Ipswich Town’s return to the Premier League has been marred by a swift relegation, confirmed after a 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United. This marked the second consecutive season where all three newly-promoted clubs have been relegated. Amidst the fallout, former Arsenal player and current pundit Paul Merson criticized Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna for adhering too closely to an idealistic playing style, suggesting a need for a more pragmatic approach.
Kieran McKenna said: “It doesn’t overly concern me to be honest because there’s lots of people who have to give an opinion on football and I’m pretty sure they don’t have the time to watch every game of a team. It’s always easier if people feel that they can put a label on a team and say ‘this is why something’s gone wrong’. I’ve said many times, but if there was one aspect of why this season has been a challenge then I’d like to think we’re smart enough to have solved it.”
McKenna continued: “When you’re a newly promoted team that concedes more goals than what you’d want then it’s easy to put the label on and say ‘they’ve played too open’. I think the reality is we’ve been very, very adaptable this year. With our style of play, we’ve tried to keep our most positive elements, but we’ve been nowhere near as attacking or as open or as dominant in our play as what we had been in the last two divisions.”
He added: “We’ve had to try and be adaptable while still trying to keep some of the core elements that make us successful. Our challenges this season have been vast and, in my opinion, have not been related to playing style. I think we’ve won matches where we’ve been positive and we’ve won matches where we’ve defended deeper. But we’ve also been, certainly in our eyes, very pragmatic at times this year whenever we felt that we needed to be to protect the group. It is what it is.”
McKenna concluded: “I think our reflection will be a lot more detailed and nuanced then trying to identify one area. I would disagree on that. We’ll reflect on everything as the season ends and I’m sure there will be things that we can do better. But certainly, I’m very, very confident that there won’t be one reason at the end of it and to try and label one reason why a team in our position has struggled to win games in this league this season is not the right approach.”
Despite the criticism, McKenna defended his tactical decisions, emphasizing the adaptability his team has shown throughout the season. He acknowledged the challenges faced by newly-promoted teams in the Premier League and argued that the issues were not solely due to their playing style. McKenna expressed confidence that a thorough review at the end of the season would reveal a more complex set of factors contributing to their struggles, rather than a singular tactical flaw.
