Kieran McKenna, manager of Ipswich Town, has revealed that his players will have to deal with the psychological pressures of facing a Huddersfield Town side that has a new management this afternoon.
The Terriers quickly appointed Darren Moore as their new head coach after Neil Warnock left the club following a 2-2 draw at home against Stoke City.
Michal Helik’s stoppage-time volley earned them a point in his first game in charge, a 1-1 draw away to Coventry City.
They’re now ready to return to John Smith’s Stadium for Moore’s first home game, which will present an interesting task for Ipswich.
While McKenna’s team’s preparations will remain the same, he will need to ensure that they know what to expect from their opponents, which will be a challenging assignment.
“There have been no changes to the structure of how we prepare,” he remarked before the game. “Of course, the specifics of what we try to predict from Huddersfield and how they prepare for the game are different.”
“They’ve just played one game under the new manager, with a different system and organization.
“That game becomes really relevant, something that you’re looking at, but on the other hand, it’s only one game. You can’t predict everything from it.
“I think that, from a mental point of view, we need to be really ready for the fact that we’re now facing a team with a new manager going into his first home game.
“That always brings energy to the crowd and to the opposition that we have to be ready for and deal with.”
“In terms of how we do our work, our preparation is fairly consistent.” Things we can anticipate from Huddersfield may change slightly.
“Probably the biggest piece is being ready for the psychological change that can bring, and trying to stand up to that and use it to our advantage if possible.”
Moore is a familiar opponent for Town, who faced him on a frequent basis as his Sheffield Wednesday team won promotion from League One last season.
The Owls went on to win the play-offs, but he chose to leave Hillsborough rather than lead them to the Championship.
He is now in the Championship with the Terriers, a job McKenna believes will allow him to demonstrate his managerial ability.
“He’s done a good job with Sheffield Wednesday,” he said. “He scored 96 points last year, which would have been enough to win the league in any other season.”
“It’s fantastic to see him back in charge of a well-established Championship club.” I’m sure he’ll want to have an impact on the team as soon as possible.”
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