When Erik ten Hag was announced on his way out at the end of last season, Kieran McKenna was one of the candidates to take over the job. Erik ten Hag was, then sacked, Ruben Amorim entered the stage and met McKenna in his debut match as United manager. Now they meet again. Paradoxically, McKenna represents the experience of the United system, an asset that Ratcliffe and the management are now looking to remove.
There were strong voices that wanted McKenna as the long-term United coach. He started as an under-18 coach at Manchester United in 2016, in his second season he led the team to the Premier League Northern Division title. McKenna was then brought to the first-team coaching staff, where he took over as an assistant to Jose Mourinho before the 2018/19 season. Mourinho disappeared not many months later, after which Solskjaer gave McKenna and Carrick roles in his coaching staff. Even when Solskjaer was sacked in November 2021, McKenna was retained by Ralf Ragnick on the coaching staff.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Kieran McKenna: “Kieran was a surprise for me when I came to United. He is the most thorough and analytical, step-by-step, process-driven coach I have worked with,” Solskjaer boasted.
In December, Solskjaer appeared in the stands when Ipswich faced Wolverhampton. Wolves were heading for a change of manager and the English media speculated that Solskjaer was in favour of watching his next club play. It turned out that he was in the stands to see and support his buddy McKenna.
Kieran McKenna has led Ipswich to two promotions in the last two seasons, but has faced natural challenges against clubs with budgets out of this world. Nevertheless, McKenna was Amorim’s first opponent when he was hired as United’s new head coach. Then it ended 2-2 at Portman Road.
On Wednesday, there is another match between the two, this time at Old Trafford.
“If you look at their players, the value of the squad, the experience they have in the Premier League, Champions League and international football, it would be crazy to expect anything other than a tough game,” McKenna began in his press conference before Wednesday’s game.
“This is a game that stands out for many of the players, and for several of them it will be their first game at Old Trafford. It’s a stadium many of them have grown up watching games from. It’s a tough task that awaits us, and we have to be ready for it, but we take with us good feelings, and the feeling that this is exciting,” says the Ipswich manager.
McKenna has gone to school at United, worked with Solskjaer, shown theory transferred to practice with two promotions and more than capable of winning individual games in the world’s toughest league. For Ipswich, this will be like a cup final, for Manchester United a game that must end in victory.
Sounds strongly like a starting point that benefits underdog and United pundit McKenna more than the “3-4-3” Amorim.
