Ipswich Town v Huddersfield: Kieran McKenna's press conference in full

Q: Just the normal, quiet week?!

A: Yeah, in many ways it has. Of course a three-game week is never a quiet week, especially when you have away games Saturday-Tuesday, both night games, that makes for a busy schedule anyway.

Other than that it's been pretty normal. It's been preparing for what we have coming up on Saturday, a big game against Huddersfield, and it's one we're all looking forward to.

Q: Is the message to the players to try and treat it like any other game and shut out the noise of what could be?

A: For sure. That's what we've done all season, that's what we did last season. A big part of what has made us successful up until this point has been focusing on ourselves and our performance, enjoying the journey we have been on, enjoying the steps along the way. This is another one coming up tomorrow.

It's about getting our details right and trying to execute as well as we can. That will be the decisive thing tomorrow.

Q: How important is it that the more experienced players, like captain Sam Morsy, help the younger players handle the emotion of the occasion?

A: It's very important. Sam's a fantastic captain for us on and off the pitch, but he doesn't hold the whole burden of leadership in the dressing room himself. We've got some other fantastic senior players in there - Sone Aluko for one to mention. There are others in the leadership group too that do a fantastic job of advising players on how to deal with different situations and addressing issues if they come up.

Tomorrow is a new situation for some, but not for most. I think the majority of the players have been through a very, very similar situation last year with us. There are other players in there like Kieffer Moore, who has been through this type of race before (with Bournemouth). So we've got a really good balance in the dressing room. I have to say the senior lads set a really good tone for the young players and the young players we have have really fed off that and shown a good maturity all season. I'm sure we'll see that on display tomorrow.

Q: What are you expecting from the fans and the atmosphere they could create tomorrow?

A: It will be fantastic, I've got no doubt about that. I know they'll be right behind us. Of course there will be an extra-special atmosphere on top of the incredible support we've had over the last couple of years.

There will be a full stadium, there will be people outside the stadium, they're all going to be 100% behind us, they're all going to help push to produce the performance that will get us what we want. We'll enjoy that and try and use it to give us even more energy. We know the supporters give us a real boost and can make it difficult for the opposition. We know that they will play their part.

Q: This club has been outside the top flight for 22 years. What would it mean to you personally to be at the forefront of taking such a strong community club back into the Premier League?

A: It would be a very proud achievement, no doubt about that. But honestly it's not something I've thought about too much. It's been such a relentless season, two seasons, there's not been any time to stop and pause and reflect. There's not been any inclination to stop and pause and reflect because the Championship is competitive that you can't really afford to take your time and your energy away from your next challenge and your next game.

That's been the case right the way through. Hopefully, if we an do well tomorrow, then we can be looking back on an incredible achievement, but we know we've got a really big game, a really tough game, ahead of us tomorrow that we need to go and do well in to make that happen. That's where all the focus is. Anything else can come after the game.

Q: If tomorrow works out how you want it to, will you then give yourself that time to reflect on an incredible two-and-a-half years?

A: Yeah, I will. We did last year. That's the only chance you will get. If you can't take a few days, a few hours or a few minutes to be in peace with the people that you love, or by yourself, at the end of the season then you never will do.

We don't know if our season ends tomorrow. We hope that if tomorrow goes how we want it to, it does. We'll then be able to look back. But until that moment comes it's full focus on the task ahead.

Q: You could be a Premier League manager next season. How does that sound?

A: Again, it's not something I think about a lot to be honest. I'm proud to manage this football club, it's a wonderful football club, I'm proud to lead the group every day, I'm proud to lead the club out in front of a full Portman Road every single week. That's where my focus is.

Of course the Premier League is the best league in the world, in my opinion. I've worked in it before and really enjoyed it. It's well known that my career ambition is to be there and that chimes well with the overall grand ambitions of the football club. That's where every club wants to be and Ipswich Town are no different. It's up to us now to try and make that a reality.

Q: We've been at a school this morning where 600 children, so many of them wearing the club's shirts, are so excited. How hard is it to keep your players' feet on the ground?

A: Honestly I don't feel like it's been that different. You can't change the fact that there's extra interest around the game and there's a massive incentive attached to the result. There's no point stepping away from that. It's something that you have to enjoy it and embrace it. We'll use that as a bonus for the performance.

