McKenna: It's a Really Big Game
Thursday, 12th Dec 2024 18:46
Town boss Kieran McKenna admits Saturday’s trip to Molineux to face Wolverhampton Wanderers is a big game, but dismisses the six-pointer tag.
The Blues go into the game in 18th, ahead of Wolves on goal difference alone with both teams now four points from safety.
The Old Gold, who finished 14th in the top flight last season, 20 points clear of relegation, have won twice in the league this season, back-to-back victories over bottom club Southampton at home, 2-0, and then away at Fulham, 4-1, either side of last month’s international break.
Since then, like Town, they have lost three on the bounce, although while conceding 10 goals. A 4-2 home defeat to AFC Bournemouth was followed by a 4-0 loss at Everton and then Monday’s 2-1 reverse at West Ham.
A win for either side would be a huge boost after disappointing runs and ahead of the busy Christmas period but McKenna says he’s not one to look at any match as a six-pointer.
“It's a really big game,” he said. “But I've never described a game like that whether we were at the top of the table for the last couple of years or the bottom of the table.
“This season, I've never described anything as a six-pointer and I only really worry about our performances, trying to accumulate as many points as we can, and what other teams do over the course of the season will take care of itself.
“It's another big game for us. It's one that we'd love to get a positive result in. The best way to do that is to go and deliver a good performance and everything that's going to entail in a game like this and give ourselves the best chance to go and try and win it. That's what we're trying to do.”
Wolves manager Gary O’Neil, who has been in charge since August 2023 having left AFC Bournemouth earlier in that summer, is under significant pressure but no change is anticipated before the weekend after a vote of confidence from the club’s owners Fosun.
At Molineux, Wolves have won once in the league this season, the victory over the Saints, drawn one and lost five.
They have scored 11 times at home during 2024/25, the 12th-most in the division, but have conceded 18, more than any other side on their own turf in the top flight.
Overall, they are the division’s eighth-highest scorers home and away, 23, but their goals-against tally of 38 is the worst in the Premier League, seven more than second-worst Southampton.
Given their position and recent record, McKenna was asked how the Blues might be able to exploit the situation.
“I think going away from home, there are always two edges to that sword, especially against a team who are not in a position that the supporters are happy with,” he said.
“We know that if they get momentum up and get the first goal, then I'm sure they'll all pull together because they're fighting really hard for the result.
“But you also know going away from home that if you can impose yourself on the game, if you can take away the performance that the home team want and if you can get the first goal, then you've got a great chance of turning that momentum against them.
“I think that always counts in your away games, especially against teams who aren't performing or aren't picking up the results as they would hope. I think that's the situation going into this weekend.
“We can only focus on delivering our best performance possible and hope that that will give us the game that we want and a good chance to get the win.”
McKenna believes it’s vital for his players not to get distracted by the noise around the fixture.
“Very important,” he said. “Going into these games, it's a different experience for us, but I think it's very, very similar to when you're competing at the top of the division when games are built up extra because you're playing a team around you in the table.
“The most important thing is to focus on your job, the details and your execution because those are the things that will make a difference.
“So we know there'll be noise around the game. Again, I've been in this situation many times and it can go one way or another with the home crowd, and that can't be our concern.
“We know that they'll get behind the team and if we give them the initiative in the game, then it'll be a really noisy atmosphere and it can be a noisy stadium.
“So we have to focus on ourselves, our jobs, our details, our execution and give ourselves the best chance.”
Despite the similar positions in the table, only one manager is going into the game under pressure with his job in question with McKenna unlikely to find himself in the same position this season given the journey he has taken the club on since being appointed three years ago on Monday.
The Blues boss was asked whether he had any sympathy for O’Neil in his current situation.
“First of all, I think we're all under pressure and I think for most managers who get to this level, pressure from outside noise isn't going to be as big as the pressure that you put on yourself,” he responded.
“I've met Gary a few times, he's a good man. I'm pretty sure the pressure that he would feel is the pressure that every manager feels, which is to do the very, very best for your team. It isn't what people are saying on the outside about you.
“I think we're all under pressure, it's the nature of the job and it's something that can drive you on. I think Gary's done a good job there in many aspects and is a good man and a good coach. But hopefully we will get the result on Saturday.”
McKenna faced O’Neil’s Wolves last summer in the Carabao Cup when Town came from two goals down to win 3-2 at Portman Road, a victory over a Premier League club which was among the early signs that the Blues might have a season to remember following their return to the Championship.
