'Can do both' - Kieran McKenna identifies challenge Sheffield Wednesday will pose to Ipswich Town
Sheffield Wednesday will face one of their sternest tests of the season so far when they face Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna has identified Sheffield Wednesday’s flexibility as a threat his side must be aware of ahead of their clash at Portman Road on Saturday, admitting the Owls have played some “really, really good football” so far this season.
Wednesday will make the trip to Suffolk with ambitions of securing their first win since September and ending their 14-match winless run. They suffered a fifth defeat in their last six outings on Monday night, losing 3-0 to Derby County at Hillsborough.
No shortage of frustration was aimed at Wednesday’s players and manager Henrik Pedersen for their tactical approach against the Rams, with the Owls choosing to try and play the ball out from the back and progress it through the thirds.
That approach led to them being caught out for Derby’s opening goal, meaning they were left facing an uphill struggle. The Owls were also criticised for dominating possession for possession’s sake, playing a dangerous game with the ball on the edge of their own penalty area.
Although McKenna, who watched his side lose 3-1 to Leicester City last time out, has acknowledged Wednesday have lost games and given goals away by adopting that style, the Ipswich boss has praised some of the quality they have produced so far this term.
"To be honest, they're a team that can play in really different ways,” said McKenna, as quoted by the East Anglian Daily Times. “At times they've played really, really good football.
"They went away to Leicester [in the] first game of the season and had an equal share of the game. Away to Southampton, they had more possession, nearly high 60% possession in the second half.
"So they have good players who can play with the ball and give you problems in that way. But they've also lost some games and some goals playing in that way.
"They've also gone away to the likes of West Brom and got a 0-0 and gone away to Birmingham and defended a lot more and got a draw. So they can do both and we need to be ready for both."
McKenna wary Owls could sit deep
Of the nine games Ipswich have won so far this term, only two of them have been by a one-goal margin, highlighting the Tractor Boys benefit from teams coming onto them and leaving space for them to exploit. With that said, McKenna has said his side must be prepared for the possibility of Wednesday sitting deep and making life difficult for them.
He continued: "It doesn't take me to sit here and say that the games this year that we've won by more margins are teams who've played more open against us or where we've got the first goal and teams have had to come out more. And we've had some games at home when teams have defended really, really deep that have been tougher.
"But again, I think you could probably look at the large majority of ball-dominant teams in world football and say that that's normally the case. And in our situation, with the amount of changes, it's probably going to be more likely so.
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"Ultimately, we need to be able to win both types of games. We need to be able to win whenever teams come and go toe-to-toe with us. And we need to be able to win games whenever teams come to frustrate us.
"Whichever way it comes tomorrow, we need to be ready for both challenges. We'll give them full respect."