Ipswich Town: Kieran McKenna on using 26 players in Premier League

Eight games into the Premier League season and already Kieran McKenna has used 26 players.  

Third-choice keeper Cieran Slicker, back-up left-back Conor Townsend and the recently fit-again Nathan Broadhead are the only ones not to have got on the field for league action so far. 

There are reasons for that.  

Chiedozie Ogbene has started two league games since joining Ipswich Town on August 28. (Image: PA)

Six players – Sammie Szmodics, Kalvin Phillips, Jens Cajuste, Jack Clarke, Dara O’Shea and Chiedozie Ogbenne - all joined late in the transfer window. 

There have been injuries too. Harry Clarke, Broadhead, George Hirst and Ali Al-Hamadi all had limited pre-seasons, Aro Muric, Kalvin Phillips and Wes Burns have been forced to sit games out, while Axel Tuanzebe, Jacob Greaves, Ben Johnson, Massimo Luongo and Cajuste are currently sidelined. 

I make it three different centre-back pairings, three different midfield partnerships and six different combinations of the attacking trio behind the striker so far. 

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"It was a challenging summer, a lot of the group didn’t really come together until the end of August, and since then we’ve had four weeks when players have been away on international duty,” said McKenna, speaking after Saturday’s disappointing 2-0 home defeat to Everton. 

“We’ve had one home game since the end of August, so it’s not been very easy to get momentum and get into the season, especially when we’re having some injuries and we’re having to be put debutants in every week and new players in different partnerships with players they haven’t played with before. There’s no doubt that makes a challenge.  

Jacob Greaves is now set for a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. (Image: PA)

“But it’s a long season and there will hopefully be spells where we will have more consistency and continuity.” 

Early defeats to Liverpool and Man City came as little surprise, then four successive draws - against Fulham, Brighton, Southampton and Aston Villa – raised positivity levels. Successive defeats to West Ham and Everton have dampened spirits though. 

“We want to have more points on the board than we do. Of course, it’s important to pick up points,” said McKenna, whose side travel to Brentford on Saturday. 

MORE: Watch our latest Kings of Anglia podcast following 2-0 defeat to Everton

“We have played eight games and we’ve got a result in four of them. If two of them had been wins, even if one of those had have been a win and we had the same points, then that would be a little bit different. 

Sam Morsy is one of four Town men to have started all eight Premier League games so far. (Image: PA)

“It is what it is, we can’t focus on that. We know that there are things we need to improve on, but we also feel that for spells in all the games we’ve really been in the game. 

“When we can impose our structure, our patterns, our organisation on teams, on and off the ball, then our individual quality also comes to the fore and we look like we can be a competitive side in the division. 

“But we’ve also felt that games can get away from you quickly in terms of momentum. We’re feeling that the individual quality of the opposition players is really, really high, much higher than most of our players have experienced before, and moments in games and moments of quality can cost you. 

“Mistakes can be punished really, really ruthlessly and when a game gets away from you, it’s really, really hard to wrestle it back. 

“For us it’s about trying to stick on the right path, keep doing the things that we’re doing well, while also being honest and open enough to reflect and try and improve the things we’re not doing so well.” 

Ben Johnson is one of three different players to have started at right-back so far. (Image: PA)

ITFC’S 24/25 PREMIER LEAGUE COMBOS SO FAR 

CENTRE-BACK 

4 games: O’Shea/Greaves 

3: Woolfenden/Greaves 

1: Woolfenden/Burgess 

CENTRE-MIDFIELD 

5: Morsy/Phillips 

2: Morsy/Luongo 

1: Morsy/Cajuste  

RIGHT SIDE 

3: Tuanzebe/Burns 

2: Tuanzebe/Ogbenne 

1: Tuanzebe/Johnson 

1: Johnson/Burns 

1: O’Shea/Burns 

LEFT-SIDE 

4: Davis/Szmodics 

3: Davis/Clarke 

1: Davis/Hutchinson 

PREMIER LEAGUE STARTS 24/25

8: Davis, Morsy, Hutchinson, Delap

7: Muric, Greaves

6: Tuanzebe

5: O'Shea, Phillips, Burns

4: Woolfenden, Szmodics

3: J.Clarke

2: Johnson, Luongo, Ogbene

1: Walton, Burgess, Cajuste, Chaplin

Sub app(s) only: H.Clarke, Edmundson, Taylor, Harness, Hirst, Al-Hamadi

Unused: Slicker, Townsend, Broadhead