Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton (left) and manager Kieran McKenna have addressed a number of hot topics in a TownTV interview that’s out tonight.
There is a lot for Ipswich Town fans to get their heads around right now.
It was a far busier than expected transfer window following relegation from the Premier League.
Close to £50m was ultimately spent on 11 new signings, including a shock Canaries capture and Championship record fee late last week.
There has been a mass exodus of players and staff too, with very few now remaining from the beloved double promotion winning squad.
In amongst all that, the Blues, who started the campaign as promotion favourites, have made a four-game winless start in the Championship and been dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Bromley.
With emotions currently heightened, Town chairman Mark Ashton and manager Kieran McKenna have moved quickly to address several hot topics in an interview with former Blues skipper Matt Holland.
The 37 minute chat will be available on TownTV and the club’s YouTube channel from 7pm this evening. I’ve had a sneak peak and it certainly makes for enlightening viewing. In it, the duo discuss:
– A challenging summer of change at Portman Road;
– How the club tried to persuade Liam Delap to stay;
– An ’emotional’ transfer deadline day and the thinking behind Luke Woolfenden and Conor Chaplin being allowed to join Coventry and Portsmouth respectively;
– The new training ground taking shape and the club beginning to recruit from abroad;
– Filling the leadership void left following Sam Morsy’s exit;
– Promotion pressure, excitement around the new recruits and Ashton’s belief that there’s no-one better than McKenna to build a new team.
It’s an open and honest conversation that is sure to make those currently feeling a little twitchy about things more confident about the club’s overall direction of travel.
Conor Chaplin was loaned to Portsmouth on transfer deadline day.
McKenna on change
“We’ve lost some top, top characters from the building who have had huge success at the football club. That’s been difficult for everyone involved because of the emotional attachment there, there’s no getting away from that.
“But we’ve also brought some very good players to the football club and some really good people. Some of those players have had one or two games so far and some haven’t even got on the pitch yet.
“There’s a really bright future for some of those boys, I believe. There’s a potential for a really bright future for the team. That’s what’s ahead of us now and that’s what we have to work towards.
“There’s been a lot of change, some situations beyond what probably could have been predicted, but there’s a really good squad there now.
“It’s now about us – manager, staff, supporters – getting right behind those players and pushing those players to get the very best out of them and build another great team.”
Chuba Akpom is yet to make his first start since joining on loan from Ajax.
McKenna on getting a new team up to speed…
“That’s coaching. That’s the job. We’ve got to integrate people a quick as we can and get people up to speed as quick as we can.
“It takes players time to adjust. New house, new teammates, new style, new system – it doesn’t always click into gear straight away. The boys who arrived here three years ago found that as well.
“There’s a lot to get to grips with, it’s a challenge we’ll tackle head on and I believe we’ll see the fruits of the labour. I can already see some of it and I’ll believe we’ll see more in the weeks and months ahead.
“There’s no secret, there’s no massive shortcut. It’s going to require a lot of hard work on the training pitch and in the video room. There’s a lot of work to be done from a technical/tactical point of view. There’s a lot of work to be done from a group culture and mentality point of view, establishing new norms in how we work, how we train, how we live, how we treat each other, how we push each other.
“We have to go through experiences together. A football team isn’t 4-4-2 or 3-4-3, it’s not that. It’s not inverting a winger or pushing a full-back higher. It’s the feeling and the connection between people and the experiences they go through together.
“A lot of the team we had suffered in League One together. For a lot of them, in their first six months, they didn’t win a lot or play very well. Then we had six months where we played pretty well but didn’t win as much as we would want to or need to get promotion. We then had two years of winning a lot, but with some bumps in the road. There were some question marks and tough periods along the way, but that all helped the group build that connection, bond, self-belief, confidence and trust. Now we need to go through that again.”
Jack Clarke celebrates after his late, late penalty secured Ipswich a 2-2 home draw against Derby last weekend.
McKenna on winless start…
“Four games is not enough to make any judgements. We’ve got four/five new players who haven’t stepped on the pitch yet. Jens (Cajuste) has just started his first game, Chuba (Akpom)’s not started a game yet.
“We had a challenging summer and we were short going into the first games in some areas, but have we seen positive signs in the games? In my opinion, yes. Are there things to work on? For sure. But are there signs of things growing at the training ground? There are. That’s the direction we need to keep going in.
“It’s going to take a lot of hard work, we’re going to have to go through experiences together and the supporters are a massive part of that.
“Saturday (2-2 home draw with Derby) wasn’t the result we wanted, but we scored a 104th minute goal, or whatever it was, with Jack Clarke scoring his first goal at that end to get a late point. (Ivan) Azon comes on and wins the battle that leads to the penalty having only just met the team the day before.
“It’s not Jeremy Sarmiento poking one in against Southampton and one of the best memories we’ve had, but it’s a moment. We have to see and feel those experiences for what they are. We need to take all of the positives and drive on with them and we need to take the hurt, like conceding a dubious penalty away to Preston and then not being able to break down 11 big lads defending the goal with everything, take that frustration and learn from it and find a way to be better next time.
“The group needs to go through these things. If we go through it together, with the right mindset, and push through then we’ll build a really strong team.
“That’s how we’ll try and build another big team here.”
Mark Ashton has called upon Ipswich Town fan to get fully behind a new set of players at the club.
Mark Ashton has called upon Ipswich Town fan to get fully behind a new set of players at the club. (Image: Ross Halls)
Ashton on the importance of togetherness…
“There’s no silver bullet, there’s no magic dust. It’s going to take a bit of time, as it did when Kieran first arrived, but there’s no-one better to put the processes in place than Kieran.
“I’ve talked before about the importance of togetherness. Whether you’re a shareholder, board member, team leader, cleaner, gateman, we have to be together as one. Because the minute you lose unity or togetherness you wave goodbye to any future success. Togetherness is key.
“I understand that change is difficult for people. And we feel it too. We’ll miss some of the players who have been here and been successful.
“But we have to focus on the ones that are here and those who are going to create the new history for the football club.
“I said when I joined that while we’ve got to love and cherish the history and tradition of this football club, we’ve also got to focus on the now because it’s this group of staff and players that we have that will create the successful future.
“Jason Schechterle will be over again shortly to meet all the new players and embed them into the values of the club.
“We are still rebuilding this football and we will be relentless in how we move forward.
“I genuinely believe we have recruited some exceptionally talented players over this window and Kieran just needs a little bit of time to mould them together.
“He works tirelessly and will create a new team that will create new history.”
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