Kieran McKenna says he always knew what Jack Clarke could do

Kieran McKenna insisted he had no doubts about Jack Clarke’s quality after his first-half brace helped Ipswich into the last 16 of the FA Cup for the first time in 18 years in a 4-1 win away to Coventry.

Clarke has made only five Premier League starts since joining from Sunderland in August, and his only other goal for the club came in the previous round of the FA Cup in a 3-0 win over Bristol Rovers.

But he seized his chance at Coventry, putting Ipswich in control after Joel Latibeaudiere had cancelled out George Hirst’s early penalty, then selflessly passing up the chance to score a hat-trick in the second half to instead set up Jaden Philogene for his first Ipswich goal.

Ipswich spent £15million to bring in Clarke having seen him score 15 goals for the Black Cats last term, but he has been made to bide his time in Suffolk.

“You can’t underestimate the jump and the change for someone like Jack,” McKenna said. “We’ve probably got a few players in that category, signing late in the transfer window, into a new group, never played in the Premier League, joining a club that hasn’t been in the Premier League for 22 years.

“Trying to settle into all that change in the toughest league in the world as an attacking player is not easy.

“We know how talented he is. He’s a player who we signed to help us this year, which he is, and for the future as well. I’m sure he’s going to keep improving and this today was not a big surprise to me.”

Clarke was one of 11 changes McKenna made, with his focus still on their relegation fight in the Premier League.

Those changes showed in some uncomfortable moments at the back, but the pace in an attacking three that also included Hirst and Philogene proved too much for Coventry, who conceded a penalty just 22 seconds in when Liam Kitching fouled Sammie Szmodics after a run from Hirst.

“There were some really good individual performances, players who showed the growth they are making,” McKenna added. “Especially in the first half, we put some good moves together, cut through the pitch and looked a goal threat.

“We were good value for the lead. The second half could have been better. We got the (fourth) goal early, probably put the game to bed and made some mistakes, but the game was pretty comfortable. There were lots of good things and it’s really nice to be through to the next round.”

Frank Lampard felt the final scoreline was harsh on Coventry, who edged possession and had more shots at goal but lacked the clinical touch.

“I thought it was a competitive game against a Premier League team,” Lampard said. “Overall they had the better chances but predominantly from mistakes from us which is disappointing. Other than that, the scoreline doesn’t really reflect the game. It’s just a reality for us…

“Ipswich were absolutely fantastic last year (in the Championship) and then they go and bring a lot of players in and recruit to compete in the Premier League, which is a gap, so they’re going to have that squad and they can make those changes.”

Coventry will be swiftly back in action against QPR on Tuesday, looking to close a four-point gap to the play-off places.

“Confidence can’t be knocked and players have to go again,” Lampard said. “I probably have to lead that because what I see today is not a team that wilted to a Premier League team. It didn’t. We kept competing all the way. It was just a reality of what the scoreline was.”