Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna has acknowledged the challenge of making difficult selection choices in the near future.
Following Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, the Blues saw the return of Wes Burns and George Hirst, while Nathan Broadhead and Harry Clarke are also approaching full fitness.
This increase in availability means Ipswich will soon have 27 players fit for selection, though only 20 can be included in a Premier League matchday squad.
Summer recruit Dara O’Shea featured in the game against Brighton, with Cameron Burgess, Jack Taylor, and Ali Al-Hamadi being left out. Luke Woolfenden, who had started the previous three Premier League matches, was also omitted in favor of O’Shea.
“Luke’s done well across the three games,” McKenna commented after the draw. “He’s another one adapting to the Premier League and he’s an important player for us.”
McKenna explained the rationale behind including O’Shea: “We wanted to get Dara going. It’s really hard to integrate when you arrive late, especially as a defender, until you get into the team and really feel your team-mates, the competitiveness of a game and show your qualities. It was important to get him going.”
Regarding Woolfenden’s absence, McKenna noted, “That’s the way we’ve done our squad anyway. When we have everyone available, it’s pretty typical for us not to put centre-halves on the bench. We like to have four forwards fresh and ready to come on, two midfielders and two defenders.”
He added, “There’ll be games where we have a centre-half on the bench but there’ll be plenty of games where we don’t and we use the versatility of other players who can fill in slots in the back line.”
