How Kieran McKenna became a big coaching prospect

When Ipswich Town hired Kieran McKenna in Dec 2021, they were taking a chance on a young coach who had an interesting journey to that point. His work with Tottenham saw him take his coaching badges, eventually working as the U18 coach in 2015. He left for Manchester United in 2016 to become their U18 coach, and by 2018, he moved up to the first team as part of José Mourinho’s coaching staff. The following years saw him maintain his role under Ole Gunnar Solskjær, and then Ralf Rangnick. By 2021, his reputation was on solid footing and people thought it would be only a matter of time before he’d get his shot as manager.

There was risk from Ipswich’s point of view when they did hire McKenna in Dec 2021, but perhaps upping their risk profile was what they needed to find success in the big time once again. At that point, it had been nearly two decades since they last were in the Premier League. After 2002, they had spent the vast majority of their time in the Championship before relegation to League One following the 2018-19 season. It wasn’t a stretch to say Ipswich were a club adrift when they took a chance on McKenna. The initial results were encouraging, placing 6th in the table from the time he was hired until the end of the season. 

During McKenna’s first full season with Ipswich in 2022-23, they were seen as contenders for promotion and delivered on those expectations by finishing 2nd. Their football was based on the growing tactical idea of committing players towards buildup, and creating artificial transitions from playing through the press. In particular, Leif Davis at left-back was able to profit a ton from this setup, playing high and wide on the left before crashing the box to generate cut-backs. This helped him lead the league in assists that year with 14. When Ipswich were at their best, no other team in the division could match it, illustrated by their staggering goal difference of +66.

2022-23 was in many ways an example of a contender who played up to standards and got the job done. It’s a credit to Mckenna for helping Ipswich play up to their capabilities, particularly considering how lost they looked before his arrival. There was hope for a spirited chase towards the playoff spots, but certainly nobody thought of promotion to the PL being a possibility. The top of the Championship was thought of as tough to break through because of the recently relegated trio of Leicester City, Leeds United, and Southampton. 

One could argue that the 2023-24 season remains McKenna’s best work. Ipswich accomplished the rare feat of back to back promotions with a 2nd place finish, and did so by largely sticking to what worked in League One. The deep buildup featuring a double pivot was still on display, with Davis somehow upping his assists from 14 to 18. While their underlying numbers were the 4th best in the league rather than 2nd, this was still a side which performed in a sustainable manner and got enough breaks to beat out Leeds and Southampton for automatic promotion. For all we don’t know about the value of managers, we tend to give credit to those who overperform their wage bill. This was the case with Ipswich, and truly pushed McKenna into a different stratosphere.

Such success in quick order created a unique opportunity for McKenna and Ipswich. Promotion to the PL came at least a year earlier than expected, and possibly multiple. It became as close to a free hit as possible. Even after over €152 million in spending over the summer, their squad still did not have neither the top end talent nor depth to fully compete. While there were some high moments, they did not have the means to survive.

For the first time since the 2022-23 season, preseason expectations surrounding the club were very high. Automatic promotion was the goal, even with the departures of Omari Hutchinson and Liam Delap. Things did not go to script initially. Halfway through the season, they were in 3rd with a 5 point gap between them versus 2nd and 13 behind 1st. According to Scout Lab, their underlyings were considerably kinder, placing them either first or second in a variety of metrics. Eventually, results did go their way once the calendar flipped to 2026 and 2nd place was attained this past weekend.

What’s been key throughout Ipswich’s success over the years has been their work without the ball. This season was cagier than in previous campaigns, when the fluidity in attack was more pronounced. 2025-26 saw them lean into the out of possession structure tremendously, and the results were impressive. Both Opta Analyst and Statsbomb had them conceding the 2nd least amount of shots and non-penalty expected goals. Statsbomb had them second last for open play expected goals conceded, while Scout Lab had them third. This was done while placing 2nd in shots conceded, achieving the feat of both shot suppression and quality. Their shot map below is the ideal outcome for a defense.

