Ipswich Town column: Kieran McKenna’s side to bounce back against Wayne Rooney and Birmingham City after Carabao Cup exit to Fulham

Forget the cup, we’re going up - that was the message from the stands at Portman Road following Town’s exit from the Carabao Cup.

A victory for Fulham was well deserved but Kieran McKenna’s men can be proud of what they’ve achieved in this season’s competition.

I’m not sure many will be forget that 3-2 comeback over Wolves in a hurry and it was nice to see Town give that cup a little bit more of a go.

That said, there was disappointment by some fans towards the team selection on Wednesday night, with many seeing it as a good opportunity to take down another Premier League club.

It’s something I can’t say I’m too upset about myself. Although it’s never nice to lose a game, I’d rather we win at St. Andrew’s on Saturday and have our best players available with the freshest of legs to get that job done.

So let’s move on from Wednesday. A night that didn’t go our way but one we need to look at it as an opportunity for Christian Walton and Axel Tuanzebe to get game time.

I’m not sure both will be overly pleased with their displays, but the most important thing is that they got a full 90 in the bank.

Two players which I’m sure we’ll see again soon… well, Axel maybe, but Christian may have to wait a little longer to get his shirt back.

So let’s put that behind us and get back to what we do best. Winning league matches.

Birmingham awaits. As does the opportunity to inflict more damage on an already suffering Wayne Rooney.

Town will be favourites, they always are these days.

But they will want to make sure they aren’t the side Mr Rooney gets his first win over.

I don’t think they will be. We’re too strong. We’re too organised and I think our structured, free-flowing and dynamic approach means it’s a perfect chance to play a Brum side in transition.

McKenna’s side have always bounced back well from defeat and here’s hoping that shows again on Saturday.