suffolknews.co.uk
Town boss wary of Rashford threat as Blues head into ‘good test’ at Villa Park
Kieran McKenna believes taking his side to Villa Park on Saturday (3pm) will be ‘a good test’ for his relegation-threatened side with Marcus Rashford able to add another dimension to Unai Emery’s attacking options.The Northern Irishman knows the out-of-favour England striker well from his time as a coach at Manchester United and is wary of the threat the January loan signing could pose on his Premier League debut for the ninth-placed Villians.“I think Marcus at his best would be an addition to any team in the league really so yes, we know what a threat he is,” he said at his pre-match press conference this afternoon.
Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna believes facing Unai Emery’s Champions League-progressing team at Villa Park will be ‘a good test’ Picture: Phil Ham“Of course, the boys faced him as well not so long ago with Man United (Rashford scored in a 1-1 draw), but I've also seen him up close at his best as well and he can be a fantastic player.“So, yes, we know his qualities. We know there's a chance that we'll come up against him in some respect on Saturday, whether that's from the start or off the bench and they've got a really deep, high quality forward unit where they can make really impactful subs.“They can change the balance of the attacking unit by just changing some personnel and you're going to face a really strong front four at the start of the game and there's every chance you're going to face a really strong, different front four at the end of the game.
Liam Delap celebrates scoring the first of his two goals in the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa at Portman Road in late September Picture: Barry Goodwin“So we've had to be thorough in our preparation and look forward to taking on that challenge and Marcus will be part of that.”Quizzed on what it had been like working close up with the 27-year-old who has 60 England caps, scoring 17 goals, he said: “Yes, he was enjoyable to work with, of course, a big talent. “I had known him for a little bit longer because he'd come through the academy set up and I joined the academy set up just after he'd progressed to the first team but we faced him in the FA Youth Cup. “I was close with the academy coaches who worked with him so it was pretty easy for me to build a good relationship and a good trust with him and he's not so much of a young player anymore but he was when I worked on that.
Axel Tuanzebe heads towards goal in the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa at Portman Road earlier this season Picture: Barry Goodwin“Most young players, building that trust and that rapport is important. We managed to have that and he's a big talent so hopefully this will be a good move for him in terms of getting back into form and playing regularly which I'm sure he'll want to do.“And I'm sure he had some different options and has made his judgement on the right criteria.“He certainly went to a good club to play under a top manager whose team are still in a lot of competitions.Marcus Rashford 🗣️“I can hurt teams when I am playing at my best and I can decide football games. That’s my only ambition and goal, to help the team win games and win points. Hopefully create history.” 🟣🔵 #avfc pic.twitter.com/GzcBwuKtDD— 𝐓𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 (@Total_Villa) February 12, 2025 “So yes, I hope it goes well for him but of course not on Saturday.” Second bottom Town go into the weekend’s return to Premier League action, following a morale-boosting 4-1 Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round victory at Championship Coventry City, despite McKenna fielding a different XI, looking to respond to four straight defeats. The latest came in a 2-1 home loss to basement side Southampton the Town boss described as a ‘painful defeat’ but one he had been pleased with a number of aspects of the performance as well as the response he had got from his squad.[embedded content]He said: “Everyone was really disappointed by the result but the reaction has been what it needed to be.“We felt the hurt together, we analysed the things that we needed to do better and then we've got on with trying to improve as well as trying to improve the group of new players. “It was a good week last and a good game in the cup and now we look forward to a big challenge.”The reverse fixture with Villa saw Town claim a point in a 2-2 draw in late September, with Liam Delap equalising in the 73rd minute, after Morgan Rogers (15’) and Ollie Watkins (32’) had overturned his early opener. And McKenna believes they can draw on that display against Emery’s eighth-placed side as they bid to create an upset at Villa Park.“I thought it was a really good team performance, no doubt about it,” he said on being asked to reflect on their last meeting.“I thought we played well. It was pretty early in the season, but in a sort of run where we were finding our feet.“A good team performance against a really good team in front of a raucous Portman Road. “It's one of the days that we enjoyed and we need to remember playing against Aston Villa at Portman Road and performing how we did and getting a point from the game was a really good day for the club.“And we want to have some more and hopefully we'll have one on Saturday.”He added: “Of course, going away to their stadium is going to be another challenge up again and they've improved and added again.“But it's a good test for us. Liam did well on the day and he knows he's going to be required to really perform well and step up for the team again on Saturday.”Villa go into the game off knocking Tottenham Hotspur out of the FA Cup 2-1 on Sunday, having lost their last Premier League match 2-0 away at Town’s relegation rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 which halted their unbeaten league run at five matches.