Kieran McKenna, Ipswich Town’s manager, admits that the Blues still need to’make a lot more additions’ to their roster in order to compete in the Premier League.
Town are less than three weeks away from beginning their top-tier season with a visit from Liverpool on August 17th, and the manager believes the club is ‘working really hard’ to attract more fresh faces.
They’ve bought five players this window – striker Omari Hutchinson (£18 million), defender Ben Johnson (free), centre-back Jacob Greaves (£15 million), attacker Liam Delap (£15 million), and goalkeeper Aro Muric (£8 million), but McKenna wants a lot more in.
When asked if reinforcements were on their way, he replied, “I don’t think there’s anything imminent – in terms of the next day or so.”
“We’re working very hard. We understand that we need to make a lot more signings to create a roster strong enough to compete in Premier League games, so we’re all working extremely hard on it.
“We’ve still got a few weeks before the season starts and a few weeks before the window closes on top of that – and I think we all know how imperative it is that we improve the squad further.”
Of course, one of the pillars of Town’s amazing success has been the squad’s band of brothers ethos; is it difficult to strike the perfect balance between adding new players and maintaining that same vibe?
“There’s definitely a balance to strike,” McKenna explained. “We have a bunch of players who have played from League One to Championship.
“We know that we’ve built such a good spirit and style of play, the culture in the group, the environment at the training ground, all of those things – and of course the challenge is to continue to grow that with the players who have been very important to us, but everyone understands that we need to add significantly to that group to meet the demands of the division.
“I believe everyone in the club is OK with it. The players who have been a huge part of it are the first to admit it and say we need to enhance the group.
“They also want to help because they understand the magnitude of the situation we’re facing.
“So that’s always the challenge, but I’m really confident with the group of players and the staff that we have, that we’ll be able to do that.”
While the team is definitely trying hard to bring in more new signings, it appears that more will exit during this window.
But with a number of injuries in the team – Nathan Broadhead, Wes Burns, Hutchinson, Harry Clarke, Ali Al-Hamadi, and Cameron Humphreys are all on the treatment table – McKenna thinks it’s all hands on deck right now.
“It’s possible,” he said when asked if one or two players may advance. “Look, there’s no denying that we’re short of numbers right now, with the injuries that we’ve had.
“So everyone who’s training with us – and I’m going to include Fin (Barbrook) and Leon (Ayinde) – they’re incredibly vital to the squad and must be prepared to play in the Premier League.
“That’s just the reality of our current numbers and availability.
“But, of course, as the month progresses, if we are able to make any additions, we must have a squad of the necessary size, and we will consider each individual case and what is best for them and the team.
“But at the moment, absolutely everyone who’s with the group is really important to us getting ready for the season.”
On paper, the squad lacks Premier League experience.
New signing Johnson has by far the most top tier experience under his belt, having played 69 games for West Ham, but just eight other players have kicked a ball in the Premier League – many for just a few games or minutes.
So is that something McKenna is looking to rectify?
“I think you always have a balance with your recruitment,” he told me. “If you’re a freshly promoted team, you’re unlikely to sign someone at the peak of their career with extensive Premier League experience.
“That is extremely difficult for a freshly promoted side to do, both financially and in terms of football status; that is simply the reality of the situation.
“We experienced the same experience in the Championship last year as a newly promoted team.
“Of course, we have to look at things differently, and occasionally you can find a player with good Premier League experience who is a little older – and that’s a profile that we’ve looked at in several areas this summer.
“We’ve brought in younger players with Premier League experience, which is one prospective advantage.
“And sometimes you prefer youth and physicality, the will to learn and develop, the capacity to grow as a player, over those characteristics.
“There is always a balance in everything. In an ideal scenario, we’d like to have a squad with a nice balance of experience.
“We still have several veteran players in the squad, like Sammy Morsy, Massimo Luongo, and Cameron Burgess; Conor Chaplin is an experienced footballer, and Wes Burns is seasoned.
“We have a lot of experienced players, some of whom may not have played in the Premier League.
“We have many young players who have experienced Premier League exposure and have played for Premier League clubs.
“And if we can discover players who have a mix of both, that would be ideal.
“I think the most important thing is to have a balance in the squad that can implement a style of football that we believe is going to make us competitive in the division, and that’s what we’ll try and do.”
