Kieran McKenna makes 'monumental effort' claim as Middlesbrough prepare to face Ipswich

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna has warned his players it’s going to take a ‘monumental effort’ to pick up results between now and the end of the season, as they prepare to host Middlesbrough this weekend.

Boro travel to Portman Road on Sunday looking to overturn a six-game winless run that’s seen them sink to fifth in the Championship table. However, they can inject life back into their automatic promotion push with a win over the Tractor Boys, who are second in the table and three points ahead with a game in hand.

But despite Ipswich’s strong position, they will be licking their wounds having lost 2-0 away at relegation-battling Portsmouth on Tuesday, ending a nine-game unbeaten streak in the process. Pompey, of course, also inflicted a 1-0 defeat on Boro at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday.

Kieran McKenna rallies Ipswich Town squad after Portsmouth loss

Ipswich’s loss on the South Coast was all the more surprising given the confidence they carried from a 2-0 win at arch-rivals Norwich City just a few days earlier. But whether it was the short turnaround time or a bit of complacency, they didn’t quite hit the heights at Fratton Park.

McKenna knows his players need to pick themselves up quickly as they prepare for a key clash against Boro - who beat them 2-1 at the Riverside during the previous meeting this season - while they still have to travel to another promotion rival, Southampton, before April is out.

"We spoke after the Norwich game that that wasn't the pinnacle, especially when we're playing teams with massive motivations of their own," McKenna said after the Portsmouth defeat (via BBC Sport). "Every game is going to be harder, and it's going to take a monumental effort to get the three points. We didn't quite hit the levels tonight but we have games ahead to look forward to, to do it.

"Any game you lose, you're disappointed, and at this stage of the season, you're disappointed, so it's too easy to link it to Saturday because whatever happened on Saturday, this was going to be a tough game."

Your next Boro read: Middlesbrough latest as Kim Hellberg opens up on Tommy Conway role