Report: McKenna explains why skipper Sam Morsy was benched for Brighton defeat

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna explained his decision to leave captain Sam Morsy out of the starting lineup for the 2-0 home defeat to Brighton. It was the first time in McKenna’s three-and-a-half years at the club that Morsy had been dropped for a league match by choice.

Morsy had featured in 137 of the previous 153 matches across League One, the Championship, and the Premier League, with the 16 occasions he wasn’t selected due to suspension (13 times) or injury (3 times).

Against Brighton, Jens Cajuste and Kalvin Phillips started in midfield, while Dara O’Shea took on the captain’s armband. Morsy came on for Cajuste with 20 minutes remaining.

“Samy’s very important for us and having a strong season, but Kalvin has been getting into good form as well,” McKenna said.

“With the quick turnaround from tonight to Sunday’s match against Manchester City, which will be the quickest we’ve had all season, we are mindful of the opponent we’ll face. Kalvin won’t be available on Sunday against his parent club, and given his recent form, we felt it was right to give him significant minutes tonight.

“We’ll need Samy for important minutes and hopefully a big performance on Sunday.”

MSNfootballNews

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