Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna believes his team has gained confidence after three matches this season.
Ipswich earned their first Premier League point since promotion with a 1-1 draw against Fulham on Saturday. This came after tough defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City. Despite having only one point, McKenna believes these games have helped shape their season strategy.
McKenna cited the Liverpool encounter as very encouraging for his players. “Especially in the Liverpool game, the players came away with more confidence from it,” he told me. Reflecting on the Fulham encounter, he stated, “And [against Fulham], we built on what we did against Liverpool.” Again, we applied strong, forceful pressure. I believe the players have gained confidence in themselves after the first three games.
Marco Silva expressed dissatisfaction that Fulham did not capitalize on their earlier victory over Leicester City. Adama Traore leveled before halfway, but neither team could dominate after the interval. Silva told BBC Sport: “It was a tough game against an ambitious team. They had a lot of support, so we had to win duels and deal with the pressure.”
Silva lauded Traore’s performance and acknowledged his impact on the team. “[Traore] created some good moments for other players, he is in good shape, helping the team and the reason why he is playing is because he can be decisive for us if he can take the right decisions.” However, Silva admitted that controlling the game in the second half was difficult.
The Ipswich boss was particularly impressed with Liam Delap’s performance, as he netted his first goal since signing from Manchester City in the summer. According to McKenna: “I enjoyed his all-round performance, each week he’s getting stronger, he’s learning and he’s got great growth to come.”
He also stated that Delap has great potential and that they have complete faith in him. Despite not creating many chances in the second half, Silva highlighted that Fulham’s defence remained firm. “We were solid; we did not give many things away but we did not create,” according to him.
The early games have taught Ipswich Town significant lessons as they prepare to return to top-flight competition. These matches may have given them the confidence they need to continue their campaign.