Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was pleased with the dedication and spirit his team demonstrated in the goalless draw against Brighton & Hove Albion, feeling the performance revealed several qualities they will need for the season.
Aro Muric made two impressive first-half saves as the Blues fought for their first Premier League away point since the 2-2 draw with Newcastle United in March 2002, following their promotion back to the top flight after 22 years.
“I think first of all, the commitment and the spirit that the players showed in a pretty new group, a group that’s still coming together,” McKenna said. “We had players making their debut, lots of players who haven’t played at the level very often, players playing with new teammates, players trying to learn new roles within the team.
“And to have all that going on and to come away against a strong team and show the spirit and the resilience that we did, to show some really good moments of organisation and, of course, to get a point in that situation, you need to make some big blocks and some big saves, and when we needed to do that, we did that.
“I think we’ve shown a lot of things that are going to be important for us to have a successful season today.
“We know we can play better, we will improve, I’m sure of that, over the course of time as this group comes together and adapts to each other and to the level.
“But while we’re doing that, showing the spirit and the fight that we did today to get a clean sheet against a very good side is a great step forward.”
On Muric, who made six saves including a brilliant double stop, McKenna said: “I think he showed exactly why we wanted to bring him to the football club.
“With where we are as a team coming into this division, finding a goalkeeper who can win you points on certain days is absolutely massive because every point is valuable in the league.
“Aro has shown across his career that he can be a match-winning goalkeeper, he can earn points for the team.
“He’s a fantastic shot-stopper and he commands his box like not many goalkeepers in the division, so it’s a great day for and his integration into the team.
“He’s still very young for a goalkeeper, he’s still learning and adapting to what we want from him, but I think today is a great step forward and he showed everyone why we’ve brought him to the football club and what he can bring for us.”
McKenna noted that the 25-year-old is still adjusting to the squad following his £8 million move from Burnley in the summer.
“I think he’s still in the process, to be fair,” the Northern Irishman reflected. “He arrived late after missing the first couple of weeks of pre-season.
“But he finished off last season in the Premier League starting most of the games, so that helps. It’s not that long ago since he was starting games in the Premier League.
“I think Aro’s ceiling is really, really, really high for a goalkeeper with the attributes that he has, but he needs help, he needs support, he needs patience at times, he’s still very young for a goalkeeper.
“But he’ll get all those things here and he’s working with a very good goalkeeper-coach [Rene Gilmartin] and he’s come into a very good dressing room, a good group of people who will try and help him. I think if we do all those things, then he’ll be a great asset for the club.”
Muric was sent home by his national team Kosovo for alleged rule-breaking, with claims he and two teammates were out too late at a nightclub. McKenna said he had no reservations about including him: “No, no reservations. As I said on Thursday, I had a good chat with Aro when he got back. He talked me through the situation as he saw it which I think he’s said is different than some of the other versions.
“He’s our player, the most important thing is that when he’s with us and having him back for the extra couple of days’ training was a bonus, to be honest, and I think helped towards him putting in a really good performance today.”
Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler praised Town defender Axel Tuanzebe in his post-match press conference, and McKenna was pleased for the former Manchester United player.
“Really happy for him as well with the journey that he’s been on,” McKenna said. “This time last year, he was out of contract, had played very little football in probably a couple of seasons and there were question marks around his ability to get back to playing as many games as he had.
“But he’s got stronger and stronger as the time’s gone on. He finished last season really, really well and he’s stepped into it this season and he’s showing his qualities.
“There are so many good wingers in the league now, so many teams playing with out-and-out wingers on both sides and wrong-footed wingers on both sides that his one-v-one qualities, the way that he can shut down some very good wingers and, of course, he had his hands full today against a top winger [Kaoru Mitoma].
“I think he enjoyed the battle and he did a really good job in that duel and was well supported by his teammates.
“Another good step for him and with him and Ben we’re really, really strong in that position.”
Liam Delap came closest to scoring for the Blues, making a run two-thirds of the pitch before hitting the post, having scored a brilliant goal against Fulham before the international break.
“It was an incredible run, really,” McKenna recalled. “When you put with his goal a fortnight ago, I think if he scores that one, it’s pretty iconic, he’s probably a Barclaysman, or whatever’s been trending this week, if he goes and scores those two goals in his first four Premier League games at 21 years old. It would have been pretty iconic. He was unlucky with that.
“He’s a young player who has still got a lot to do, has still got lots of things to improve on. He’s the first one to know that.
“But in moments of games at the moment he’s showing his power and his quality and that he can already impact at Premier League level and I think he’s got a lot still to come if he works in the right way.”
McKenna was pleased with the impact of attacking substitutes George Hirst, Jack Clarke, and Chiedozie Ogbene, who came on just before the hour mark.
“They did, we needed it at that moment of the game,” he said. “We needed the qualities that all three of them brought, really.
“Wes [Burns] was playing his first game [after injury], hasn’t trained that much, so a great shift from him, but he was certainly flagging and we needed fresh energy on the right.
“We weren’t getting hold of the ball enough and Jack Clarke I think is going to be a terrific asset for us in terms of wanting the ball all the time.
“He wants to hold the ball, he wants to hold off defenders, he wants to carry the ball up the pitch, he’s really clean technically and he gives us something completely different in that slot, and he did his defensive work really well.
“And George Hirst’s out-of-possession performance was excellent. We had some problems in the first half, we had to adjust the role of the striker in the second half and press with more of a 4-2-3-1 and George’s out-of-possession game, his understanding is so good by now and he knows exactly what the team needs in certain moments.
“I thought the way he led the line and worked between both centre-halves and locked Brighton into the line time and time again in their left corner flag was a massive part.
“Although he didn’t have too many chances, it was a massive part of us getting back some momentum in the game and some pressure on the opposition and ultimately getting the point.”
McKenna explained his decision to leave Luke Woolfenden out of the squad and give Dara O’Shea his full league debut for the club.
“Luke’s done well across the three games, he’s another one adapting to the Premier League and is an important player for us,” he said.
“We wanted to get Dara going today. It’s really hard to integrate when you arrive late as a defender until you get in the team and really feel your teammates and feel the competitiveness of a game and show your qualities. It was important to get him going.
“The way we’ve done our squad, anyone who has followed us, 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 to come on, two midfielders, and two defenders.
“So there will be games where we have a centre-half on the bench but there will be plenty where we don’t and we use the versatility of other players who can fill in slots in the backline.
“Luke’s a really important player for us, as is Cam Burgess and with Dara and Jacob [Greaves], it’s a department that we’re really strong in.”
McKenna also mentioned forward Omari Hutchinson, who suffered a hip knock in the first half but was substituted in the second half.
“He’s fine,” McKenna said, addressing any concerns. “Another good effort from him and he’s fine.”
The team now has a full week of uninterrupted training before heading back to the south coast next weekend to play against fellow newly-promoted team Southampton on Saturday at 3pm.
