What Leif Davis said after Wrexham defeat will raise concerns at Ipswich Town | OneFootball

Leif Davis did not hold back his thoughts following his side's defeat away to Wrexham

Ipswich Town fell to a 5–3 defeat away to Wrexham on Saturday afternoon in a major blow to Kieran McKenna’s side's promotion hopes, with left-back Leif Davis particularly less than complimentary about the result.

For the second time in eight days, Ipswich travelled to Wrexham and yet again tasted defeat.

Wrexham beat the Tractor Boys 1-0 in the FA Cup on Friday, 13th, and just over a week later, they would host them yet again, only for this game to see a bit more of a goal-fest.

The Welsh side twice took the lead in the first half, only to be pegged back twice before Cedric Kipre gave the away side the lead just after half-time. Though their lead wouldn’t last, as Wrexham responded with three goals without reply to round out as 5-3 winners, asserting themselves as real top-six contenders this season.

Ipswich, on the other hand, find themselves eight points off the top two of Coventry City and Middlesbrough, albeit they have two games in hand on both of them. Nevertheless, head coach McKenna will be furious with the result and his side’s performance, which has been echoed by left-back Leif Davis, who was far from pleased following his side's defeat in North Wales.

Following their defeat at STōK Cae Ras, left-back Davis was seething with the side's performance, having shipped five goals for the first time this campaign and the first time since conceding six to Manchester City in the Premier League last season.

Davis played a crucial role in Ipswich’s rise from League One to the top flight, whilst continuing to do so last season as they were relegated to the Championship and has remained as first-choice left-back at Portman Road this season.

Having been a part of such a sturdy defence for so long, shipping as many goals as they did on Saturday is far from the usual for Davis and Ipswich, with the 26-year-old voicing his displeasure following the defeat.

Davis said, “It’s big character we’ve got to show.

“When we went 3-2 up, we did start the second half really well but there were moments in the first half where we looked like a bunch of boys.

“It looked like they wanted it more in the first half, flying into tackles. That’s what we’ve got to be like from the start. It’s not just one certain player on the pitch, it’s everyone. There are 11 players on the pitch who’ve got to do the nasty side of the game.

“That first half wasn’t us for the majority. It was a lot of them sliding and fighting for every ball. It looked like they wanted it a lot more on the pitch, which should never, ever be that.”

Indeed, it was an uncharacteristically poor performance from McKenna’s side, who were outfought and outworked for large parts of the game, culminating in Ipswich's big loss.

The former Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United coach will be hoping that this performance was merely just a one-off and not a sign of things to come, with automatic promotion still well and truly a possibility if they can hit some good form again.

Kieran McKenna must ensure Ipswich don’t repeat the Wrexham performance

Following their relegation to the second tier after just one season back in the Premier League, many had tipped Ipswich to be one of the favourites for automatic promotion, and rightly so given their current squad and summer recruitment.

Whilst the likes of Liam Delap, Omari Hutchinson, Sam Morsy, and Nathan Broadhead all left, McKenna replaced those outgoing four with each of Sindre Walle Egeli, Azor Matusiwa, Marcelino Nunez, and Ivan Azon.

Unfortunately, their incomings have not had the positive effect that McKenna would have been hoping for, and whilst they remain well within the hunt for the top two and heavily in contention for a top six finish, they certainly have been far from their best for much of this campaign.

If Ipswich are to fire themselves back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, then McKenna simply must ensure his side gets back to basics and is not outfought by anyone for the remainder of the campaign.

Failing to do so could cause a calamitous effect on the Tractor Boys’ promotion prospects, and in turn, McKenna’s role at Portman Road, which has rarely come under any sort of scrutiny until now.

With less than a third of the season to go, Ipswich are nicely placed for a play-off spot, although many will still have their sights set on the top two, including Davis, who must ensure another performance like the one at Wrexham doesn’t happen again.