 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)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ipswich Town (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997–2001 | Enniskillen Town United[2] | ||
| 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 | |||
| 2021– | Ipswich Town | ||
Kieran McKenna (born 14 May 1986) is a professionalfootballmanager and former player who is the manager ofPremier League clubIpswich Town.
Born in England, McKenna was raised in Northern Ireland and played youth football forEnniskillen Town United andBallinamallard United before joiningTottenham Hotspur in 2002, and had represented Northern Ireland at youth level before a hip injury curtailed his playing career.
After studyingsports science at Loughborough University, McKenna coached Tottenham Hotspur andManchester 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.
McKenna was born in London,[3] and was raised in the Northern Ireland county ofFermanagh.[4]
McKenna began his footballing career as a youth team player at Northern Irish sidesEnniskillen Town United andBallinamallard United.[5][2] He joinedTottenham Hotspur as a youth player in 2002, after signing a scholarship contract with Spurs.[6]
McKenna representedNorthern Ireland at bothunder-19 andunder-21 level. He was made captain of Northern Ireland's under-19s side at the2005 UEFA European Under-19 Championship by coachMal Donaghy.[6] 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.[5]
After retiring from playing, McKenna started his career in coaching while studying asports science degree atLoughborough University. During his time studying, McKenna spent time as a youth coach atTottenham Hotspur,Leicester City,Nottingham Forest, and Canadian sideVancouver Whitecaps.
Upon graduating from Loughborough University, McKenna was hired as the Head of Academy Performance Analysis at Tottenham Hotspur.[7] He was offered the role of Academy Coach atLiverpool,[5] but remained at Spurs, coaching various age groups at theTottenham Academy set-up, before being placed in charge of Tottenham Hotspur's under-18s side.[8] During his tenure at Tottenham, McKenna guided the under-18s to the semi-final of theFA Youth Cup in 2015.[5]
In August 2016, McKenna left his role at Tottenham to join the academy set-up atManchester United, becoming the club's under-18s manager.[9] In his second season in charge of the under-18s, McKenna guided Manchester United to the Premier League Northern Division title.[5]
Along with former United playerMichael Carrick, McKenna was promoted to the first-team coaching staff and replacedRui Faria asJosé Mourinho's assistant manager, ahead of the2018–19 Premier League season.[10][11]
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 strikerOle Gunnar Solskjær, who was appointed ascaretaker manager,[12][13] and retained both McKenna and Carrick in their coaching positions.[13] McKenna was retained in his role by interim managerRalf Rangnick following Solskjær's departure as United manager in November 2021.[7]
On 16 December 2021, McKenna was appointed as manager ofLeague One sideIpswich Town, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. He officially took charge on 20 December, alongside his assistant Martyn Pert.[14] McKenna's first game in charge of Ipswich saw his side win 1–0 againstWycombe Wanderers atPortman Road.[15] McKenna's first away game in charge was a 4–0 win againstGillingham.[16] McKenna's arrival saw a quick upturn in Ipswich's form, winning seven of his first ten games in charge, keeping sevenclean 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.[17] 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 againstCharlton Athletic on 30 April.[18]
During the 2022–23 season, McKenna was awarded theEFL League One Manager of the Month award for March 2023 as his side maintained their automatic promotion push.[19] On 29 April 2023, Ipswich secured promotion to theEFL Championship after beatingExeter City 6–0 at home.[20] He was later awarded Manager of the Month for April.[21] 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.[22]
Ipswich started the2023–24 season well and a run of four wins and a draw saw McKenna pick up theEFL Championship Manager of the Month award for September.[23] 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.[24] McKenna was named as theEFL Championship Manager of the Season for the 2023–24 season as Ipswich finished second in theEFL Championship to win promotion to thePremier League.[25][26][27] 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.[28][29]
Despite being approached by fellow Premier League sidesChelsea andBrighton & Hove Albion,[30] McKenna signed a new four-year contract with Ipswich until 2028.[31]
McKenna lost three games in a row for the first time, after a home defeat toLiverpool, an away defeat toManchester City, and then losing on penalties toAFC Wimbledon in the League Cup. Ipswich picked up their first point of their Premier League campaign with a 1–1 draw withFulham.[32] His winless run with Ipswich stretched to nine games, after they fell to a home defeat toEverton on 19 October.[33] This was Ipswich's worst start to a season since 2018–19.[34] McKenna picked up his first win in thePremier League in a 2–1 away victory on 10 November againstTottenham Hotspur, bringing Ipswich out of the relegation zone. This was Ipswich's first top-flight win since April 2002.[35]
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 againstWest Brom, you trained how they are and focused on their weaknesses."[5]
Jim Magilton, theIrish 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."[5]
McKenna is married and has two children.[36]
Since his childhood, McKenna has been a supporter of Manchester United, with reports claiming that his love for the club influenced his decision to leaveTottenham Hotspur for the Red Devils in 2016.[5]
McKenna also playedGaelic football for the minors of theEnniskillen Gaels club.[37] In 2024, McKenna was given aHonorary Doctorate by theUniversity of Suffolk.[38]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||||
| Ipswich Town | 20 December 2021 | Present | 164 | 80 | 46 | 38 | 048.78 | ||
| Total | 164 | 80 | 46 | 38 | 048.78 | ||||
Manchester United U18
Individual
