Ipswich Town: Lee Evans eyes ‘big test’ at Portman Road ahead of Premier League side Wolves in Carabao Cup

Ipswich Town midfielder Lee Evans has spoken on Premier League side Wolves and praised manager Kieran McKenna ahead of their Carabao Cup tie.

The Tractor Boys come into the fixture off the back of a thrilling 4-3 victory over Blackburn Rovers at the weekend, leaving them second in the Sky Bet Championship table with seven wins after eight games.

Wolves have struggled so far in the top-flight this season, only picking up four points from their first six games after drawing with Luton Town on Saturday.

Evans has not had much playing time so far this season, but is in the frame to start at Portman Road tonight and is excited to come up against tough opposition.

Speaking before the game, the 29-year-old said: “It’s going to be a big test. A game we’re probably not favourites going into but a game that the whole squad are looking forward to and we still do want to win and progress in the competition.

“We know it's going to be tough, we know we’re going to have to be at our best and this is going to be another step up in quality, playing Premier League opposition.

“We’ll do our work beforehand, we'll find out their strengths and weaknesses and leave no stone unturned going into it and try to get a positive result.

“We need to be more aware of what they’ve got and how they can hurt us, so I think everyone will need to be on their guard defensively, but on the ball offensively we’ll do what we do against the other teams and exploit their weaknesses and take the game to them to try to get a positive result.”

After a strong start to the season in Town’s return to the Championship following an exceptional campaign in League One, the Blues boss Kieran McKenna has received a lot of praise and Evans echoed why he has been so good for the club.

“He’s a top, top manager and I think this goes for most of the players, he's probably the best manager a lot of us have played for,” he said.

“He makes your roles really clear in the team. He's got everything buying in and working for him and he has obviously had a fantastic start to the season and long may it continue.

“I think the main thing is he makes your role as simple as possible. You know when you step onto that pitch, from the goalkeeper to the striker, you know your role, you know what’s expected and you go onto the field with no doubt and everything is clear for you.

“Training is brilliant. Obviously there’s different sessions every day depending on the opposition and in terms of intensity, his training sessions are definitely the most demanding I have ever experienced in my career.”

Speaking on his desire to get more minutes this campaign, Evans said: “I haven’t had too many this season but that’s credit to the boys who are playing at the minute and, when we’ve won seven out of eight league games, I can’t be bashing the manager’s door down to say I should be playing.

“I’ve just got to keep training well, working hard on the things I need to do and hope that my time will come eventually.

“The big squads have been one of the game's major changes over the years, as is the fact that we now have nine subs sitting on the bench and five of them able to come on.

“It’s definitely a squad game these days and it’s up to the boys who are not in the starting line-up to train as well as they can and be ready when the manager needs us.

“People know they can give 100 per cent and they can tap in and out of the game, especially the front players who are massive for us on our press.

“Overall, it’s a very positive dressing room and the boys are flying after the result on Saturday. It was a very entertaining game against Bournemouth and we have made a fantastic start to the season, one that we would have bitten off your hand to have before a ball was kicked.”

Town’s clash with Wolves gets underway at 7.45pm tonight and will go straight to penalties if the score is level at the end of 90 minutes.