Leeds United v Ipswich Town: Kieran McKenna makes point about Elland Road crowd amid 'no pressure' claim

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna is aware of the power of the Elland Road crowd but will aim for his side to impose themselves on Leeds United on Saturday to try and keep the Whites faithful quiet.

The Elland Road atmosphere has been the regular subject of praise from opposition coaches both in the Championship and in the Premier League prior to Leeds' relegation.

Ipswich are the next visitors to West Yorkshire, with Leeds still unbeaten at home this term. Saturday's contest is one of the most anticipated Championship matches of the season, as the Whites look to claw back the 10-point gap to second-placed Ipswich, who have enjoyed an incredible campaign after only coming up from League One last term.

McKenna feels his side do not need to feel too much pressure heading into the game, and while he believes the home atmosphere is something that can spur Leeds on, he insists there is also the possibility the crowd could work against the hosts if potential frustrations on the terraces begin creep onto the pitch .

“We speak about the context of the opposition - where they’re at as a team, the crowd and the atmosphere - ahead of every game. This will be no different," said McKenna.

“Of course they’re a big club. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have expected us to be in this position at this stage of the season. We can go there in a really positive frame of mind to go and take the game on and focus on performing as well as we can without too much pressure on ourselves.

“If you can perform well, stay in the game, impose yourself on the game in different ways, then sometimes the home crowd can work for or against the home team. We’re always aware of that.

“They’ve got a lot of threats starting and on the bench. They’ve got a lot of combinations and ways of attacking. Our focus has to be on performing our jobs to the highest level we can."