Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna says it is difficult to acclimate to the Championship again following relegation from the Premier League.
The Tractor Boys travel to Leicester City on Saturday (3:00 p.m. GMT) for a meeting between two teams who fell from the elite last season.
Town are fourth – five points off the automatic promotion places – but the Foxes have had an inconsistent season so far and sit in 13th, three points off the play-off places.
“It’s probably different for different clubs, but it’s difficult, especially if you don’t get off to a good start and you can’t get that momentum and turn things around if you’re coming off a losing season,” McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk.
“Trying to turn things around is definitely not easy. You’ve seen different things over the years. You’ve seen teams get off to a good start and then everyone’s happy and things move forward.
“You saw Luton compete in the Premier League and then get relegated straight away. [to League One]. And then you’ve seen everything in between over the last decade.
“It’s certainly a challenge and it’s difficult to go back to the momentum of the previous season in all aspects and that’s what we’re still fighting for here.”
McKenna says Leicester are “probably not happy with where they are and it hasn’t gone as well as they would have liked”.
However, he still expects a tough match and says he will need a “big performance” to take all three points.
“It’s obviously a challenge coming from the Premier League,” McKenna added.
“And yet, when I watch them, they are very often the better football team in a game. They play very well on the pitch and play good football.
“They still have very good players. I think Marti [Cifuentes] is a very good coach. He’s done a really good job at QPR, and certainly when we played them in the Championship last time I thought they were really well organised. »
