McKenna gears up for daunting task as Ipswich brace for Man City

According to their manager Kieran McKenna, who went up against Liverpool on the first match of the season.

McKenna knows he may well be staring at two defeats from two games after the Manchester City contest. 

“There are so many things because it's one of the greatest club sides that's ever been built, no doubt about that, and they've been successful and consistently successful over a long period of time,” he said to reporters. 

“They've done it with a really well-developed and attacking style of play, and they've evolved year by year as well, both in personnel and in terms of how they tweak their system and evolve their structures in possession, especially. 

“They've evolved year by year and they're always looking to give the opposition different problems and different challenges to deal with, and we've seen that already in the early games in pre-season and this season. 

“They're a wonderful side, there's no doubt they've been, in my opinion, the strongest club side in the world over a good number of years now and it's a great challenge for anyone to face them. 

“I have the experience of going to the stadium and competing against them before (as a member of the Manchester United coaching staff) and hopefully we can utilize the experiences that we have in the building every week, and this week will be the same.  

“But there's no doubt it's a massive challenge. They're a fantastic team, but it's one that we have to embrace, it's one for us to look forward to, it's one that I think if we approach in the right way and we embrace the task, then I think we'll be much stronger for it. 

“Similar to last week, having these two games first really does put us in at the deep end of the challenge, but I think that's the best and the fastest way to adapt to the level and to really feel the full force of what's ahead of us, but also for us to improve ourselves quickly.  

“I think it's another great game for us to have so early in the season. We look forward to it, the players are looking forward to it and all the supporters looking forward to it and we'll take the challenge head-on.”