McKenna: Newcastle had ´too much´ for Ipswich in thumping defeat

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna was pragmatic in his assessment after his side were overpowered in a 4-0 Premier League home defeat to Newcastle United.

The Tractor Boys are the only top-flight side yet to win a home game in the top-flight this season, with their two victories coming on the road at Tottenham and Wolves.

It is the first time Ipswich have conceded more than two goals in a home match this season, but it is the fourth instance of shipping four goals in a league clash as part of a mixed return to the Premier League.

The hosts were under pressure from the start, as Alexander Isak continued his superb recent form by opening the scoring after just 25 seconds, with the Magpies 3-0 up by half-time.

Isak completed his hat-trick after the restart, as Ipswich struggled to respond, and McKenna admitted the result is another indicator of the gap between his squad and the required Premier League level.

“It’s a difficult day for us, the opponent was strong, and they scored a goal in the first seconds, which makes it difficult,” he told BBC Sport.

“We had moments in the first half where we had the ball, and managed to play through them, but overall, we weren’t able to stop their attacking threats. They had too much for us.

The thoughts of Kieran McKenna on this afternoon’s game.#IPSNEW

— IPSWICH TOWN (@IpswichTown) December 21, 2024

“I don’t think our game management was good enough. They are a very good side, and we needed to show more resilience and stay in the game until half-time and keep it tight. We didn’t recognise the state of the game well enough and didn’t make enough good decisions to stay in the game and attack the second half.

“There were opportunities for us, and we got into good positions, but it was mostly about needing to show the right characteristics in the second half, we needed to show a better level of organisation and resilience.”

McKenna’s side remain 18th, two points from safety ahead of Leicester City’s match on Sunday, after suffering their heaviest home defeat in any competition since April 2018 against Aston Villa in the Championship (also 4-0).

“We know how well we have been doing to be competitive,” McKenna added. “It’s a huge, huge jump for the group, and we don’t have to be far off for games to run away from us. We were off our level.

“We just need to take each game as it comes. If there is anything we can take from [this game] to make us stronger, we will. [This kind of result] has not happened to us much this season.”