Ipswich Town 1-0 West Brom: Kieran McKenna's verdict

The Blues came into this game having suffered back-to-back defeats to Middlesbrough (2-1 away) and Charlton (3-0 at home). McKenna admitted on Tuesday night he had no issues with the crowd voicing their displeasure during his team's 'unacceptable' second half collapse against the Addicks.

There was a very flat feel inside Portman Road for the lunchtime game against the Baggies. Town controlled the majority of the match and eventually got their reward when substitute Jack Clarke buried an 83rd minute rebound goal.

"It's a really good win for the group. I'm really happy for the players and for the staff," said McKenna.

"If I could have picked the type of win that would really benefit the group today I think it would be one where we had a clean sheet, we have a really stable performance and give nothing away.

"It was a tough game, we knew it would be, played in a really, really difficult atmosphere. But the players stuck together and stuck to their jobs.

"When we did play our football in the first half we put together some really good moves together - didn't get our rewards.

"A lot of what we spoke about over the last couple of days was not getting too desperate when we don't score early. It was about managing the game better, managing the emotions better, not getting frustrated, not forcing the issue, not opening ourselves up too much.

"We knew if we didn't get the early rewards, which we could have done today, but stayed stable, stayed concentrated, stayed together then we have the quality and the fitness to win the game late. If we can't do it with the starters then we have good subs to come on and do it.

"In a fair bit of adversity today, and this week, I think the group showed the qualities that they're going to need to show to keep picking up wins in a really tough season in a challenging situation."

More:Super-sub Jack Clarke strikes late to help Town seal 1-0 win at home to West Brom

Sammie Szmodics and Chuba Akpom were both forced off injured in this game, meaning the triple introduction of Clarke, Jens Cajuste and Ivan Azon didn't come until the 76th minute. That trio all combined for the goal, Cajuste winning the ball with a high press and Azon's shot saved before the rebound finish.

"It was a real challenge today with the two earlier substitutions for the two number 10s going off," said McKenna.

"Using two (out of three permitted) stoppages made it really tricky regarding the timing of the last subs. You don't want to leave yourself open to maybe somebody getting injured or getting cramp and finishing the game with 10 men. You can't go too early.

"But we knew we had some good weapons there. It probably came a little bit later than most people wanted in the stadium, but we got there and the subs had the impact. When it falls to Jack you have real confidence that he's going to tuck that away. It was a really nice moment for him again."

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