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Kieran McKenna

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Northern Irish football manager (born 1986)

Kieran McKenna
McKenna in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth (1986-05-14) 14 May 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth London, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team Ipswich Town (manager)
Youth career
1997–2001 Enniskillen Town United
2001–2002 Ballinamallard United
2002–2009 Tottenham Hotspur
International career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2005 Northern Ireland U19 5 (0)
2005–2007 Northern Ireland U21 7 (1)
Managerial career
2015–2016 Tottenham Hotspur U18
2016–2018 Manchester United U18
2021– Ipswich Town

Kieran McKenna (born 14 May 1986) is an English-born Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Ipswich Town.

Born in London, McKenna was raised in Northern Ireland and played youth football for Enniskillen Town United and Ballinamallard United before joining Tottenham Hotspur in 2002. McKenna represented Northern Ireland at both under-19 & under-21 level before a hip injury curtailed his playing career.

After studying sports science at Loughborough University, McKenna coached Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at under-18 level, and also worked as a first-team coach and assistant manager at Manchester United before being appointed as manager of Ipswich Town in 2021.

Early life

McKenna was born in London, and was raised in the Northern Ireland county of Fermanagh.

Playing career

McKenna began his footballing career as a youth team player at Northern Irish sides Enniskillen Town United and Ballinamallard United. He joined Tottenham Hotspur as a youth player in 2002, after signing a scholarship contract with Spurs.

McKenna represented Northern Ireland at both under-19 and under-21 level. He was made captain of Northern Ireland's under-19s side at the 2005 UEFA European Under-19 Championship by coach Mal Donaghy. In 2009, at the age of 22, McKenna retired from playing due to an ongoing hip injury which prevented him from making a senior first-team appearance for Tottenham.

Coaching career

Early roles and development

After retiring from a major hip injury, McKenna started his career in coaching while studying a sports science degree at Loughborough University. During his time studying, McKenna spent time as a youth coach at Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, and Canadian side Vancouver Whitecaps.

Tottenham Hotspur

Upon graduating from Loughborough University, McKenna was hired as the Head of Academy Performance Analysis at Tottenham Hotspur. He was offered the role of Academy Coach at Liverpool, but remained at Spurs, coaching various age groups at the Tottenham Academy set-up, before being placed in charge of Tottenham Hotspur's under-18s side. During his tenure at Tottenham, McKenna guided the under-18s to the semi-final of the FA Youth Cup in 2015.

Manchester United

In August 2016, McKenna left his role at Tottenham to join the academy set-up at Manchester United, becoming the club's under-18s manager. In his second season in charge of the under-18s, McKenna guided Manchester United to the Premier League Northern Division title.

Along with former United player Michael Carrick, McKenna was promoted to the first-team coaching staff and replaced Rui Faria as José Mourinho's assistant manager, ahead of the 2018–19 Premier League season.

Following a poor start to the 2018–19 season, Mourinho left United on 18 December 2018, and was replaced the next day by former United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who was appointed as caretaker manager, and retained both McKenna and Carrick in their coaching positions. McKenna was retained in his role by interim manager Ralf Rangnick following Solskjær's departure as United manager in November 2021.

Managerial career

Ipswich Town

2021–24: Mid-season start and consecutive promotions

McKenna after Ipswich Town sealed promotion to the Championship in 2023

On 16 December 2021, McKenna was appointed as manager of League One side Ipswich Town, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. He officially took charge on 20 December, alongside his assistant Martyn Pert. McKenna's first game in charge of Ipswich saw his side win 1–0 against Wycombe Wanderers at Portman Road. McKenna's first away game in charge was a 4–0 win against Gillingham. McKenna's arrival saw a quick upturn in Ipswich's form, winning seven of his first ten games in charge, keeping seven clean sheets in the process. Under McKenna, Ipswich went 11 matches unbeaten through February and March, including setting a new club record for not conceding a goal, surpassing the previous record of 547 minutes. Despite the improvement in form, Ipswich failed to reach the League One play-offs, eventually finishing in 11th place in League One. Ipswich ended the 2021–22 season with a 4–0 home win against Charlton Athletic on 30 April.

Kieran McKenna is thrown into the air by his Ipswich Town players after leading the team to back-to-back promotions in May 2024
McKenna is thrown into the air by his Ipswich Town players after promotion to the Premier League in 2024

During the 2022–23 season, McKenna was awarded the EFL League One Manager of the Month award for March 2023 as his side maintained their automatic promotion push. On 29 April 2023, Ipswich secured promotion to the EFL Championship after beating Exeter City 6–0 at home. He was later awarded Manager of the Month for April. Ipswich finished the season in second place in League One to gain automatic promotion to the EFL Championship, following a 19-game unbeaten run. At the end of the 2022–23 season, McKenna signed a new four-year contract, extending his stay at Portman Road until 2027.

Ipswich started the 2023–24 season well and a run of four wins and a draw saw McKenna pick up the EFL Championship Manager of the Month award for September. He won the award for a second time in March 2024 as Ipswich won four of their five matches in March as Ipswich maintained their automatic promotion push. McKenna was named as the EFL Championship Manager of the Season for the 2023–24 season as Ipswich finished second in the EFL Championship to win promotion to the Premier League. McKenna's Ipswich side accumulated 194 points and scored 193 goals over two seasons as they became the first club since Southampton in 2012 to secure back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League.

Despite being approached by fellow Premier League sides Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion, McKenna signed a new four-year contract with Ipswich until 2028.

2024–25: Premier League return

McKenna lost three games in a row for the first time, after a home defeat to Liverpool, an away defeat to Manchester City, and then losing on penalties to AFC Wimbledon in the League Cup. Ipswich picked up their first point of their Premier League campaign with a 1–1 draw with Fulham. His winless run with Ipswich stretched to nine games, after they fell to a home defeat to Everton on 19 October. This was Ipswich's worst start to a season since 2018–19.

McKenna's Ipswich then hit the bottom three of the league for the first time that season following a 4–3 loss to Brentford. McKenna picked up his first win in the Premier League in a shocking 2–1 away victory on 10 November against Tottenham Hotspur, bringing Ipswich out of the relegation zone. This was Ipswich's first top flight win since April 2002.

Reception

Following McKenna's arrival as Manchester United's under-18s manager, Indy Boonen, who was a teenage player for United at the time, praised McKenna by stating, "He changed everything. The way we trained was how the opponent played on the Saturday. If you played against West Brom, you trained how they are and focused on their weaknesses."

Jim Magilton, the Irish Football Association's elite performance director, agreed with Boonen's appraisal of McKenna commenting, "He is a meticulous planner yet every session is spontaneous. Nothing is set in stone. He adjusts the session to how the players are and gets what he wants out of the session. Everything is linked and game related. Nothing is for show – it has to be about the game."

Personal life

McKenna is married and has two children.

Since his childhood, McKenna has been a supporter of Manchester United, with reports claiming that his love for the club influenced his decision to leave Tottenham Hotspur for the Red Devils in 2016.

McKenna also played Gaelic football for the minors of the Enniskillen Gaels club. In 2024, McKenna was given a Honorary Doctorate by the University of Suffolk.

Managerial statistics

As of match played 14 December 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Ipswich Town 20 December 2021 Present 148 77 43 28 052.03
Total 148 77 43 28 052.03

Honours

Manager

Manchester United U18

Individual

References

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External links

  • Profile at the Ipswich Town F.C. website
Ipswich Town F.C. – current squad
Current Premier League managers
Ipswich Town F.C. – managers
Awards
2023–24 EFL Championship Team of the Season
LMA Managers of the Year
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