Kieran McKenna may be seen as a bright young manager but his achievement in guiding Ipswich from League One to the Premier League has been 15 years in the making.
Forced to retire from playing through injury aged 22 while on Tottenham’s books, McKenna embarked on a coaching career alongside studying for a sports science degree.
Once he had graduated, the Northern Irishman was handed a permanent role in the Spurs youth set-up, before moving on to Manchester United’s academy in 2016.
It was at Old Trafford where McKenna was promoted to the first-team coaching staff, along with now-Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick, by none other than Jose Mourinho.
“It was really good,” McKenna told Sky Sports last year. “It was a privilege for me to come onto his coaching staff, he’s such an iconic figure for coaches of my generation.
“It was a relatively short period, but even then it was great to work and learn from him. There was a lot I took from him, and you can see why he’s been so successful in his career.”
Even though Mourinho moved on after his spell at United turned sour, McKenna kept his role under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and then Ralf Rangnick.
Meanwhile, Ipswich were floundering in 11th place in League One, and in December 2021 had just been held to a goalless FA Cup draw by League Two Barrow.
The Portman Road board sacked Paul Cook, former manager of Portsmouth and Wigan, and raised eyebrows two weeks later when they handed the relatively unknown McKenna – then 35 – his first managerial role.
Ipswich by now were 12th in the table, and had lost their FA Cup replay 2-0 at Barrow.
“Leaving a club like Manchester United was obviously a difficult decision, but I strongly believe in the opportunity to build something here,” McKenna said upon his arrival in Suffolk.
“It feels like the right time, project and club to make my first step into first-team management.”
⬆️ THE TOWN ARE GOING UP! ⬆️#itfc pic.twitter.com/ezhSXowuek
— Ipswich Town (@IpswichTown) April 29, 2023
McKenna guided Town to a 1-0 win over Wycombe and a 4-0 victory at Gillingham in his first two matches in charge.
Although his new side suffered defeat in only four of their 24 remaining matches that season, they had already lost too much ground to challenge for the play-offs.
The following season Ipswich carried on where they had left off, amassing 98 points and scoring 101 goals to secure promotion, only pipped to the League One title by Plymouth.
There was no let-up this term despite the challenge presented by the trio relegated from the Premier League of Leicester, Leeds and Southampton.
The goals continued to flow, especially late on in games; Jeremy Sarmiento’s last-gasp winner against Saints in April proved particularly pivotal.
Had Ipswich not secured promotion, the smart money would have been on McKenna making it anyway – the 37-year-old has even been linked with the Manchester United job.
That could well happen in the future, but for now McKenna is set to lead the Tractor Boys in the promised land, 22 years after they were last in the Premier League.