Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Ipswich Town: Kieran McKenna’s verdict

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna didn’t hold back in his assessment of his side’s disappointing performance following a late 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers.

The Blues were flat, sloppy, and error-ridden at Ewood Park, appearing destined for a second straight away defeat after Andri Gudjohnsen headed home from a corner in the 76th minute.

However, substitute Sindre Walle Egeli struck in the final minute of added time to rescue a point and move Ipswich up to seventh in the Championship standings.

“We nicked a point at the death, but overall it was a poor performance in most areas,” McKenna admitted.

“I know where we are as a group, but tonight was far below our usual standards. We need to be totally honest about that. We’ve just had a frank discussion downstairs about how that performance came about tonight, from my point of view.

“We’ll take the late moment — good composure from the players who created it, and a very good finish from Sindre. There have been many games this season where we’ve deserved more than we got. Tonight falls into the opposite category, and you have to accept it.

You hope it becomes a moment we can look back on positively, but we also must — and will — address the level we showed because that won’t get us the season we want. We’re not hiding from that. We know we have to improve.”

When asked to explain what caused the display, McKenna said there were several factors, with the recent 2–1 loss at Oxford playing a key role.

“I think Friday’s defeat affected us more than I’d like. That was a game we normally win, but some moments went against us. If I’m honest, it knocked us — and not just tonight. I could see it at the training ground yesterday. We have to be stronger mentally.

“There are other reasons too, but those are best discussed individually. If I had to narrow it down, I’d say it’s a hangover from the disappointment of the other night — and those moments happen in a season.

“It’s a new group who haven’t built those shared experiences yet or developed that strong resilience to bounce back immediately. That starts the next day at training. The frustration from Friday carried into tonight, and that can’t happen.

To succeed in the Championship, resilience and toughness — individually and collectively — are vital. We lacked both tonight. We’ve talked about it and we need more from everyone.”

McKenna continued: “We could sit here and fool ourselves saying, ‘Great away point, brilliant goal.’ We’ll take the positives, of course. But the truth is the performance was a major step backward.

We pride ourselves on being the best version of ourselves. We need a response that begins Thursday morning — rebuilding confidence, trust, and resilience, because we face a strong side at Portman Road on Saturday.”

Asked whether fatigue — with this being the fourth match of seven in 22 days — played a role, the manager was unequivocal.

“No. Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t. But there are no excuses.”

Blackburn boss Valérien Ismaël harshly criticised the referee for failing to send off Azor Matusiwa for a last-man foul on Ryoya Morishita just before the break, branding the decision “disgraceful.”

McKenna’s own view was more measured: “From my angle, it could have gone either way. He’s ahead of Azor, but we have a very quick player chasing him (Leif Davis), and the attacker was on a slight angle.

Normally, I wouldn’t want a referee to send someone off in a borderline situation in the first half. But I understand why they would want the red. It went in our favour tonight.”

Ipswich now turn their attention to back-to-back home games against high-flying Coventry on Saturday and Stoke the following Wednesday.

“As always, some of the messaging stays inside the group,” McKenna concluded. “But the key point is that your response doesn’t begin in the next match. It starts with how you behave in the group, how you train, how you arrive the next day.

“A winning culture means when setbacks happen, most of the squad arrive determined not only to give their best but also to support others, push teammates, and lift those around them. That’s what we need to see when we return on Thursday morning.”