KIERAN McKENNA was in illustrious company when he was appointed Ipswich manager.At 35 he took over the Tractor Boys at exactly the same age as Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson.
Kieran McKenna is given the bumps after Ipswich’s promotion
Sir Alf Ramsey was just 35 when he took charge of Ipswich
Sir Bobby Robson was also just 35, like McKenna, when he became Ipswich boss
The two legendary bosses went on to lead them to their greatest triumphs. Ramsey took the club from the third tier to winning the top flight in 1962 while Robson led them to FA Cup and UEFA Cup glory in 1978 and 1981 respectively.
And tomorrow, at Fleetwood, McKenna could lead his team to making their own piece of history in only his second season.
Not only can the club win League One but also reach both the 100-point mark as well as a century of goals — something that has never been achieved together in EFL history.
Ipswich trail leaders Plymouth by a point going into the final game but have a vastly superior goal difference so if Argyle slip up at Port Vale McKenna’s men need to better their result to snatch top spot.
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McKenna, 37 in two weeks, said: “It’s an honour to follow some fantastic managers that have been at this club and there hasn’t been anyone better than Sir Alf and Sir Bobby.
“The fact they both arrived here at the same age as me is a nice quirk. Obviously, I wouldn’t want to be compared to those two with what they’ve achieved in the game. I’ve a long, long way to get anywhere near their achievements.
“But those two managers illustrate part of the attraction of taking charge here. This is a club with a track record of giving young managers an opportunity, backing them and allowing time to do their work.”
McKenna, despite his young years, has already worked alongside some top football names.
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While at Manchester United, he was assistant to Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralph Rangnick — and worked alongside Michael Carrick.
It is ironic Mourinho’s first assistant manager job was under Robson at Barcelona, having worked for the former England boss at Sporting and Porto initially as his interpreter, while McKenna’s first taste of senior football was under the Special One.
And the Ipswich boss said: “It was an honour to work with him. He was an icon for the coaches of my generation and his background going into management was more unique then than it is now.
“He’s somebody who set the bar for what can be achieved by a young manager coming in from a different background. It was a fantastic experience and I picked up a lot.
Kieran McKenna’s first senior coaching job was alongside Jose Mourinho
In turn, Jose Mourinho’s first senior coaching role was under Sir Bobby Robson
“Jose shared with me stories about the different stages of his career. It’s another lovely quirk of history he worked for Sir Bobby and I worked for him.
“There are so many things I picked up from Jose. He’s a fantastic communicator in different languages, which is a great skill. He was a pioneer in England in terms of his training periodisation and how he structured the working week.
“I certainly took these things with me in that regard.
“And it was the same with Ole, who was a fantastic man manager and person in terms of how he treated staff and gave people responsibility.
“He made people feel confident about themselves and gave them trust and responsibility.
“It’s not always one thing you pick from managers at that level because they’ve so many qualities — and that is why they’ve got to the position of managing Manchester United.
“I try to emulate things that can help me — but, besides that, I’m on my own journey in the game and want to improve myself and the team.”
There is no doubt that two of the brightest young coaches in the EFL are McKenna and Carrick.
McKenna, who has won the final SkyBet League One manager of the season gong, has clinched promotion to the Championship while his former United coaching colleague could take Middlesbrough into the Premier League via the play-offs in his first permanent managerial role.
And the Ipswich boss said: “It’s fantastic to see. He’s someone I consider a really good friend. I enjoyed working with Michael and learned a lot from him. He’s had a massive impact on their season and is playing a wonderful brand of football. But it’s no surprise he’s doing well.”
The Tractor Boys celebrated promotion back to League One
With promotion already secured Ipswich can clinch the title and break EFL records
Kieran McKenna won the SkyBet League One manager of the month award for April
It has been a fantastic season at Portman Road and McKenna says the team are motivated to break that EFL record.
He said: “We achieved a huge goal last week by clinching promotion. That has been celebrated but now we’re on to the next thing.
“We’re just focussed on putting in another good performance to try to win the game and then that will mean we’re the first team in EFL history to reach those two 100 milestones.
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“Even our goal difference of plus 66 is the second in EFL history.
“We’ll control what we can at Fleetwood, which is putting in a performance to get the result — and then let’s see what happens with Plymouth. But whatever the outcome, we have cause to celebrate an excellent season.” More