In terms of having to work hard to keep the group focused, to keep them on task and on message, honestly that's not a big challenge for the group now. We've worked together for a good amount of time now, we've been so consistent in how we work, how we communicate, how we behave, how we live day-to-day that those habits are pretty ingrained.

Of course we enjoyed that moment of the pitch with the supporters after the game on Tuesday night, but as soon as we were back in the dressing room we were already talking about Saturday and getting ready to deliver a 46th performance of the season.

We've not been perfect. We've had games, or moments in games, where we've not hit our best levels, but that's normal. Over the course of 45 games though we've hit a very, very high level and everyone is just focused on trying to do that again tomorrow.

With the scale of the game there will be a little bit of extra adrenaline in the system, that's normal. It was there on Tuesday night, it was there last Saturday night and it will be there again tomorrow. It's up to us to use that as fuel to put into the performance.

Q: Can you sum up the scale of the achievement if you were to achieve back-to-back promotions?

A: Honestly, I don't want to talk about the 'if'. I understand the question, but it's been a discipline within the building of not allowing ourselves too much time or energy to think about the 'ifs'. The groups' done that very well.

We know it would be an incredible achievement, we know what it would mean to the town, to the football club, to the players, to the staff, to everyone. And we're going to do our absolute best to try and make that happen, as we have done all year. 

We can't give more than 100%. The group have been giving that day-in, day-out for a really long period of time and shown an incredible consistent level of that. That's all we can do tomorrow. Hopefully, three o'clock tomorrow will be the time to think about what's gone before and what's to come. Honestly, we've not really allowed ourselves too many of those thoughts. It's always been about the journey that we're on and taking the next step.

Q: How keen are you to see what more you can achieve with this group in the future?

A: We want to keep improving the group and the club as much as we possibly can. Of course we've travelled a long way in a short space of time and the jumps have hard, probably harder than what's it's looked from the outside. It looks like, with 93 points and a game to go, we've made the step up easily, but it's certainly not been easy. It's taken a lot of work.

We know that the next step is a huge one and it would taken an awful amount of work again. That's exciting. It's exciting to be part of this project, to be leading the project and we want to continue that. We want to keep helping the players go to another level, we want to keep giving supporters days and moments and seasons to be proud of. We hope to continue to do that after tomorrow.

We know that whatever happens tomorrow, whatever happens until the end of the season, there is no end point for Ipswich Town Football Club. It's just another step on the journey. There is a lot of work going on behind the scene, there's a lot of ambition from the owners to keep developing the football club and that's what everyone wants to keep doing. We hope to take a really big step with that tomorrow. We know there are still lots of things still ahead to achieve.

Q: There's still a football match to be played. Huddersfield have led 3-1 at Southampton, they've drawn at Leeds, they've won at West Brom... It's been a disappointing campaign from them, but they have their threats and they've had their moments.

A: For sure, every team in the Championship does and Huddersfield certainly do. Look, they gave us an extremely tough game away from home earlier in the season. We had to fight really hard to get a point out of the game.

As you say, they've done that against so many teams this season. The margins in the league are so tight, so tough. Every club will have their 'what ifs'. Huddersfield will think if they didn't get someone sent off against Leeds they probably would have gone on to win that game and be in a different position. Last weekend they had chances late on against Birmingham. If they'd scored one of them they'd have been coming into this game still with a chance (of staying up). They had a 99th minute penalty go against them in their last away game, against Bristol City, after a good performance that denied them three points which, again, would have put a completely different complexion on tomorrow.

The division is relentlessly competitive. The margins between winning and losing are so small. Every team is so competitive every weekend. We don't expect anything different this weekend. We know we're going to be facing a motivated and proud group of players and football club. They're going to want to finish their season on a high on a big stage. That's what we've prepared for and what we need to be ready for.

Q: Going back to the post-match scenes at Coventry on Tuesday night. The club's cameras captured a lovely moment of you looking up at the supporters and taking it all in. How much did that mean to you and whet the appetite of whet will await you on the way into the stadium this weekend?

A: It was a fantastic moment. You have to enjoy those moments. Of course, the professional and the conscientious part of you as a manager has you thinking about Saturday, but it's so important to take little pauses and enjoy the moments as they come along. Tuesday night will only be remembered as a fantastic night if we can execute and do our jobs well tomorrow, but in isolation it was a big performance, a big victory and one to enjoy by itself. Now it's onto a new game. Both teams start from scratch and we need to fight and earn another performance and victory. 

