Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna said there were 'lots of positives' to take from his side's 2-1 home friendly defeat to West Ham tonight.

Playing in front of a crowd of 15,129, the Blues were competitive throughout against Premier League opposition. Goals from Kurt Zouma and Daniel Chesters put the Hammers in control, but Kane Vincent-Young pulled one back and Town were pushing for an equaliser at the end.


"I thought it was a good workout," said McKenna.

"I really appreciate David (Moyes) bringing a strong team here. It was a good challenge against some top end Premier League players and I thought it was a really competitive game.

"We're starting to get closer to kick-off time so we need to sharpen up our competitive edge. I thought the game had that.

"From our point of view it was a good exercise. There are lots of positives to take and also things to improve on.

"It was a great turnout on a Tuesday night for a friendly, really nice and noisy at the end, and I think everyone appreciated the way the players competed to the end and tried to get a late goal."

With Lee Evans, George Edmundson and Kayden Jackson all making their comebacks from medium-term injuries, McKenna said: "That's massive for us. They are three massive players for us and bring a lot of qualities that we missed at times when they were out. It's great to have them back and I'm sure they're just going to get stronger now."

Kyle Edwards was a notable absentee as 22 different players got game time.

"It's a small niggle he picked up over the weekend and hopefully he'll be back involved by this weekend," said McKenna.