McKenna on 'signs of progress' and Tottenham
- Published
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Tottenham (kick-off 14:00).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
There are "no new injury concerns" for the game with defenders Axel Tuanzebe and Jacob Greaves set to be available for selection after the November international break, as well as midfielder Jack Taylor. Defender Dara O'Shea is set to play again despite an ongoing back problem.
McKenna feels Ipswich have been "competitive" in most matches even though they are still looking for their first win since returning to the Premier League: "I don't think you can always set an exact expectation or definition of performances because every game is different. One of our first goals is to be competitive in every match and we're not too far away from that. Across the 10 games we have certainly been in the large majority of games. We would have liked to have won a couple by now but, also, we've only lost five out of 10 with what we have been through and the challenges we have faced over the early part of the season."
He added: "To pick up five results - certainly could have been one or two more - and to be as competitive as we have been, I think there are a lot of positives in there. We know there is another step to take to win games consistently in the Premier League that we haven't taken yet. We're showing good signs of progress and the group is growing."
McKenna came through the Spurs academy and began his coaching career with the club: "It has had a massive bearing on me as a person. It's a great club and one that I, of course, have a fondness for. From a football perspective, as a player, it was my opportunity and access to the professional game in England. Definitely from a coaching point of view, I was very blessed to be there at the time I was as a coach because from an academy level, the club were country-wide leaders at that time in terms of developing players."
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