“It was a good moment in the season last year,” he recalled. “The way that we won the game was a good moment for the course of the season and it was a part of our story last year.
“I don't think it's any percentage part of the story this year, to be honest. I think it's not something that we will draw on with so many new players. We've got new players and it's a different league.
“But in terms of last season, it was a good moment for us and gave the squad confidence, which was a good boost in the season.”
While Wolves have had a poor start to the season, Brazilian international striker Matheus Cunha has made plenty of headlines, having netted seven times in the first 15 games and also having had three strikes nominated for the Premier League’s Goal of the Month gong in November, the first time anyone has achieved the feat.
“He's an extremely talented player and he's someone we certainly need to watch out for,” McKenna said.
“[Jørgen] Strand Larsen is doing very well as well [having scored six times since joining on loan from Celta Vigo]. And they've got very good individuals, very, very good individuals.
“I think if anyone has seen their games this year, a lot of their games, they can play at a really, really high level. And you look at the pedigree of their individual players, it's really, really high.
“So, as much as they've lost players over the last season or two, they've still got a really, really high individual talent level.
“We need to be ready for that. We need to deal with their individual threats as well as we can and try and pose ourselves on the game.”
All six of the goals Wolves have conceded in their last two games have come via set pieces and McKenna was asked whether this is an area which the Blues have particularly looked at as a weakness ahead of the trip.
“It’s something that we have been working on going into every game,” he said. “They’ve conceded some set-piece goals lately, but we work on it every game anyway and there’s no doubt it’s such a big, big part of the game.
“The results and the narrative that follow each game swings so much on a set play goal. Their game on Monday night was even-stevens and then West Ham scored a corner.
“Wolves got a goal back and then West Ham scored second-phase deep free-kick, which really should have been a foul. That changes the swing and the flow of the game.
“We’re trying to be as dangerous as we can on set plays. We were happy with the one we scored against Bournemouth from the long throw and keeping the ball alive.
“The second phase of our set plays are getting better but we still need to do better in terms of scoring off first contacts and first phase. We haven’t managed to do that cleanly this year, and we’ve had some big chances.
“And we need to defend them really, really well because we know the margins are really small. When you look at our last three games, all have been decided on a one-goal margin, Forest decided on a penalty. Set plays are big in it and we need to be as strong as we can on Saturday.”
Quizzed on what he believes will give Town the edge over Wanderers at the weekend, McKenna laughed: “We'll see on Saturday. The talking here isn't going to count for anything in that respect.
“We know we're playing against a really, really good side with some very good individual players, but we believe in ourselves and we'll see on Saturday.”
McKenna all but confirmed he is going to stick with Aro Muric in goal, despite the Kosovo international’s costly error for Bournemouth’s first goal last weekend.
Having been generally happy with the performance, the Blues boss may not make many changes of personnel, although may be forced to do so having reported some illness in the camp at his pre-match press conference.
Assuming everyone is well enough to be involved, Leif Davis and Ben Johnson look set to continue as the full-backs and Dara O’Shea and Cameron Burgess the centre-halves.
McKenna may make a change in the centre of midfield with Jens Cajuste probably returning for Jack Taylor alongside skipper Sam Morsy, who is still on four bookings with a fifth leading to a one-match ban until the end of the 19th game of the campaign, Chelsea’s visit on December 30th. The Egyptian international has now gone eight games without a yellow card.
The Blues boss has options in the trio ahead of the double pivot but may decide to continue with Conor Chaplin in the centre, Omari Hutchinson - also on four cautions - on the right and Sammie Szmodics on the left.
Liam Delap, another walking a yellow card tightrope, is once again set to be up front.
The teams are fairly evenly matched over the years, Town winning 30 times (28 in the league), Wolves 29 (26) and with 25 games (22) ending in draws.
However, more recently, the Blues are without a win in seven league games against Wanderers stretching back to 2-1 home victory under former Wolves boss Mick McCarthy in November 2014.
McCarthy also achieved Town’s only victory at Molineux in their last 17 visits, a 2-0 success over the club which had sacked him the previous season in December 2012, a couple of months into his time with the Blues. The Old Gold were relegated at the end of that campaign, while the former Ireland boss saw Town to safety from what had looked a hopeless position.
The Blues also won the last top-flight meeting between the clubs, 3-0 at Molineux in April 1984 under Bobby Ferguson.
