Goalkeeper Muric, an £8m signing from Burnley this summer, didn’t feature in this game due to a calf injury. That meant Christian Walton stepped in as a late replacement for the league opener, a reversal of the situation this time last year when Vaclav Hladky came in for Walton after he hurt his foot in the final days of pre-season.

“Aro got a knock in his calf in the early part of the week,” explained McKenna. “We were hoping he would be okay, but he had a fitness test this morning and he wasn’t able to make it.

“Look, I think that’s a big positive from the day if I’m honest. Christian Walton’s come into the game having not played a league fixture for 15/16 months, his last league fixture was in League One, having lost his position through an injury. But he’s stayed ready and performed really, really well today.

“There’s a big lesson and a big reinforcement for the group for everyone needing to be ready for when needed. That’s going to be the case all season.”

On Burns, who had to be replaced by Ben Johnson in the second half having pulled up after a dart up the right, the Blues boss explained: “Wes has a hamstring (injury) – we don’t know the severity of it yet. He’ll get assessed in the next few days. That’s a disappointing one.”