Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna says his team will have to put some of the lessons learned from defeat at West Ham into action when they face Everton at Portman Road tomorrow afternoon.

The Blues boss admitted his side struggled to deal with the Hammers' direct approach in a 4-1 defeat at the London Stadium prior to the recent international break.

Now Sean Dyche's Everton come to Suffolk and McKenna is expecting a similar sort of threat from an experienced Toffees side that looked to have turned a corner following a nightmare start to the campaign.

“West Ham were the most direct team we’ve played against," said McKenna. "They played up to (Michail) Antonio, played over our press really well and were more dominant than us on first and second balls. Everton have some of the same strengths. Playing to (Dominic) Calvert-Lewin pretty early is one of their strategies, they do it well and he’s in good form.  

“Their front four is in really good form. You can see the variety of attacks they have. They can, of course, go to Calvert-Lewin aerially, they can go into the space in behind too. (Iliman) Ndiaye’s started ever so well for them, (Jack) Harrison and (Dwight) McNeil have both got a lot of quality and both can score from outside the box.

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"I don’t think they have to do an awful lot in terms of team play to score a goal. That’s probably why they’ve gone away from home to the likes of Aston Villa and been able to score goals. That’s not even talking about set plays, which they’re a big threat on. 

“We know they’re a strong team, they’ve got vast Premier league experience and quality in their side, but we also back ourselves at home to be a tough opponent and to be able to impose ourselves for large chunks of games and be a threat."

After bloodying the noses of Liverpool in an opening day 2-0 loss at Portman Road, Town looked the side more likely to win in home draws against Fulham (1-1) and Aston Villa (2-2). 

Back on Suffolk soil for the first time in three weeks, McKenna said: “Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so we’re all really looking forward to getting back to Portman Road.

"It feels a long time since the Aston Villa one, but it’s up to us now, both the team and supporters, to create that big performance and atmosphere again that makes ours such a tough stadium to play in. Let’s hope for a great game. We’re going to fight with everything we can to get the points." 

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Town, of course, are still waiting for their first Premier League win in 22 years.

“It would be a boost to get three points, but I don’t think it’s a monkey on the back to be honest," said McKenna.

"We’ve got results in four of the seven games we’ve played. If we had won one of the games, drew one and got battered in the other five then we’d still have four points. If we’d won two of the games and got battered in the other five we’d have a couple more points, which of course we’d rather have, but would it really signify the development of the team, the journey we’re on and how we’re going to finish the season? I’m not sure it would. 

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“We know it’s going to be brilliant when we win our first game, but the main thing for me is that we’ve performed well in most of the games so far. On another day we could have turned one or two of those draws into a win, but I don't think that would massively have changed our perspective of where we’re at or the mood around the training ground. Everyone’s really positive and looking forward to the games ahead."

Asked what the biggest learning curve has been in the Premier League so far, the Blues boss replied: “Probably just how quickly games can get away from you.

"We’ve been very good in large elements of different games and had lots of positive spells - certainly at home, but also away - but I think the players are feeling that the margin for error is so small. When you drop your concentration, when you make errors, they are going to be punished and that changes the momentum in games.

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"In the two bigger losses that we've had, Man City and West Ham (both 4-1 away), that was the case. At West Ham we’re in a position where we feel really stable in the game, the performance is good, but a 5/10 minute spell where we make some bad decisions can completely flip it on its head and you suddenly feel a million miles away from competing and getting a result. 

"That’s not something we didn’t know, but it’s a feeling that, as a newly-promoted team, you have to go through. Then you have to find solutions to be strong in those situations. That’s one of the reflections we’ve taken so far."