Kieran McKenna warns Coventry City as Ipswich Town approach critical showdown

Ipswich Town are possibly two games away from automatic promotion to the Premier League, just one season after returning to the Championship from League One.

Kieran McKenna has been the mastermind behind this surprising success, and as the Suffolk-based side prepares for their final away game of the season against Coventry City, the former Manchester United coach has spoken to the media.

Ipswich and McKenna face huge pressure after Hull slip-up

Understandably, McKenna is under intense pressure to guarantee that Ipswich capitalise on Leeds United’s slip-up against QPR last Friday.

The West Yorkshire side suffered a 4-0 defeat at Loftus Road to QPR, and as a result, they were unable to build a cushion against Ipswich, who played on Saturday.

However, the Tractor Boys would make mistakes, being pegged back several times during their 3-3 draw with Hull City on Saturday evening.

Finally, the Tractor Boys will need to win their game against Coventry on Tuesday evening to put themselves firmly in contention for automatic promotion.

McKenna issues warning ahead of Sky Blues meeting

In his pre-match press conference, McKenna made it clear that his team is in bad form and is up against a Premier League juggernaut in the FA Cup semi-finals.

Speaking about the quality of Mark Robins’ team, he told TWTD: “They’re an excellent side, no doubt about it; they’ve demonstrated that in cup competitions and in league form, particularly after the first quarter of the season.”

“”I’m sure they’ll want to finish strong.”

During his news conference, he mentioned that Ipswich will be facing a team troubled by injuries, which may be taken advantage of. Continuing, he stated, “They’ve got some guys unavailable, but they’ve got a deep roster with a lot of talented players, and I’m sure they’ll be determined to perform well on Tuesday.

“We’ll prepare as well as we can and make sure we’re ready to again perform as we want to do.”

He was also quick to point out that, despite having nothing to play for, the Sky Blues will not be easy turnovers: “We know they’re a very good side, and we know they’ll be motivated to finish the season on a high.”

“We’ll be prepared for a really good Coventry side, which is absolutely what we expect because they’re at home against a team that competes at the top end of the division, and we know they’ll want to make it difficult for us.

McKenna wants to repeat the mentality of previous run-in

With the promotion from League One still fresh in the minds of many of the squad members, including McKenna, there is hope that the experience will be useful today.

Highlighting the experience garnered during last season’s League One run-in, in which the Tractor Boys won 13 of 14, McKenna stated, “I can say from what I see, what I feel around the group, and what I see on the pitch, I don’t see us playing with tension.

“That is especially crucial at this point in the season. I see us still playing with daring, confidence, and great energy, which is really crucial.

“So many of the group have been through this experience with a big three-game week to try and achieve a big goal and they’ve handled it really well before and I think they’re handling it really well at the moment.”

McKenna then appears to believe his team has what it takes to consolidate their game-in-hand advantage and put themselves firmly in pole position for automatic promotion, but with Coventry knowing how to handle big games, could another slip-up be on the cards for the Tractor Boys?