Kieran McKenna has labelled Ipswich Town's upcoming FA Cup fifth-round tie against Nottingham Forest as a 'welcome distraction' from their Premier League campaign.

The Blues are winless in their last eight top-flight games, falling to defeats in six of their last seven. It leaves them 18th in the table, five points behind Wolves, who sit above the drop zone.

In the FA Cup, however, Town have knocked out both Bristol Rovers and Coventry City. Now, they face a tough test away at Nottingham Forest - the highest ranked side left in the competition.

McKenna, however, is relishing the chance to focus on a different tournament before resuming their survival bid.

"We're looking forward to the game," he said. "The couple of earlier rounds have been a nice break from the Premier League action.

"This isn't as long of a break. With it being a Monday night, the next league game will come a little bit quicker.

"It's been a nice change of focus, a change of everything, really. A change of narrative around the games.

"It's been a nice progression for the group and for some of the players. The fact that we went from playing a League One team to a Championship team, there's a little landmark in there for some of the players and us as a team.

The Blues beat Championship side Coventry City in the fourth round of the competition (Image: Ross Halls) "We've matched up well. Now we get the chance to go and play against a Premier League team in a real challenge, but also a really good cup tie away on a Monday night in a historic ground and against a good Premier League side. That's been a nice progression.

"We've enjoyed the fixtures and we're all looking forward to this one.

"I think it's a welcome distraction. If we're completely honest, in terms of league action, we'd rather not play on a Monday night and would rather have a full week of build-up and prep for the Crystal Palace game.

"We'd rather have had one of the earlier fixtures in terms of our Premier League preparations, but there haven't been as many games this season as we're used to and we enjoy.

"I'd rather not be facing 10 days without a game, I'd rather have the chance to play another game, test ourselves against another Premier League team and utilise our squad to get minutes into those who need and deserve them.

"It's also about giving ourselves a chance to be competitive and try to go through in the game.

"For us, it's a welcome distraction."

There are a number of players who have benefited from the FA Cup this season, particularly those who have found minutes to be limited in the Premier League.

McKenna highlighted Ipswich's squad depth and the need to rotate in cup competitions, keeping everyone on their toes ahead of a busy end to the season.

"It's been important," he explained. "It's important for how we work. We really try to keep two players for each position physically, technically and tactically ready. That's helped us over the course of our journey to this point.

Town are two wins away from an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley (Image: PA)

"Having that has been important, and part of that has been utilising the squad in cup competitions. We've done it up until this point and the players have done really well.

"We haven't made any decisions for Monday night yet, but there's a chance that some of those who have done really well in the first two rounds will get an opportunity again.

"Hopefully we'll get another strong performance."

Asked whether wholesale changes are likely at the City Ground, McKenna replied: "I'm trying to think how many bodies we've got fit, whether it's physically possible! It might not be physically possible in terms of fit players.

"In terms of trust in the group, in many aspects, yes. We try and train all year with at least two in each position who we feel are game ready.

"There are a lot of positions in our squad where both players are competing on a very even level, so we feel like we can make some changes without it changing the strength of the team drastically.

"Maybe the dynamic, where each player brings their own qualities, but I don't think we're necessarily in the position where we have one player who's clearly different than the other player in terms of their contributions.

"I think there will be changes in the team again. Hopefully those changes will strengthen us."