Kieran McKenna ‘hopeful’ for ‘competitive’ game v Newcastle United as nine ruled-out
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Kieran McKenna has admitted his side is in a ‘challenging spot’ ahead of their trip to St James’ park on Saturday.
The Tractor Boys know nothing but a win in the north east will be enough to beat the drop this weekend - although even three points may not prolong their top-flight status if West Ham are able to take a point off Brighton. Ipswich head to Newcastle without a plethora of sidelined first-team players as they look for their first league win on Tyneside in almost half a century.
Defeat at the weekend against Arsenal, whilst expected, came at a major cost for McKenna as he lost the services of Leif Davis to suspension. Davis, a boyhood Newcastle United fan, was shown a straight red card for a tackle on Bukayo Saka by Chris Kavanagh and will begin a three-match ban this weekend.
Ipswich Town injury news v Newcastle United
Davis’s suspension adds yet another headache for McKenna who is set to be without nine players for their trip to the north east. Nathan Broadhead (thigh), Conor Townsend (hamstring), Klavin Phillips (achilles), Sammie Szmodics (ankle), Jaden Philogene (knee), Arijanet Muric (shoulder), Omari Hutchinson (hamstring), Chiedozie Ogbene (achilles) and Wes Burns (knee) will all join Davis in missing the trip to St James’ Park on Saturday.
“We're in a challenging spot in terms of availability, to be honest,” said McKenna when asked about his squad ahead of their clash with Newcastle United. “I'm not going to go through every single one because I'll probably be naming the fit players that we have left to Newcastle. But we're in a really difficult spot in terms of availability.
“We're working really hard to get a team and a squad together that can go there and be as competitive as we can be. We're still going to be waiting on a few right until tomorrow and we'll try and make the right decisions. Hopefully, we'll have enough to be competitive.”
Ipswich’s injury list makes for worrying reading for Tractor Boys fans who know that their faint hopes of surviving longer than one season in the top-flight could be over by 5pm on Saturday. A 4-0 defeat at Portman Road against the Magpies in the reverse fixture just before Christmas also offers little promise that an unlikely triumph can be completed this weekend.
Sheffield United came to St James’ Park in a similar situation at a similar time of the year last season and took a shock lead on Tyneside. However, Newcastle’s quality eventually shone through as they strolled to a 5-1 win.
For the hosts, meanwhile, Saturday offers them an opportunity to put breathing space between themselves and their rivals for European football. Aston Villa, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest are all in FA Cup action this weekend with a win for Eddie Howe’s side being enough to see them end the weekend in third place in the Premier League table and, crucially, with a five-point gap between themselves and the Villains.