Kieran McKenna will be using this international break as a way of building up ways to improve his side, contemplating any rejigs or reshapes that could finally land Ipswich Town their first win in the Premier League.
It’s very unlikely that McKenna will stick with the exact same XI that fell to a dire 4-1 defeat to West Ham United before top-flight football temporarily stopped, as the Suffolk outfit just ended up rolling over for the Hammers to collect a comprehensive win.
It’s also looking slimmer and slimmer that one Ipswich attacker, in particular, will be able to stake a claim for a starting spot, regardless of his side’s woes at the London Stadium, after struggling to ever get going for his nation in a flat Nations League tie.
Szmodics' performance vs Greece
Sammie Szmodics, the current Golden Boot holder in the Championship, has also found his early time at Portman Road tricky to date, despite scoring his side’s only dramatic goal away at Manchester City right at the start of the campaign.
Since then, he hasn’t been able to nail down a concrete position in his manager’s first team plans, and that doesn’t look like changing anytime soon based on his display in the Republic of Ireland’s poor 2-0 loss to Greece.
Still, the Greeks have just beaten England so perhaps it’s not a horrific result for Szmodics’ Irish side. Either way, he certainly wasn’t at the races on Sunday evening.
Minutes played
73
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
19
Accurate passes
6/9
Shots
0
Successful dribbles
0/1
Total duels won
2/5
Only managing a lacklustre 19 touches of the ball, on top of only six accurate passes, the ex-Blackburn Rovers star struggled down the left wing for his country all night before hooked in the 73rd minute, with zero shots also registered at the Greek net as his nation fired blanks.
Szmodics picked up a low 5/10 rating after the game by Irish Independent journalist Niall McIntyre, with the reporter describing the 29-year-old as never looking ‘comfortable’ with being selected down the left flank.
In the end, it would prove to be a rather straightforward victory for Greece travelling to Dublin, as the visitors inflicted a third defeat in the Nations League on Szmodics and Co.
McKenna will just hope he can get the 29-year-old attacker firing on all cylinders on his return to Suffolk shortly, knowing what he can be capable of in striking fear into opposition defences for fun.
Szmodics' time at Ipswich
Of course, his main highlight so far was that aforementioned strike against Man City, which gifted the Tractor Boys a shock 1-0 lead against the reigning Premier League champions.
Away from that, however, the former Riversiders man has been in and out of his manager’s main lineups, averaging just 44 minutes of action per clash in the top flight, as McKenna attempts to shoehorn in all of the new faces he picked up this summer.
It’s very clear that based on his brief time at Portman Road to date and his struggles on the international stage for the Republic of Ireland that Szmodics isn’t best suited to playing down the wings, with the sharpshooter far more well-versed in playing just behind the lone striker in an attacking midfield role.
From this spot is where Szmodics fired home an unbelievable 27 goals last campaign in the Championship, but so far in his new Ipswich colours, he’s been shoved down the left wing much like he has been for his nation.
Therefore, with plenty of time to ponder what his Ipswich side could look like back in league action versus Everton, there could be a possibility that the Ipswich number 23 is given his wish to start in a more central role versus the Toffees.
Of course, McKenna could just decide to keep Szmodics on the substitutes bench, with the 29-year-old not exactly banging down the door for more chances.
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