Ogbene’s Premier League campaign ended after only five games when he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury and that’s been a big blow for McKenna.
“It's been a challenge. We've not been able to settle a team. Certainly on the right side at the moment we feel the loss of Axel (Tuanzebe) and Chieo (Ogbene). It's such an important side of the team for us,” the Fermanagh native said, though he was also enthused by the impact made by Ogbene’s compatriot Jack Taylor, who scored his first Premier League goal for the club last week.
“The physicality that those two bring in the most physical league in the world in the most physical month of the season, we feel their loss.
“There's been some other disruption, but it is what it is. We focus on the players that we've got.
“The players that have come into the team generally come in and do well in this environment. Jack Taylor was a good example against Bournemouth).
“We'd liked to have had better availability over the course of the season, but we're trying to deal with that the best we can and adapt as best we can. I think, in general, the players are doing a pretty good job of that.
“Even with everybody fit our subs bench wouldn't look like other subs benches in terms of Premier League experience.
“Having lots of forwards available to rotate is really, really important for us and was a big part of our success over the last couple of seasons. We want to be at a full quota with those as often as we can and we want to make those positions as strong as we can.
“We tried to make them stronger in the summer window and we need to make them stronger in the January window.”
Meanwhile, Blackpool manager Steve Bruce says that Irish defender Andy Lyons will be “like a new signing” when he returns from a long-term injury.
Former Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians man Lyons has been absent since he suffered an ACL injury in February but he was able to step up his rehab in the last week as he was given the all-clear to join in for some team training, after a long stint confined to the gym.
“He’s making big progress, which is good,” says Bruce. “I’ve seen him work his socks off around the training ground, so we’re hoping he comes back okay.
“He’s on the grass and joining in with bits and pieces. I’ve not seen him or Elkan (Baggott) train really, so they’ll be like a couple of new signings.”