Ipswich Town column: Covid enforced break could prove to be advantageous as Kieran McKenna approaches January matches

So that was the Christmas period! A stop-start, but mostly stop, footballing schedule blighted by Covid-19 cancellations.

It was a time when games were supposed to come thick and fast, with the cash till ringing around the stadium with fans back, some for the first time in over a year, possibly two, checking out their local team and buying the latest merchandise between family visits.

That wasn’t to be as the third ‘pack out PR’ game against Lincoln was called off.

As a fan, having both the Boxing Day and New Year’s Day games cancelled was incredibly frustrating, particularly when you couple it up with the excitement of a new manager and fresh optimism.

But what it has done is given management duo McKenna and Pert, (which would make a fantastic name for a legal firm by the way) an extended period on the training ground implementing their ideas and their approaches.

Sandwiched between those opportunities was a game against a strong opposition which would have given the duo plenty to reflect and work on at Playford Road without the threat of a game looming large and the attention that would have commanded.

The closing of the Christmas period of course sees the start of the January window and while not quite the huge discounts we see on the high street, it is still a chance for Mark Ashton to refresh the squad and supply re-inforcements.

On our Talking Town Live show (wtch above) Rich (or Saint giving of tickets), Matt, and I submitted our January shopping list. I had three names on the list; two of which were coming from Man Utd. It makes perfect sense for them to send some of their best prospects on loan to us now, knowing they can fully trust Mckenna will continue to build the ‘Manchester Utd Way’ that is being implemented at Town.

The waiting to find out if we do bring in re-inforcements is like Christmas Day unwrapping all over again!

* The club has announced Saturday's re-arranged game at Gillingham will be available for supporters who have not got tickets to watch online via iFollow for a £10 fee. Supporters that bought a match pass for the original fixture date, and didn't request a refund, will be able to watch Saturday's game with their initial match pass purchase.