Kieran McKenna admits Premier League is extremely tough as every team has invested to survive

Back-to-back promotions saw the Blues return to the top-flight for the first time in 22 years, with more than £100m spent on transfer fees to try and bridge the gap. Having taken nine points from the opening 14 games (W1 D6 L7), Ipswich find themselves 18th and seemingly in a mini-league at the bottom alongside West Ham, Everton, Leicester, Crystal Palace, Wolves and Southampton. “People who are wiser than me and have been around the league for longer said that they felt that this would be a really, really strong Premier League this season - and I think it's proved to be that," said McKenna. “I think there's probably the least pressure on us. “The two teams who came up with us, I'd say, are not typical newly promoted teams. Leicester were in Europe a couple of seasons ago and Southampton are coming off the back of a decade in the Premier League. And the teams who avoided relegation or finished mid-table last season, in general, invested. SIGN UP! To access ALL our Ipswich Town content, subscribe now for the special price of £6 for six months or £25 to the end of 2025 “I see all the teams throughout the division capable of getting points off other teams. We're in that mix as well. We've shown that we can take points off the top teams and we can compete with pretty much everyone." Optimism was high after Town beat Tottenham and drew with Manchester United in November, but since then successive 1-0 defeats to Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace have dampened the mood. McKenna's Blues have lost the last two games 1-0 (Image: Ross Halls) “A big thing as a team fighting in the bottom half of the table is that you don’t know when your wins and where your points are coming," said McKenna, whose side host Bournemouth at Portman Road on Sunday (2pm). "You can’t build up one game any more than any other. “We’ve just got to go at every game with maximum effort. We’ll get the performances that we get, get the points that we get and we’ll see what that gives us at the end.” Wolves and Southampton, the two sides below Town, both suffered heavy defeats last night - 4-0 at Everton and 5-1 at home to Chelsea respectively. Meanwhile, Leicester, under new boss Ruud van Nistelrooy, beat West Ham 3-1 on Tuesday night. “I don't know what the other teams’ fixtures are," insisted McKenna. "I've got no interest at this point of the season and probably won't until the very, very end of the season. It's full focus on us."