'We have to embrace the emotion and passion' - McKenna on home clash with Derby

More than 28,000 tickets have been sold for this televised clash between two of League One's fallen giants, with the teams currently placed second and ninth in the table respectively.

"It's a really big fixture and we can't wait for the game," enthused McKenna. "Two big football clubs, two passionately and heavily supported football clubs, two of the clubs with the biggest home attendances outside the Premier League this season, and bigger than some in the Premier League, so that in itself signifies the size of both clubs.

"They're a good team with lots of good players. They kept the majority of their key players from their Championship team last year, which performed well in difficult circumstances (a 21-point deduction for breaching financial rules), and they've added to it very well over the summer.

"Now, of course, they've brought in Paul (Warne) who is a vastly experienced and successful manager at this level.

"It's two good teams who are going to battle and fight to get a win. It makes for a really good night."

Town striker Kayden Jackson has predicted it's going to be 'a bit of a war on the night' based on his experiences of facing Warne's Rotherham sides of the recent past.

"Look, I think it's going to be a game with a lot of energy," said McKenna. "There's going to be a lot of emotion and passion in the stands and hopefully also on the pitch. That's something that we have to embrace.

"We know that Paul's teams present a big physical challenge and there are certain things you need to be ready for and stand up to.

"We also know that we have to maintain our composure and impose ourselves on the game as and when we can do so.

"There are bits of the game that are going to be a battle. There will be times when the technical and tactical side of it will come in a little bit more.

"All-in-all it makes for a really exciting game."

Warne has overseen league wins at Cambridge (2-0) and Accrington (3-0), as well as a 2-1 home loss to Port Vale so far.

"He's managed to put his stamp on it straight away," said McKenna. "I think you could see, from his first game against Cambridge, that the system and style was instantly different.

"He's in the process of putting his mark on that team. I think he's got very good ingredients for it, to be fair. There are lots of players there who are good enough and experienced enough to play in different ways. I'm sure he's working very hard with them so they can adapt to what he wants.

"We need to be ready for that, but the focus is primarily on ourselves and delivering the performance that we can."

When it was put to McKenna that this match, stylistically, was likely to be very different to the last two his team had played at home, the Northern Irishman smiled and replied: "I would think so. We had Cambridge and Lincoln who were both deep, low blocks and who came to frustrate and slow the game down.

"You never know, of course. They (Derby) have a right to do whatever they want to do. But you can usually be largely confident that a Paul Warne side are going to come and try and be aggressive and play with a lot of energy and running and endeavour. He does a really good job of getting that out of his teams.

"It's going to be a much more open game that will have more end-to-end elements. There will be a lot more transitions. Hopefully it will be an exciting game and, most importantly, one where we pick up three points.

Town striker Jackson said: "We leave (last weekend's 1-0 home loss) to Lincoln behind us because we know tomorrow is going to a hell of a lot different. It's a different team, different manager and different style of play.

"It's going to be a tough game. It's going to be a bit of a war on the night. We'll give our all to come out on top.

"Growing up I didn't think I'd be anywhere near one of these games. It's going to be a good atmosphere and as players we need to give the crowd something to feed off."