Ipswich Town

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Former Ipswich Town striker Alex Mathie said it will be boss Kieran McKenna's "biggest achievement" if he can get the side in contention at the top end of the Championship this season.

McKenna led a settled squad to successive promotions, taking Ipswich back to the Premier League, but last season's relegation from the top flight was followed by a significant churn of players over the summer.

They took six points from five games prior to Saturday's rain abandonment at Blackburn Rovers, when 10-man Town were losing 1-0 with 10 minutes to go.

"It's going to take time for McKenna to mould his team the way he wants them to play," Mathie told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"It will be a his biggest achievement to get this team up there challenging.

"At this moment in time, if we got to the play-offs, I'd be delighted with that - but it's going to be a tough ask for them. There's a lot of teams have got a head start on them, but who knows what they can do?

"I can't see us getting in the top two, we've not hit the ground running. But if we get to the play-offs, we might be able to peak at the right time."

Jacob Greaves and Dara O'Shea started the Blackburn game in central defence - prior to Greaves being sent off - and Mathie said he was not yet convinced by them as a pairing.

"They seem to get caught out. They go galloping forward and leave one there on their own, and that's what happened for the [Blackburn] goal," Mathie said.

"One ball over the top killed us, so I think they need to work on that together - as individuals. They are two very good centre-halves, but as a pairing, they are still to gel for me."

Ipswich Town defender Darnell Furlong says the "ambition of Ipswich is insane" following his move from West Bromwich Albion.

The 29-year-old got an assist and kept a clean sheet on his Tractor Boys debut, in their 5-0 win against Sheffield United last Friday.

"It was a really nice game to be involved in," he told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"I knew it would be a real tough game and it was to begin with, so it was nice to start with a strong performance.

"I didn't know it was the first clean sheet of the season until after the game, but really nice to do it at Portman Road."

Furlong departed the Baggies after six seasons with the West Midlands club.

"It is a strange feeling when you leave somewhere that you have been for a long time, it can be quite daunting," added Furlong.

"It is never easy to leave a club that you've been with for so long, where you enjoy and like playing.

"But, as I said to the manager when I first spoke to him, the ambition, from the outside when you're not part of it, it's insane to see what they are trying to do and where they are trying to go."

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna says his team's collective energy has been "boosted" by their 5-0 win against Sheffield United last weekend.

The win was Ipswich's first of the Championship season and their first at Portman Road since January.

"There has been a really good energy - although there was before the Sheffield United game anyway, we are pretty good at that in general," McKenna told BBC Suffolk.

"We have had that feeling since the international break really - the team was in a positive mindset and when you get a result like we did, it gives everyone a bit of confidence in the direction of travel."

Six Ipswich players have started all five of the club's opening five Championship games so far this season, with McKenna admitting opportunities will come for others, when the games start to come "thick and fast".

"I have said it many times, if you want to be one of the top teams in the division, you need to have really good strength in depth with different qualities and it feels like we have that," the head coach added.

"Only 11 players can start and if we want to be a top team in this league then we need to have a top bench and if you want to have two good players for every position, you are going to get good players miss out of the squad."

The Tractor Boys will be looking to make it back-to-back wins when they visit Valerien Ismael's Blackburn Rovers on Saturday (15:00 BST).

"We are expecting a tough game," McKenna added. "It is a different Blackburn team to the one we faced a couple of years ago, probably only a few of the same players, but they have a really good manager, who is experienced at this level."

Listen to more from McKenna and Ipswich Town on BBC Sounds.

Blackburn will seek to avoid unwanted history when Ipswich head to Ewood Park on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Though Valerien Ismael's side have picked up six points from their past three Championship games, both wins came on the road and they are seeking their first points infront of their own fans this season, having also suffered a home defeat to League One Bradford in the EFL Cup.

Kieran McKenna's Tractor Boys have also taken six points from their opening five games following their return to the Championship, though the 5-0 thumping of Sheffield United at Portman Road sees them two places ahead of Rovers on goal difference.

