Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna feels goals in FA Cup tie at Coventry City will be a confidence boost to Jack Clarke
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna felt Jack Clarke’s two goals as the Blues beat Coventry 4-1 at the CBS Stadium in the FA Cup will be a confidence-booster for the summer signing from Sunderland, who he has no doubt will make it as a Premier League player.
Clarke, 24, has been in and out of the Town team since making a £15 million move from Wearside in the summer but the York-born forward was the Blues’ standout performer as McKenna’s side booked a place in round five for the first time since 2007.
“There were some positives out there, for sure,” the Town manager said regarding his side’s display. “Some really good individual performances, players who showed the growth that they’re making in their careers really, with the level of performance they put in.
“And as a team there were some good things, especially in the first half. We put some good moves together, cut through the pitch on a few occasions and looked a goal threat. So we were good value for the lead.
“I think the second half could have been better. We got the goal fairly early in the half which probably put the threat of the game to bed and we made some mistakes, but the game was pretty comfortable and we still defended our box pretty well.
“There are some tired bodies out there who got some really good minutes in, so there were lots of good things and really nice to be through to the next round.”
Clarke fired in his first goal to make it 2-1 on 28 minutes, then poked home his second to make it 3-1 nine minutes later, taking his tally for the season to three, all in the FA Cup.
“I think it’ll be a boost for him, but I’ve got no doubt about Jack’s qualities,” McKenna said.
“He’s showing it in training, there have been signs of that performance in training, his understanding of everything in terms of the position, how he can affect the game, the demands of our group. His understanding of that is really growing.
“I’ve said it before but you can’t underestimate the jump and the change for someone like Jack and we’ve probably got a few players in that category, who were signed late in the transfer window into a new group, have never played in the Premier League, joining a club that hasn’t been in the Premier League for 22 years.
“And trying to settle into all that change in the toughest league in the world as an attacking player is not easy.
“We know how talented he is, he’s a player we’ve signed to help us this year, which he is, and for the future as well, and I’m sure he’s going to keep improving and I think today was not a big surprise to me.
“I thought he showed some really good qualities and he was very, very difficult to handle today and his work off the ball was outstanding, which I think is a big, big jump forward from what he was doing over previous seasons as well. He’s making good progress and today’s a good little boost for him.”
Asked if Clarke can replicate today’s performance in the Premier League, McKenna added: “We think he can, that’s why we brought him in. We believe that he can be an effective Premier League footballer and establish himself as a Premier League footballer, as the group is trying to do and the club is trying to do.
“I think today is a confidence-booster, but there’s no doubt about it, Aston Villa next week is a big step up for everyone.
“But we believe that he can be a Premier League footballer and a very, very good one, that’s why we’ve brought him to the football club.
“Of course, the challenges in that process are numerous and they’re great this season, so how l quickly that process can happen, you can never say for sure.
“All you can do is keep working with the players in the right way and I think Jack’s certainly got the technical ability, the physical capability and he’s young enough to have an impact at the Premier League level.”
In April, the Blues edged their way past the Sky Blues to claim a 2-1 win which took his side to within a point of promotion. McKenna was asked whether the comparative comfort of today’s result illustrates the progress Town have made this season, particularly given he made 11 changes.
“In some ways, yes,” the Blues manager reflected. “I said it yesterday, I know that we’ve improved, I know that players have improved, I know that individuals who were here last year have improved. I know individuals who were playing in the Championship last year have improved over the last few months and we’re stronger in many areas.
“But we also know it’s a huge jump up to try and show that on a weekly basis, but I see it day-to-day.
“I think you can say it wasn’t a perfect performance and some things could have been done better but you can certainly say that there’s growth on an individual level.
“A lot of the players today when you see how they competed in that match and as a team, to be able to make changes and come to a really good Championship side and perform well and score four goals without probably playing our very, very best, I think is a good sign of how we’ve developed as a club.”
Does he see himself continuing to utilise his squad in the FA Cup or will that depend on the opposition?
“That’s a balancing act to get as you get deeper into the competition,” McKenna continued. “The big thing for me, I know having made a lot of changes today, if the game doesn’t go well there’ll be plenty said about it, that’s the reality of it, that will be blamed as the reason for the performance.
“But we’ve worked over the last few years and we’re working this year and I really believe in trying to work with a good-size group with two players for each position who we genuinely trust to play in any game.
“We train like that, we train as equals, we don’t train with a first XI and and second XI, we train the whole group in the same way. Those who aren’t playing every game get a lot of development and we genuinely trust all the players to go in and play in any game.
“It’s important that we show that in the cup competitions, but we also show that in the league and let’s see as the competition goes on, but it’s always going to be a case for me that I’m going to want to show the faith in the group and the players in the group who are working and training well will get opportunities to play.”
Regarding debutant keeper Alex Palmer, McKenna added: “I thought he did really well. He showed his qualities, some strong saves, some good presence in the box, lots of communication, he talks really well and he made good decisions when the ball came back to him and on his distribution.
“It was a perfect opportunity to get him a game, really. There was no doubt that he would play today with the opportunity to give him the game. That’s him up and running and we trust him to play in any game.”
Winger Jaden Philogene scored Town’s fourth, his first goal for the club following his move from Aston Villa in the transfer window and on his 23rd birthday.
“I think Jaden, really good to get his first goal,” McKenna said. “Again, probably like Jack, a real challenge, in Jaden’s case even more so in terms of coming in in January and trying to settle into a new team playing a different position that he played on his debut, playing with different players.
“But we know and we believe that he can be effective in a few different positions for us and I thought he did well on the right side today and took his goal well, and will only improve the more time he has with us.”
McKenna also had praise for George Hirst, who created the opportunity which led to the early penalty, which he converted, the striker having now made two starts and having scored in both.
“George, really good,” the Blues boss enthused. “He’s certainly in that bracket, if you want to talk about the centre-halves today and George and a few others, in that bracket of not having played loads and loads of games.
“But the way he works day-to-day, the players he’s competing against in training now on a daily basis and on a weekly basis when he comes on the pitch, the impact that he had on the centre-halves today, the handful that he was, shows great progress for him. I thought he was a really, really good outlet and was a big help to the team.”
Quizzed on who he wants to be paired with in Monday evening’s draw and how far he believes Town can progress in the competition, McKenna said: “I haven’t thought about who I want in the draw. But let’s go and try and go as far as we can. There’s 16 teams left now, so we’ll be watching out for the draw and whoever we get we’ll believe that we’ve got a chance.
“There’s no one we haven’t competed against this year in terms of the top teams and we’ve played everyone already in terms of the very, very top teams. Let’s see who we get and let’s see if we can do something special.”
McKenna says he’s not concerned by the extra matches that a long run in the competition will bring.
“I think we’re happy to have the games, certainly at the moment,” he said. “There’s a free weekend for the next [FA Cup] game anyway, it comes a few days after we go to Old Trafford.
“We’ve got a pretty healthy group, a pretty big group and we want to have the games. I think it’s been an adjustment this year having fewer games in the Premier League anyway, so we’re more than happy to have the extra games at the moment.”
