Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna urges stars to be ‘dominant and aggressive’ as they gear up for Liverpool clash on return to the Premier League
- Kieran McKenna wants Ipswich to use the style that got them here
- The Ipswich manager is also realistic about what a successful season looks like
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Kieran McKenna has called on his Ipswich Town stars to perform well from the start on their return to the Premier League.
The Tractor Boys play Liverpool today at 12.30pm after a 22-year absence from the top division.
And former Manchester United manager McKenna, who led Ipswich to two consecutive promotions, wants his players to adopt the same style they grew up in.
“We are, and we want to be, a really aggressive, dominant, attacking team. We want to dominate the ball, create a lot of chances and score a lot of goals,” he said.
It’s an approach that has plagued clubs like Norwich and Burnley in recent seasons and McKenna is under no illusions about the challenges the future holds.
Kieran McKenna has urged his Ipswich Town stars to be ‘aggressive’ and ‘attacking’ this season
He wants his players to stick to the style that won them promotion, where possible.
“We know that the division we are entering is going to be a big challenge and that we have to adjust certain things. Also, not every game is going to look exactly the way we want it to in our dream scenario,” he said.
‘We have to maintain and show our identity in the Premier League, we have to stay brave and keep our aggressive, attacking mentality.
‘Now that I’m moving from the Championship to the Premier League, with the strength of the Premier League, I’d be surprised if anyone from a newly promoted team, whether it’s a manager, player or supporter, wouldn’t say it would be successful to play in the division the following season.
“We are going to focus on how we continue to work every day, how we continue to improve ourselves, how we adapt to the level we are playing at and how we can be as competitive as possible in every game.”
Ipswich were top scorers in the Championship last season with 92 goals in 46 games.
They have also significantly increased their firepower by signing Sammie Szmodics from Blackburn this week for a reported £9million.
He was the top scorer in the Championship last season, with 27 goals in 44 games and 33 in all competitions, and had time to score three goals in two games before moving to Portman Road to start this campaign.
Other signings include Kalvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City, while they have made the loan of Omari Hutchinson from Chelsea permanent in a club-record deal worth around £22million.
Their first test will be against Liverpool, who have had a strong pre-season under Arne Slot
Portman Road has undergone a refurbishment to make it suitable for Premier League football.
As Mail Sport’s Joe Bernstein discovered during a visit to the stadium in Suffolk, the capacity is now more than 30,000, there are LED screens behind each goal, the tunnel and changing rooms have been renovated and a TV studio is under construction.
Many of Ipswich’s heroes, who won the FA Cup and UEFA Cup under Robson between 1978 and 1981, will also be in attendance for Saturday’s big kick-off.
Former captain Mick Mills comments for Radio Suffolk, goalscoring midfielder John Wark welcomes sponsors in the lounges and famous centre-back duo Terry Butcher and Russell Osman pay for tickets as regular fans.