Q: Has it been a good training week?

A: I don't know if you could call it a training week, because Saturday-Tuesday was a quick turnaround and we've had to recover as a priority. We've also had enough time to assess Huddersfield, the strengths that they bring and the ways they like to set up, and prepare our team as well as we possibly can. Despite the two games in quick succession, the players are feeling fresh, full of energy and we'll look to deliver a really good performance.

Q: How much does it mean to you that family and friends back home in Northern Ireland are all going to be following this and showing their support?

A: Ipswich Town have now got a fantastic support in Ireland. They've gained many new supports in County Fermanagh, that's certain.

It's fantastic knowing that people are supporting you. I've had messages from people at different clubs I've been at and from different people I've come across. I really do feel that support from the wider football community and from my past.

It will be the same for all the staff and all the players. Everyone is on their own journey, everyone has worked hard to get to this point, whether it's a manager, staff member, a player, or a long-suffering supporter. We've all been on our journeys to get to this point, to arrive at this season. Everyone will have plenty of well wishers behind them tomorrow. It's a great feeling, it adds to the motivation and it won't distract from the priority from trying to do our jobs tomorrow.

There's not too much time to dream or think about 'what ifs'. It's about doing. That's what we're focused on. We want to make a lot of people proud.

Q: A draw is obviously enough tomorrow, but I note that Sam Morsy and yourself have only used the word 'victory' during this press conference. That is obviously the mindset going into this game, as it has been all season?

A: Of course. I don't know what that would look like, to be honest, in terms of our messaging going into the game. We've gone into every game, home and away, looking to win over the last two-and-a-half years. We're certainly not going to veer from that too much tomorrow.

We know that we have to defend well. We don't want to concede, certainly, any unnecessary goals. That will give us the best chance to win the game. Also, we have a really clear attacking identity that's served us really well at home and we're going to try and get that on the pitch tomorrow.

Q: It's been a busy week. Hull away, Coventry away, both night games, huge adrenaline and emotion... How are you sleeping? 

A: I've slept alright, to be fair! I didn't sleep very well Tuesday night, I have to say. It was a long journey back from Coventry. The roadworks on the A14 aren't particularly helpful at the moment, so it was very, very late when we arrived back. Of course it was a game with a bit of extra adrenaline, so I didn't sleep fantastic that night.

But Wednesday and Thursday I've been in a pretty normal flow, have enjoyed the training sessions, enjoyed the prep and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Q: It was nice to see players who weren't in the 20-man squad enjoying the celebrations on Tuesday night. That shows the spirit within this group, doesn't it?

A: Yeah, that's very important. It's clear you don't acheive what we've achieved up to this point without a pretty special spirit in the group. We certainly feel we have that.

It's why we wanted to travel to Hull and Coventry with pretty much every player. Everyone has played a big part in getting us to this stage. People have played different roles at different times. People have stepped up across the course of the season. Even those who haven't played many minutes have had a big part to play. I've mentioned some names already. There's also people like Cieran Slicker, your third choice goalkeeper, who is a big part in how he trains and contributes every day.

It's important to recognise. I know the supporters know that you don't get to this point without a big squad all pulling in the same direction. That's why it was nice to be able to share that moment with the whole group on Tuesday night. Hopefully we'll be able to share another good moment with the whole group tomorrow.

Q: Will last year's promotion experience stand the team in good stead for tomorrow?

A: I think so. It's not something we've spoken about a lot in relation to Exeter, but of course it's a really similar scenario. So many things about our run-in has been similar with back-to-back away games at a similar stage. The challenge and scale of the league positions we're up against late on bear a similarity too.

I think that lived through experience will be of benefit. The players have done a fantastic job in terms of their composure. I know we haven't won all of our games, but that's the difficulty of the level. Certainly since the Norwich game, I think Watford, Middlesbrough, Hull, Coventry... you look at the level of those teams, where they were last year, the scale of the challenge, I think the bravery of our performances of those four games was fantastic and we deservedly went unbeaten through that stretch and realistically could have won a couple more of the games. It's a different challenge tomorrow in terms of being the last league game, but we've got some good characters, some strong shared memories and some strong shared beliefs. We'll hopefully utilise those to our benefit.