Kieran McKenna, a former first-team coach for Manchester United, is about to take over as manager of Ipswich Town in the Premier League.
United haven’t been to Portman Road to take on Ipswich Town since April 2002.
With the Tractor Boys seemingly about to break their 22-year banishment from the Premier League, next season may be the one that changes all of that. With a win over already-relegated Huddersfield Town at home this morning, the Suffolk team will be promoted.
By defeating Coventry City 2-1 in midweek, Ipswich made tremendous progress towards promotion. They are now three points ahead of Leeds United with a game in hand thanks to their victory.
The team won’t have made the leap from League One to the Premier League in back-to-back seasons since Southampton in 2012 if they succeed. You may wonder how they have done it. Kieran McKenna is the obvious choice.
After taking a job with Ipswich in December 2021, the former United first-team coach entered the fiercely competitive world of managing. After keeping tabs on him for 18 months, club CEO Mark Ashton knew the moment he met McKenna that he had found the guy. “We approached him and when I met Kieran I knew within 30 seconds, honestly,” Ashton added.
Over the course of five years, McKenna was an assistant coach at Old Trafford, where he collaborated with Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and, for a little while, Ralf Rangnick. But when Ipswich came calling, he realized it was time to put his managerial skills to the test.
“It was the right time for me to take the step, it’s the right profile of club I was looking for and I’m grateful for them giving me this opportunity,” McKenna said, justifying his departure from Old Trafford. “I’m confident I’ll be able to repay that faith in the future.”
More than just repaying the confidence, the Northern Irishman will have engraved his name in Ipswich history if Ipswich manage to cross the finish line. The objective for 2022–23 was crystal clear: earn promotion from League One after finishing 11th in his first season at Portman Road.
In a very competitive season, Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday, and Ipswich were all vying for one of the two automatic slots. Ipswich came in second with 98 points, having won one of those matches.
They were praised for their visually appealing style of play and their ability to easily defeat opponents. There was widespread expectation that they would do well in the Championship. They have well surpassed such predictions with just one game remaining.
Ipswich have sparred furiously with the three teams who were relegated from the Premier League last season—all of which had parachute payments—while playing a thrilling, fluid, and free-flowing style of football.
With the exception of a few of new recruits like Kieffer Moore and Omari Hutchinson, McKenna has mostly stuck with the same core group of players who lifted the team out of League One. All of his players have performed to their potential thanks to his teaching.
After Solskjaer’s hiring at United, McKenna was given greater responsibility at Carrington, and he turned around Ipswich’s fortunes and brought out the best in people.
“I’ve worked with coaches before, and he’s the most analytical, step-by-step, process-driven one,” Solskjaer said to The Athletic last year. “He makes it so easy for the players to see and understand what we wanted from them.”
There have been rumors that McKenna might return to M16 to replace Erik ten Hag as manager after ten Hag’s problems at Old Trafford. He has not yet earned the stripes to command that job, notwithstanding the outstanding work he has done at Portman Road.
Still, he has more than earned the chance to compete in the Premier League and learn from some of the world’s most renowned and accomplished managers. The chance, if it comes, will be one he will treasure.
It was said that a few United players were ‘unhappy’ with McKenna’s teaching style at Carrington, but now he’s almost finished with one of the biggest tales in English football recently. To be in the Premier League the next season would be a welcome change.
If they succeed, he will surely be looking forward to next season’s matches against United. Next time United travels to Portman Road, they may not be looking forward to it if the Tractor Boys’ recent rise in form continues.
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