'A lot of Championship experience' - Sheffield Wednesday squad assessed by Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna
Kieran McKenna has insisted his Ipswich Town side will face “a lot of Championship experience” when they visit Sheffield Wednesday.
The Tractor Boys sit fourth in the Championship table and will be heavily fancied to beat rock-bottom Wednesday, who have already had their relegation to League One confirmed.
A lot has been made of the stretched nature of Wednesday’s squad, which has been stripped of some of its key figures.
However, McKenna has pointed out the Owls do have some seasoned operators in their ranks.
Sheffield Wednesday squad hailed
He said: “They got a well-deserved point the other night [against Watford], they’ve been close in lots of other games lately, are rarely getting well beaten and are competing really well. Credit to him (manager Henrik Pedersen) for that.
“But, to be honest, they’ve got good Championship experienced players. You go through their team and there’s a lot of Championship experience there. There are some strong players.
“Henrik’s doing a really good job managing a difficult situation and I think it’s a testament to them and probably to the league that a team that is going to get relegated because of the points deduction is still competing in every game. I think it’s a credit to them.
“And that gives us full awareness of the challenge we’re going to face on Saturday. We know it’s a game where nothing’s going to be given to us, we’re going to have to go there and earn it.
“We’re going to have to go there and deliver the performance and take the result. No one’s going to hand it to us, so that’s what we’re going to face on Saturday.”
Sheffield Wednesday’s competitive spirit
Wednesday may have won just once in the league all season but McKenna has lauded the way in which the crisis-stricken club battled.
Their fighting spirit was on full display on Tuesday (March 10), when they battled their way to a 1-1 draw with Watford at Hilsborough.
McKenna said: “I don’t study them inside out until we come up to the games that we’re playing against them, but from what I’ve seen, from when we played them last time, from what I’ve watched in the last few days, from when I hear him speak, I think he’s dealing with a difficult situation really well.
“I still see them competing pretty much every week, competing in every game. Certainly, a group of players that haven’t given up, that are still approaching games in a really positive manner.”