Kieran McKenna

Kieran McKenna (born 14 May 1986) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of EFL League One side Ipswich Town.

Kieran McKenna
McKenna coaching Manchester United U18 in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1986-05-14) 14 May 1986
Place of birth Coa, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Ipswich Town (manager)
Youth career
Years Team
1997–2001 Enniskillen Town United[1]
2001–2002 Ballinamallard United
2002–2009 Tottenham Hotspur
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2005 Northern Ireland U19 5 (0)
2005–2007 Northern Ireland U21 7 (1)
Teams managed
Years Team
2018–2021 Manchester United (assistant)
2021– Ipswich Town

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. In 2009, at the age of 22, McKenna was forced to retire from playing as a result of a hip injury; resulting in McKenna failing to make a full senior team appearance for Tottenham.

McKenna represented the Northern Ireland national team at under-19 and under-21 level.

After retiring from playing, McKenna started his career in coaching within the Tottenham Hotspur academy. He progressed through the academy at Tottenham, becoming the club's under-18s manager in 2015. In 2016, he left Tottenham to take up the under-18s manager position at Manchester United. In 2018, McKenna was promoted to become Manchester United's assistant manager under José Mourinho. He worked with the first-team at United until December 2021, where he left to become the manager of Ipswich Town.

Playing career

McKenna was a youth footballer at Tottenham Hotspur, before ending his playing career in 2009, due to a hip injury. McKenna went through two years of rehabilitation and had two operations before confirming his decision to retire.[2][3]

Prior to joining Tottenham, McKenna played for Ennskillen Town United and Ballinamallard United.[1]

He also represented Northern Ireland at both under-19 and under-21 level, of which McKenna represented his country of birth in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifiers.

Coaching career

Tottenham Hotspur

After retiring from playing, McKenna started a career in coaching whilst studying a degree in Sports Science at Loughborough University. During his time studying, McKenna spent time as a youth coach at Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City and Nottingham Forest. McKenna also spent two months with the Vancouver Whitecaps in Canada as a guest coach at the end of his first academic year. Upon graduating from Loughborough University, McKenna was hired as the Head of Academy Performance Analysis at Tottenham Hotspur.[4]

McKenna has since revealed that he almost joined the academy coaching staff at Liverpool, of which he would have succeeded Alex Inglethorpe, who was promoted from academy coach to academy director, however McKenna chose to stay at Tottenham.[3] Following a period of coaching a variety of age groups within the Tottenham Academy set-up, McKenna was placed in charge of Tottenham Hotspur's under-18s side.[5]

During his tenure at Tottenham, McKenna guided the under-18s to the semi-final of the FA Youth Cup in 2015.[3] He departed just a year after his appointment as under-18s manager at Tottenham, having accepted the opportunity to serve the same role for Tottenham’s Premier League rivals Manchester United.[6]

Manchester United

On 29 August 2016, it was confirmed that McKenna was to leave 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.[3]

On 1 July 2018, 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 forthcoming Premier League season.[7][8]

Mourinho left United on 18 December 2018, and was replaced the next day by club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who was appointed as caretaker manager.[9][10] Despite reports suggesting that the managerial change would result in the recruitment of a new coaching team, both McKenna and Carrick retained their positions under Solskjær.[10] Following Solskjær’s departure in November 2021, McKenna retained his position as first-team coach under new interim manager Ralf Rangnick.[4]

Ipswich Town

On 16 December 2021, McKenna was appointed as manager of Ipswich Town, signing a three-and-a-half year contract. He officially took charge on 20 December, alongside his assistant Martyn Pert.[11] McKenna took charge of his first game as Ipswich manager on 29 December 2021, winning 1–0 against Wycombe Wanderers at Portman Road.[12]

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."[3]

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."[3]

Personal life

Since his childhood, McKenna has been a supporter of Manchester United, with reports claiming that his love for the club persuaded his decision to leave Tottenham Hotspur for the Red Devils in 2016.[3]

McKenna also played underage Gaelic football for the Enniskillen Gaels club.[13]

Managerial statistics
As of match played 30 April 2022 [14]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
PWDLWin %
Ipswich Town 20 December 2021 Present 23 11 8 4 047.8
Total 23 11 8 4 047.8

Honours

Manager

Manchester United U18

References
  1. "From Enniskillen to Old Trafford: the 32-year-old Fermanagh native who's Jose Mourinho's right-hand man". The42.ie. 18 October 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  2. "Fermanagh man Kieran McKenna takes up Manchester United role". The Irish News. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  3. Who is Kieran McKenna? All you need to know about the Fermanagh man coaching Manchester United with Solskjaer, Belfast Telegraph, retrieved 4 April 2020
  4. "Who is Kieran McKenna? A look at Ipswich Town's new manager". East Anglian Daily Times. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  5. "Who is Kieran McKenna? Manchester United coach taking training with Michael Carrick". Sky Sports. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  6. Kilpatrick, Dan (29 August 2016). "Tottenham U18 boss Kieran McKenna joins Man United – sources". ESPN. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  7. Jackson, Jamie (12 May 2018). "Manchester United assistant manager Rui Faria to leave Old Trafford". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  8. "Manchester United coach Kieran McKenna subject of bold prediction". Manchester Evening News. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  9. "Jose Mourinho: Manchester United sack manager". BBC Sport. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  10. "Ole Gunnar Solskjaer named Man Utd caretaker manager until end of season". BBC Sport. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  11. "Welcome Kieran McKenna". Ipswich Town FC. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  12. "Ipswich Town 1 – 0 Wycombe Wanderers". BBC Sport. 29 December 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  13. "Big names show support for Fermanagh minors' ItsNotMinorItMatters fundraiser". Hogan Stand. 29 March 2021.
  14. "Managers: Kieran McKenna". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
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