Kieran McKenna, Ipswich Town’s manager, believes his team has valuable lessons to learn from their 4-0 loss to Newcastle United, a match he felt got away from his side. Town, still in 18th place in the Premier League and without a home win this season, struggled after Alexander Isak’s opening goal just 25 seconds in, which marked the start of his hat-trick.
McKenna reflected, “We have to take some lessons from it, for sure. We haven’t had many like that, we’ve been really, really competitive across the season and I’ve been saying that the group have been doing very, very well to be as competitive as we have been. We have to be close to 100 percent to be competitive in games and do all the right things, and we didn’t manage to do that today.”
He acknowledged that Newcastle were a strong opponent, saying, “We came up against a very good opponent, who were better than us today and the game ran away from us.” McKenna pointed to the first half, highlighting areas where his team could have performed better, especially in managing the game as Newcastle grew in strength.
On the opening goal, he explained, “It’s not probably giving away too much, we know that Leif is really aggressive in terms of his jumping to press on first phase, he’s done it for two and a half seasons here.” He also noted that while mistakes happened, such situations can arise when playing against a strong team.
McKenna praised Isak, saying, “He’s a very good striker…he’s of a very high level,” acknowledging the Magpies’ superior athleticism and pace. Regarding a crucial moment, he reflected on the third goal, stating, “We’ll never know whether it was a costly moment…but that was completely in the flow of the 15 or 20-minute spell where there were lots of decisions like that from an attacking and a defending point of view that led to chances for the opposition.”
He admitted missing Liam Delap’s presence, especially with other injuries. “You always miss it in certain moments,” he said, pointing out that despite some strong individual efforts, the team struggled defensively and in transitions.
McKenna commended the fans for their continued support, despite some boos at halftime. “I thought the crowd were very good,” he said, acknowledging the difficult nature of the Premier League journey. He emphasized the need for his team to quickly learn from this experience and perform better in their upcoming matches.
Looking ahead to future challenges, McKenna discussed the need for squad improvements in January, saying, “We want to try and make the squad stronger, that’s for sure.” He also acknowledged that it’s not just about money but about finding the right players to improve the team.
Finally, McKenna addressed the team’s upcoming matches and the importance of taking lessons from this defeat. “We won’t do that, but it’s not about brushing it either,” he remarked, stressing the need to adapt, especially with tough fixtures ahead.
