Ipswich Town: Kieran McKenna on January signings and 'strong culture'

Last season, the Blues added Nathan Broadhead, Harry Clarke, Massimo Luongo and George Hirst at the midway point in the season. They arrived at a point when Town’s form began to tail off, but the quartet played an important role in getting them back on track and helping them secure promotion from League One.

There are hopes that the same could happen this season, with Jeremy Sarmiento, Lewis Travis, Ali Al-Hamadi and Kieffer Moore all having a big impact early on. McKenna believes that their contributions on the pitch are just as important as the ones made off it.

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“It’s testament to the group here first of all because that culture is so strong that players who come into the building pick up on it straight away and see that’s the way that they have to follow,” the manager explained.

“But also it’s testament to the characters that we’ve brought in – their commitment levels have been fantastic.

“Even someone like Kieffer, coming in on loan, with the career that he’s had, he’s bought into the group from day one and is massively respected among his peers.

“When you get him showing the commitment that he has done from day one, that’s a really good thing for the group.

Kieran McKenna highlighted the 'commitment' in the Blues' dressing room (Image: Ross Halls)

“All the boys who have come in have done that, and it reflects really well on themselves but also on the culture that the players here have built.”

Of course, supporters don’t get to see the atmosphere in the dressing room. All they see is the performance on the pitch, and the players are judged on the result at the end of the 90 minutes.

However, McKenna believes that the positive environment is there for all to see on a matchday, with their effort and work rate standing out regardless of whether they win, lose or draw.

“It reflects on what you see on a Saturday in terms of a group that have been hard to beat and I don’t think there’s been many moments where we could be disappointed with the effort levels,” he explained.

“You can’t play well every week and you’re not going to win every game, but the commitment that is shown every time they pull the shirt on is reflected in the commitment here every day.

“That’s important and we can’t take that for granted. We need to keep working on that, but it’s a big part of everything we’ve done in the last two years.”