• Blackburn Rovers have won only one of their past seven league games against Ipswich Town (D2 L4), a 2-0 home win in January 2019 under Tony Mowbray.

• Ipswich completed a league double over Blackburn Rovers when the pair last met in the 2023-24 season – the last time either side went on a longer winning run in this matchup was between 1990 and 1992 (6 in a row by the Tractor Boys).

• Blackburn have lost both of their home Championship matches so far this season – they've only lost their first three home league games in two seasons before (1956-57 and 1996-97).

• Ipswich's 5-0 win over Sheffield United equalled their total league wins across their previous 23 games (W1 D7 L15) and their total clean sheets across their previous 38 combined (1).

• Jaden Philogene bagged a hat-trick against Sheffield United last time out, Ipswich's first Championship hat-trick for nine years, since Grant Ward netted on the opening day of 2016-17 versus Barnsley. Philogene now has seven goals in his last 11 Championship appearances.

"It was a good win against Sheffield United, but I didn't think the first half was the best, and United weren't very good to be fair and we weren't at it. But in the second half I thought we were really good.

"To make it even better, Marcelino Nunez who came on was outstanding - he has got something about him. If I was picking the team I would pick him every time."

"It [Ewood Park] is a difficult place to go, so if you go there and you get something you have done well."

Ipswich Town legend John Wark joins BBC Radio Suffolk to preview The Tractor Boys' trip to Ewood Park to face Blackburn and talks positives and negatives from their 5-0 win over Sheffield United.

Norwich City midfielder Liam Gibbs says he was "surprised" Marcelino Nunez moved to their East Anglian rivals Ipswich Town this summer.

The Chile midfielder made the controversial transfer to the Tractor Boys in August - the first senior player to do so since goalkeeper Andy Marshall in 2001 - for a reported £10m, startling his Canary team-mates.

"I was very surprised, it came as a shock to everyone," Gibbs told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"The players at Norwich have obviously all spoke about it and it's tough because he was a team-mate of ours. Nobody wants a team-mate to go to the rival club and then compete in the same league as us, going for promotion just like us.

"It's a horrible one but I think we've all sort of moved on from that now and just focus on what we can do and, come the derby game (at Portman Road on 5 October), hopefully keep the run going and beat them."

Gibbs knows a thing or two about such a switch, having done the reverse when he made the move to Norfolk from Ipswich's Under-18s team in 2021.

The 22-year-old was the last player to move between the two teams before Nunez's departure.

"I saw an opportunity to play first-team football because at the time I was just on the fringe of that," Gibbs said.

"I've come over, I've played a lot of Championship games and got a lot of Championship minutes which at the time I didn't feel I was going to get at Ipswich.

"I've made the decision based on what I felt what was best for me at the time. He [Nunez] may say the same thing and then I'll just have to say 'fair enough' to him. But I believe I've made the right decision."

Listen to the full interview with Gibbs and more Norwich City content on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Rex Features

Jaden Philogene's first senior hat-trick will be a big boost to the winger, according to Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna.

Philogene claimed the match ball as Ipswich hammered Sheffield United 5-0 to record their first Championship win of the season.

"It's a boost for Jaden on an individual level," McKenna said.

"He came to us late last season and was playing on the right and we know he prefers to play on the left but we had some injuries so we had to play him on the right."

The 23-year-old joined Ipswich from Aston Villa for £20m in January but could not help save the Suffolk side from dropping straight out of the Premier League.

"We've done a lot of work with him in the summer – for him it will be a big boost to his confidence and we know what qualities he can bring to the side," added McKenna.

Forward Chuba Akpom is looking to continue his good record against Sheffield United when Ipswich host them on Friday.

The 29-year-old scored three in two games against the Blades while at Middlesbrough in the 2022-23 season, when he would go on to win the golden boot after scoring 28 Championship goals.

Akpom has relished the recent international break as a chance for him and his fellow new signings to settle in as the Tractor Boys look to secure a first win of the season.

