Ipswich Town: Kieran McKenna previews Birmingham City visit

The Blues let a 3-1 lead slip against rock-bottom Rotherham United at Portman Road on Tuesday night before securing the win through Omari Hutchinson's dramatic 95th minute strike.

“We've watched the game back," said the Blues boss. "I think there were lots of good things in the first half, to be honest. There were lots of good things in the first 60 minutes. We were a real attacking threat.

"Rotherham came man-to-man all over the pitch with a really physical team, an experienced team, and that means the game is never going to be clean. The game is always going to be broken. When you have the ball they’re trying to get physical contact and make challenges straight away, and when they have the ball they’re setting up every set-play. So there’s no flow to the game.

Omari Hutchinson (right) and Ali Al-Hamadi celebrate the latter's late winner against Rotherham in midweek. (Image: Stephen Waller)

"When the game’s like that you have to show your teeth. You have to show your threat on the top line. If you keep jumping and leaving a lot of space at the back then we can go through you and we can hurt you really quickly. We did that in the first half. We got three goals and could have had four or five.

"At the start of the second half we controlled the ball pretty well and weren't really under threat. But for sure, over the last 30 minutes, we didn't manage the game, we didn't manage the emotion, we didn't manage the tension and we didn't manage their direct threats well enough. That’s something that we’ve reviewed. Hopefully we’ll do better in the same scenario in the future."

Town host Birmingham City tomorrow afternoon in the first Saturday, 3pm kick-off at Portman Road since a 2-1 win against Coventry back on December 2.

Ipswich legend Tony Mowbray recently took charge of the Midlands side, but won't be back at his former club this weekend after it was announced earlier this week he was taking a six-to-eight break from the game for medical treatment. His assistant Mark Venus, who also played a key role in the Blues' promotion-winning season of 1999/00, will take charge.

Birmingham City manager Tony Mowbray has had to take some time off for medical treatment. (Image: PA)

“First and foremost, everyone’s absolute best wishes go to Tony," said McKenna. "Everyone involved in Ipswich Town holds him in such a high regard. People here speak to highly of him. I’ve had the pleasure to meet him a few times through football and he’s a true gentleman.

"It’s a shame he can’t be here this weekend, I’m sure he would have enjoyed bringing his Birmingham team to Portman Road, but we wish him all the best with the recovery." 

With Birmingham having won their last two games, against Blackburn and Sunderland, to rise to 15th in the table, McKenna continued: “Him and Mark have had a good impact. I think it’s a really good profile of squad for them. They’ve already shown that they’re able to implement their ideas. They come into this game off the back of a couple of good wins. Even in the FA Cup against Leicester it was an excellent performance in the first half. We know we’re in for a tough game."

Reflecting on his side's 2-2 comeback draw at St Andrew's last November, sub Marcus Harness scoring a late brace to rescue a point, the Blues boss said: “It was a tough game very early into the new manager's (Wayne Rooney) regime and there was a really big atmosphere. They got off to a good start, imposed themselves on us and it took a lot of character to get back in the game. 

Marcus Harness' late brace rescued Ipswich Town a point at Birmingham last November. (Image: Pagepix Ltd)

“There will be quite a few of the same personal. In that game Birmingham played a really high energy, aggressive, front foot style and I think that’s similar to what Tony wants to implement as well. The challenge will be quite similar.

"Of course Tony’s team are really possession minded as well. I know that Birmingham will come here and want to take the ball. It will be a challenge for us to get the ball back off them. 

“They’ve got a squad full of talented individuals, have lots of athleticism and that should make for a tough but really good football match."

Tuesday night was the 19th time this season that Ipswich had conceded the game's first goal. On that record, McKenna said: “Of course we’d like to have got the first goal more, but I’ve said this many times, the step up in division is really, really high and teams have been really clinical against us. So often the first opportunity or first half opportunity against us has been scored.

Birmingham striker Jay Stansfield is a long-term transfer target Kieran McKenna hasn't been able to land. (Image: PA)

"Full credit to the players for the way they've stuck to the task. It’s not often been late changes and a gung-ho comeback. More typically it’s been more about sticking to the plan, not being out off by a setback and doubling down on what we do well. That’s what’s brought us back into games."

On Birmingham striker Jay Stansfield, who is on loan from Fulham, McKenna said: “He's a very good player who we looked at over the last few windows, but we weren’t able to bring him to the club for different reasons at different times. 

“Birmingham have a lot of good players. I think they’re recruitment in the summer was excellent. They’ve got some young, really athletic, technically good players. They’ve quality in depth all over the pitch. Looking at their squad list they’ve got huge options in different positions.  

“They’re a team that I think everyone fancied at the start of the season to be, certainly in the upper echelons of the table. We know what they’re capable of, but they will also know the threats we pose. It should make for a good game."