Lambert was sent off the last time they met Norwich in an East Anglian derby fixture
When Ipswich Town and Norwich City last met in a league game in February 2019, the situations of Kieran McKenna and David Wagner could hardly have been more different.
Less than two months earlier, McKenna had retained his place on the first-team coaching staff at Manchester United after Jose Mourinho was replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Wagner, by contrast, was out of work after leaving Huddersfield Town the previous month with his team at the foot of the Premier League table.
Almost five years on, they will be in opposition dugouts as Ipswich and Norwich meet at Portman Road on Saturday in the 108th East Anglian derby - and it is Wagner who is under pressure to try and check the seemingly inexorable progress of McKenna's Tractor Boys towards a place in the top flight.
There has been a major turnover of players at both clubs since that last meeting almost five years ago - Onel Hernandez, Kenny McLean and Grant Hanley remain at Norwich, but only Kayden Jackson was in the Ipswich squad that day.
"It's a massive occasion - and we're so much better equipped now at tackling that," Jackson told BBC Radio Suffolk.
"They've been on their path, we've been on our path and it's nice to finally meet after so many years. Hopefully we can get the job done."
McKenna's magnificent record
Kieran McKenna's Ipswich have won 44 league games and only lost six since the start of last season
Ipswich have not won a derby game since 2009 - but getting the job done has very much been the way of things since 37-year-old McKenna left Old Trafford to become their manager two years ago.
In 105 games in all competitions since then, they have won 62 and lost only 15, scoring 101 goals to earn promotion from League One last term, and keeping pace with Leicester City at the top of the Championship this season.
Should they manage to keep it going and secure a second successive promotion, they will match the feat of Paul Lambert's Norwich side, who went from the third tier to the Premier League in 2010-2011.
It was a very different experience for Lambert at Portman Road when he became Ipswich boss in 2018. They were relegated to League One a year later, where they stayed until McKenna's arrival sparked the upturn.
Scoring the first goal could be crucial in Saturday's lunchtime kick-off and Norwich will know that Ipswich have conceded inside the first 10 minutes six times this season, and nine times inside the first 15.
But they will be equally well aware that McKenna's team are not fazed by falling behind and can still find a way to win, as they showed in Tuesday's 2-1 victory at Watford.
"The contrasts in the two teams are quite scary, but when you look at derby fixtures in general, it sometimes isn't the best team that wins, it's the team that handles the occasion better," said former striker Darren Bent, who played for Ipswich from 2001 to 2005.
"But when you look at what Kieran McKenna is doing at Ipswich Town, I don't think they could go into this game in any better form or (with) any better manager right now, so it should be a really interesting watch.
"I thought he was good last season in League One, but what they've done in the Championship this year is frightening.
"When you look at Ipswich having 50 points by Christmas, that is just extraordinary, especially in what some call one of the hardest leagues in European football - it's relentless."
Norwich still 'believing'
Jonathan Rowe and Adam Idah have scored 15 goals between them for Norwich this season
Norwich are 11th in the table and three points outside the play-off places, not the position many fans would have expected after Wagner's men took 10 points from their opening four games in August - including a 4-0 win at former club Huddersfield.
However, a dismal run of only one win in nine games between 20 September and 5 November, seven of them ending in defeat, saw them drop as low as 17th, prompting speculation about the German's future.
But the Canaries have won four out of six since then - and taken seven points from the last three games - and striker Ashley Barnes, one of their summer signings, told BBC Radio Norfolk: "We keep believing.
"It's fantastic for them (Ipswich) to be where they are but we've got to concentrate on ourselves. We've got to play our game and we will do so."
At 34, Barnes has seen a lot in his career and believes derby matches are occasions that players thrive on.
"These are moments when you want to be the hero," he said.
Team-mate Gabriel Sara, meanwhile, has "heard a lot of stories" about the rivalry between the two clubs and added: "I'm really excited to play. In Brazil, we love derbies."
Although Norwich are 21 points behind their rivals, former forward Leon McKenzie - who marked his debut with both goals in a 2-0 win at Portman Road 20 years ago this month - believes victory on Saturday is achievable with the "right mindset" and could act as a springboard for the rest of the season.
"This game can turn everything, the magnitude of it, it can change the direction of what's going on," McKenzie, who later became a professional boxer, said.
"If you have to roll up your sleeves and get into a feud, go and do it, win your battles in terms of football and go and win the game."
'Tick one off, go on to the next'
Conor Chaplin has scored 48 goals for Ipswich since arriving in the summer of 2021
What many supporters from both clubs would most love to see again - even if they won't openly admit it - are derby games between the two sides played in the Premier League.
It happened six times back in the 1990s - when Ipswich and Norwich won three games each.
For Town fans though, victory is all that counts on Saturday. They have witnessed 12 derby games since that last victory over the 'old enemy' 14 years ago - and perhaps no defeat was more painful was their 4-2 aggregate defeat in the Championship play-off semi-finals in 2015.
Ipswich have had more time to rest and prepare, having played on Tuesday evening, with Norwich beating Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 the following day, and defender Cameron Burgess says they will not be deflected from their "tick one game off and go on to the next one" approach no matter what is at stake locally.
Team-mate Axel Tuanzebe agreed, adding: "We'll try to stick to our game plan and do what we've been doing all season, dominating games, dominating possession and creating the chances. We can't let the occasion dictate how we play."
Both managers have plenty of options to consider before naming their starting line-ups.
McKenna made five changes for Ipswich's game against Watford, while Wagner gave midfielder Borja Sainz his first start against Wednesday and was rewarded by seeing the Spaniard score his first league goal for the club.
"Every win gives you more confidence and helps for the next game - 13 points in (the last) six games is very good," Wagner said.
"I get catched up by the excitement (of the derby) as well but I have to calm myself down and make sure everybody has a clear head.
"Embrace the situation, embrace the game, embrace the occasion but don't let it influence what you should do, or what you have to do."
As for McKenna, his team will show Norwich the "due respect" they deserve, he said.
"Beyond that, it's about us, it's our home stadium, it's in front of our support, It's for us to go out and implement our strengths and deliver a performance the supporters can get right behind.
"It will be an occasion to enjoy - but we all know that we're only going to enjoy it in the end if we get the result we want."
How to listen | |
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BBC RADIO SUFFOLK | BBC RADIO NORFOLK |
Match commentary on 95.5 FM, 95.9 FM, 103.9 FM, 104.6 FM in Suffolk | Match commentary on 95.1FM and 104.4FM, DAB in Norfolk |