"We've really hammered down on the patterns of plays and how we want to defend and attack and I feel like it's definitely helped the team already," Akpom told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"Everyone just needs a bit of time to gel."

Akpom signed from Ajax on a season-long loan deal this summer and is looking forward to playing multiple roles whilst in Suffolk.

"I think the gaffer sees me as quite a versatile player. At Ajax I played left wing, right wing. But I think my best position is probably as a second striker."

With Ipswich 20th in the table after opening with three draws and a loss, Akpom has identified how his side can now kick on.

"Although on paper we've got amazing players we've got an amazing manager, you need more than that. You need hard work, team work, togetherness to survive in the Championship," he added.

Sheffield United on the other hand have failed to pick up a point from their opening four games, which for Akpom is a reason to proceed with caution.

"Any team that's played Ipswich has got something to prove so it's definitely going to be a difficult game," he added.

Listen to the full interview with Chuba Akpom and more Ipswich Town on Sounds.

Both Ipswich Town and Sheffield United will be looking for their first win of the season when they meet on Friday (20:00 BST), with the Blades so far failing to pick up a single point and sitting bottom of the Championship table.

The Tractor Boys clinched a 116th minute equaliser last time out against Derby County and despite not winning any games, they have scored four goals.

• Ipswich Town are winless in their last four league games against Sheffield United (D2 L2) since doing the double over the Blades in 2010-11.

• Sheffield United have drawn on five of their last seven league visits to Ipswich Town (W1 L1), with their only win in that time coming on the final day of the 2009-10 season when they won 3-0.

• Ipswich are without a win in their last 12 league games (D5 L7); last enduring a longer winless run in October 2009 of 14 games.

• Sheffield United are the only side still without a point in the Championship so far this season, losing their first four games. Only once have they lost their opening five league games of a Football League season, doing so in the second tier in 1995-96.

• Sheffield United (3.0) and Ipswich (2.6) have the highest expected goals totals from set pieces in the Championship this season.

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna has been speaking to the media ahead of Friday's game against Sheffield United (20:00 BST).

Here are the main talking points:

• The international break has benefitted the new players especially as they settle into their new club, helping the group and McKenna to get to know them.

• The late goal last time out to equalise with Derby County is important for fostering a never-say-die attitude that may help Town secure important points through the season.

• McKenna believes Sheffield United are a team to be wary of because of their losing start to the Championship season. The Blades have failed to pick up a single point so far but have suffered some tight losses and McKenna believes they will get back to winning ways sooner rather than later.

• It's expected that both Ipswich Town and Sheffield United will feature some new signings in their teams which brings some unknown to the fixture but McKenna is ultimately focused on making his side a "really hard team to play against".

• McKenna said loaning out Conor Chaplin to Portsmouth stemmed from some "honest conversations" between the two about playing time and that Chaplin's move was motivated by a desire to start games week in, week out because he still has a long playing career ahead of him.

Listen to Kieran McKenna's full pre-match thoughts and more Ipswich Town on Sounds.

Ipswich Town midfielder Jens Cajuste says he is "delighted" to be back at the club after re-signing for the 2025-26 season.

The Sweden international re-joined the Tractor Boys last month for a second season-long loan stint from Italian side Napoli.

"I am really excited, really happy," he told BBC Radio Suffolk. "I think it took a little longer than both parties expected, but it has turned out well.

"It is well known that I had a good time here, in the town. I enjoyed the coaching staff, the players and the place as a whole, so it has felt like a natural move.

"I was always keen on coming back, the club culture in general is something that I really appreciate."

Cajuste, 26, spent the entire 2024-25 season on loan at Portman Road, making 30 appearances in the top flight.

"I learned a lot, I had quite a few lessons and tough matches but those are the ones that you learn the most from," he added.

"To be honest, I think the English style of play is what suits me best. I have played in quite a few countries, but this is the one I have adapted to the best.

"This is a huge club with great players - I don't have any doubts about our ability to get back to the Premier League this season, at all."

Listen to the full interview and more from Ipswich on BBC Sounds.