Kieran McKenna was unable to lead his side to victory against Sheffield Wednesday last weekend, as they instead fell to a 1-0 defeat - and the boss has revealed that his side need to be 'ready for the challenge' against their next opponents Gillingham on Saturday.
Speaking to the club's official website before the crunch clash at the weekend, McKenna has revealed that he does think it will be difficult for his side considering their opponents have now appointed Neil Harris as their new boss.
It hasn't been an easy campaign for the Gills and they are firmly entrenched in a relegation battle in League One right now. There is every chance that they could drop down to the fourth tier come the end of the season and it has led to the club parting ways with boss Steve Evans.
With the side desperate to try and arrest the slide - and potentially storm their way to safety - they have made a big appointment in Neil Harris, who has experience of managing a lot higher up the football pyramid. Having recently had stints with Millwall and Cardiff, he is well capable of picking up points at Gillingham if given time.
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna appears to be well aware of how good his opposing boss can be though, as he admitted to the club's official website that his appointment 'increases the challenge' that Ipswich face against Gillingham on Saturday.
The Tractor Boys will still be full of confidence and will still feel they can come away with the points though, as McKenna said: "It increases the challenge, for sure [appointing Harris]. They’ve obviously brought in a new manager earlier in the week and got a good response on Tuesday night with the win against Crewe.
"We know it’s going to be a big challenge, so we need to be ready for it and enjoy that challenge."
The Verdict
Kieran McKenna has taken to the main managerial role at Ipswich like a duck to water so far and despite a setback against Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend, they will still fancy getting back to winning ways against Gillingham at the weekend.
Their task has certainly been made a lot harder with their appointment of Neil Harris though. It's a shock that the former Millwall boss has even decided to join considering he could arguably manage in the Championship still or at least at the top end of the third tier.
Instead, he has decided to take on the challenge at Gillingham and hats off to him for it. If anyone can get them firing and potentially pull off a miracle in getting them away from the relegation places, it is him. McKenna though will be keen to put a dampener on his arrival by securing victory this weekend.
The former Man United coach looks like he could be a very solid manager and seeing off an experienced EFL head in Harris this weekend would prove he means business.