Kieran McKenna Addresses Injuries, Upcoming Wolves Clash, and Goalkeeper Muric’s Performance

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna addressed reporters ahead of Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Wolves, scheduled for a 15:00 GMT kick-off. The following are the main points from his press briefing. McKenna stated that there were no “very significant” new injury concerns. However, he noted the presence of “seasonal illnesses” within the squad and confirmed that certain players, such as Kalvin Phillips and Ben Johnson, are still being “managed.” Regarding the upcoming match against fellow relegation contenders Wolves at Molineux, McKenna remarked: “You know going away from home there are always two edges to that sword. Especially against a team who are not in a position supporters are happy with. We know if they get momentum up, if they get the first goal then I’m sure they will all pull together because they are all fighting really, really hard for the result.” He further elaborated: “You also know, going away from home, if you can impose yourself on the game, if you can take away the performance that the home team want and you can get the first goal, then you have a chance of turning that momentum against them. That always counts for you in away games and probably against teams who aren’t performing and picking up results that they would hope. That is the situation going into this weekend.” The Ipswich manager affirmed that the club “support all of our players” following a mistake made by goalkeeper Arijanet Muric during their 2-1 loss to Bournemouth last weekend. He added: “We know that mistakes are going to be made over the course of the season. We think that he’s an extremely talented goalkeeper, I have to say. I think he’s got attributes to his game that are top, top class. He’s also very young for a goalkeeper and settling into a new club.” McKenna continued: “There are areas of his game that he’s working really, really hard on and we’re fully engaged in that process with him. Obviously he was disappointed with Bournemouth’s first goal on Saturday. With any goal that goes against you it’s never just one thing though. There were a couple of other things as a team, and with individuals within the team, that we could have done better to stop the goal.” McKenna commented that errors are “the nature of football and that’s the nature of being a goalkeeper” due to “margins are really, really fine.” Despite this, he expressed a desire to commend the Kosovo international, stating: “He’s been in good form. Up until that moment on Saturday I think he had a good game. His performances have been improving as the season’s gone on. He’s been helping us in a lot of different situations and I think he’s been really growing into the season.”