The teams last met at Portman Road in the Carabao Cup in September last year when Taylor smashed a brilliant 25-yard winner as then-Championship new boys Town came from two goals behind to beat Wolves 3-2 at Portman Road to reach the fourth round of the competition for the first time in 13 years.
Hwang Hee-Chan put Wolves in front in the fourth minute, then Toti made it 2-0 on the quarter-hour mark, before the Blues fought back, Hutchinson pulling one back in the 28th minute, Freddie Ladapo levelling on 39 prior to Taylor completing a remarkable turnaround with his stunner 13 minutes into the second half.
The teams most recently faced one another in the league at Portman Road in the Championship in January 2018 when Matt Doherty’s 15th-minute goal saw top-of-the-table Wolves, who ultimately claimed the title, to a 1-0 victory over Town.
Doherty nodded home a Barry Douglas cross at the far post with the impressive visitors subsequently looking more likely to add to their lead than the Blues were to level with Town keeper Bartosz Bialkowski making a string of outstanding saves.
Earlier that season at Molineux, Ivan Cavaleiro’s 40th-minute goal saw Wolves a 1-0 victory over the Blues.
Town contained the Championship leaders until five minutes before the break and despite showing more attacking intent in the second half, rarely looked like taking anything from the game.
Blues skipper Morsy was born in Wolverhampton and started his career with his hometown club but left before making a senior appearance in the old gold.
Just prior to the cup meeting between the teams last season, young attacker Tawanda Chirewa joined Wolves having left the Blues after turning down new terms at Town at the end of the previous campaign.
The 21-year-old has made one Premier League start and seven sub appearances - plus another two games from the bench in the FA Cup - for the Molineux club but is currently on loan at Derby.
Saturday’s referee is Simon Hooper, his assistants Adrian Holmes and Simon Long, and the fourth official Leigh Doughty. The VAR official is Darren England, who refereed Town’s only win this season at Tottenham and was the VAR for the Aston Villa and West Ham matches, and his assistant is Akil Howson.
Wiltshire-based Hooper has shown 56 yellow cards and one red in 11 games so far this season.
His most recent Town match was the 2-0 victory over Huddersfield Town at Portman Road in May which confirmed promotion back to the Premier League after a gap of 22 years. Hutchinson and one Terrier were yellow-carded during that match.
Hooper hadn’t refereed the Blues for six years before that with his last visit to Suffolk the 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa in April 2018, the Blues’ heaviest home loss in seven years.
Town, with Bryan Klug and assistants Gerard Nash and Chris Hogg in caretaker charge, were reduced to 10 men in the 42nd minute when Grant Ward was dismissed for catching Neil Taylor with a high boot as he looked to take the ball down on the turn. Hooper showed no other cards that afternoon.
A few months earlier, in the January, he had refereed the 1-0 defeat to Wolves at Portman Road in which he booked Callum Connolly, Stephen Gleeson, Martyn Waghorn and one of the visitors.
He also refereed the 2-1 win at Burton Albion in October 2017 when he booked Luke Chambers, Cole Skuse and Bersant Celina - for his shirtless goal celebration - as well as one Brewer.
Hooper also took charge of the previous month’s 3-1 home defeat to Bristol City in which he yellow-carded Jonas Knudsen, Joe Garner and one Robins player.
Prior to that he was the man in the middle of the 1-1 draw at home to Preston in January 2016 when he showed yellow cards to Brett Pitman and three Lilywhites.
In the preceding September he was the man in the middle during the 3-0 Capital One Cup defeat at Manchester United in which he booked only Jonny Parr.
Before that he refereed the Blues’ 2-0 home victory over Burnley at Portman Road in August of the same year in which he yellow-carded visitors’ winger Michael Kightly and no one else.
Hooper officiated in the 1-0 defeat at Reading in August 2014 in which he booked Tommy Smith, Tyrone Mings, Christophe Berra and two home players.
He also took control of the 1-0 win at Yeovil the previous season and the 3-0 home win against Crystal Palace in April 2013.
Muric, Walton, Slicker, Davis, Townsend, Johnson, H Clarke, O’Shea, Woolfenden, Burgess, Greaves, Morsy (c), Cajuste, Phillips, Luongo, Taylor, Hutchinson, Chaplin, Szmodics, J Clarke, Broadhead, Burns, Delap, Al-Hamadi.
TWTD
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