Key to the shot suppression has been a formidable press. It was successful this past season in both generating high turnovers and forcing the opponent to go long from buildup. Their press was more on the methodical side, based on various cues including sloppy backwards passes and sideways passes towards an isolated fullback, rather than relentless pressure. According to Statsbomb, they were 19th in pressures logged. The press sprung to life once George Hurst up front utilized a curved pressing run, or Marcelino Núñez joined the front line in a 4-4-2 to aid in the press and force play towards the flank. They looked to go man-to-man along the touchline, and at their best, made it tough to switch possession towards the far side.

As such, while Ipswich were 10th in high turnovers forced via Opta Analyst, they were 1st in shots generated from those turnovers. This was at least partly the result from having the kind of attacking thrust to turn defense into attack like few others in the Championship. Hurst was constantly looking for space in behind through intelligent movement, and they could always look for their attackers to create an opportunity for themselves or others. Jaden Philogene, Jack Clark, and Anis Mehmeti are the caliber of attackers who can make something happen in dynamic situations during a 46 game season. In Philogene’s case, it mostly focused on getting his own shot off the dribble, which did lead to some bad attempts but also some goals. According to Opta Analyst, among players with 900 minutes or more played in the league, he ended up tied for 6th in shots per 90 from carries but had the highest goal rate. 

When defending in a mid-block or lower, it tended to be zonal. The organization was impressive, quickly getting into position if the initial counterpress in the opposition half didn’t work. There wasn’t a ton of space between the lines, and the backline provided situational jumps when needed. They also were able to solidly transition into a high press from a mid-block by ramping up the aggression. Azor Matusiwa was key to how the mid-block functioned, plugging gaps when needed and using his awareness for key interventions. His security in possession once the ball was won helped in making those quick forward passes within the middle third to initiate fast attacks.

Last weekend’s 3-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers to seal 2nd place and automatic promotion was Ipswich at their best. They had two goals on five shots within the first ten minutes, attacking in waves. It seemed like Ipswich had 11 outfield players rather than just 10 with how they were flying across the pitch. QPR’s attempts at trying to escape pressure were stymied time and time again. All three goals originated from winning the ball back high up, and those regains in the opposition half quickly turned into threatening sequences.

Although McKenna has only been a first team manager for less than five seasons, it’s hard to poke holes in his resume. Under his watch, Ipswich went from a lifeless club to one who quickly climbed the English football pyramid back to the PL. After going back to the Championship, he’s helped them achieve promotion once again this season. His success in League One and the Championship has come when his side was both an inner circle contender (2023, 2026), and in the periphery (2024). This season had stretches where the settled attack was less pleasing on the eye, but the defense helped keep them in the hunt for the top two. The combination of an opportunistic press to force high turnovers and sturdy zonal block allowed them to often create dynamic opportunities for their talents to go at a backtracking opposition. 

Unsurprisingly, McKenna’s success has fuelled rumors of leaving Ipswich for bigger clubs in England. He was previously rumored to have been on Bournemouth’s radar before they ended up hiring Marco Rose. Recently, Crystal Palace have McKenna as part of their shortlist, trying to find Oliver Glasner’s successor. It would be a sensible fit, continuing the lineage of managers who try to generate fast attacks. The hope would be in due time, McKenna could add more wrinkles to how they operate in-possession. Ipswich want to keep hold of McKenna, and hope the reported £8m in compensation needed to pry him away is enough of a deterrent. 

It’s still too early to tell how good of a manager McKenna will be, but the early returns have been promising. The ability to build competitive teams, and at times overachieve, has made him an attractive coaching prospect. His teams at lower levels have shown the capacity to both blitz opponents, and also grind them to dust when the attack isn’t in full bloom. Kieran McKenna’s coaching journey has been one of near linear progression, landing him back in the Premier League. The hope this time is whether it be with Ipswich Town, Crystal Palace, or someone else, his stay in England’s top flight will be considerably longer.

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