When Kieran McKenna was announced as the new manager of Ipswich in December 2021, many Town fans would have wondered who he was and how an untried 35-year-old in management would succeed in improving our miserable League One position.
Yet the fifteen previous years of coaching, latterly under some high-profile managers, had all the boxes ticked to suit the appetite of an Ipswich board and ownership group that were so hungry for success.
One man who could see the talent in McKenna then was caretaker-manager of the time, John McGreal who labelled the acquisition of the Northern Irishman as a “brilliant appointment” and added: “You only have to look at his track record, the players he’s integrated into the first team, the players he’s actually coached, the managers he’s coached under, it’s a quality CV and a big appointment by the club and shows what direction it’s going (in).” McGreal’s foresight was spot on.
Three months after McKenna’s arrival, I attended a Fans Forum at Portman Road which saw McKenna present and taking questions from the floor for the first time in such circumstance. He talked about why he joined Ipswich Town having left ‘his’ team Manchester United. He spoke of how it took so much to align with his own ideas and ambitions to prise him away from a club that he has supported all his life. It was a huge decision to join us and not one made lightly. He spoke of the project that was underway at Ipswich, and how it excited him to be on board with a big club that was steeped in history, and how he wanted to be part of a rebuild to get the club back to where it belonged.
I came away from that forum thinking of how articulately he spoke. Calm, collected and measured in his responses and with ambitious notions as to what he thought his Ipswich future would hold. Suffice to say, I liked him. I felt that in conjunction with an ambitious ownership group, and at last, a proper structure, the club was now in good hands. What I did not know was, or indeed any of us knew, exactly how good matters were going to be.
Fast forward just over two years, the rest as they say, is history. What another story we have built that can be added to the vault of memories for our club. Masterminded for sure by McKenna, but with so much help from a massive team around him, including the fans.
Before the tears of joy of promotion to the Premier League have even dried, we now risk losing Britain’s hottest managerial prospect. Just a few days of speculation has been draining. There could be many more days of this to come. Brighton, Chelsea, and possibly Manchester United are all said to be keen on taking our man to fill their respective vacancies. The vultures are lurking. Does this mean that we are about to lose one of our greatest managers ever? Not necessarily.
It is no surprise that McKenna is a wanted man. His record at Ipswich speaks for itself. Back-to-back promotions, the EFL and LMA Championship Manager of the year, and LMA Manager of the Year full stop. The previous four years of that award were dominated by Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. Yes, that is the calibre of name that McKenna can now be associated with.
He might be looking at his first Premier League job as one with a more established team in Brighton. Maybe the challenge of calming Chelsea’s chaotic managerial appointments might be a challenge he cannot resist. The possible lure of ‘going home’ to Manchester Untied would obviously be a massive draw.
He has appeared as the bookies favourite for one or two of these posts. But alas, not every favourite win horse races. What therefore are the odds that he will remain at Town? Rather good I would say.
Money would not be an issue. He will be well recompensed already. Prospects of a new deal would enhance his bank balance immeasurably. He is part of a massive project here at Ipswich. He has put forward his wish list towards the redevelopment of our new state-of-the-art training ground. He has overseen new pitches to meet his requirements at both Portman Road and Playford Road. You can assume that for us to have reached this level for the first time in twenty-two years so quickly into his reign, what McKenna has wanted he has got and already reaped the rewards in the process.
Amongst many of his consistencies in his tenure so far is his demeanour, his considered explanations of every moment, and his ability to have us listening to every word. It is never about him. It is always about us – the collective ‘we.’ There has been no “what I have done before” for him to fall back on. His legend has been built with us. He has earnt our respect tenfold. He has us in the palm of his hands, as he does the club.
Yes, he will be extremely ambitious, and will go to the very top if his current trajectory continues. But time is very much on his side. He could stay at Ipswich for the next five years, build on his stock, and who knows, be talked of in the same breath as Ramsey and Robson. He would be aged just forty-three if he then left. Still younger than many of the game’s greatest managers.
Call me naïve if you wish, but I believe that when all is considered, there is as much reason to stay with Ipswich as there is to leave. The project he is building, the prospect of making Ipswich a permanent fixture in the Premier League will excite him. He has a special relationship with us all. His journey has only just started. Built on foundations of getting the club back to the Premier League in a time that exceeded all expectations. Now, his real mission can begin – with us.
Football is a volatile industry, nothing is guaranteed. Except for maybe one assurance. The route into Ipswich had to be perfect for McKenna. Everything that had to, did align. The route out of Ipswich has got to match those ideals at least. In fact, the exit strategy would need to be bigger and better. Can any of those suitor’s match that? Time will tell.
For now, let us go back to the request of Mark Ashton. “Trust us. Do not believe what you hear and see on social media. When it is right, it will come from the football club. We will tell you what is going on.”
It would be favourable to hear either way sooner rather than later. Ipswich fans will want this put to bed as soon as possible. For over forty years, it is alien for us to be dealing with the emotions of anybody wanting our manager. Be assured Kieran, nobody wants you more than we do. We have such an exciting ride to remain on, together.
Personally, I think Kieran McKenna will keep developing with us for at least another year. There is no reason why he cannot continue to thrive at Ipswich Town. I hope I am right.
The Fuller Flavour 