Career coach McKenna left his role as Manchester United assistant manager to replace Paul Cook in the Portman Road dugout in December 2021, taking on his first ever senior management role.
Since then he’s taken the Blues from being a mid-table League One club to a table-topping Championship outfit that’s just three games away from the Premier League thanks to a remarkable league record of P112 W65 D33 L14
After the 37-year-old was unsurprisingly named Championship Manager of the Year, chief executive Mark Ashton told the EADT and Ipswich Star: “I said to Kieran tonight that it seems a long time ago that he and I met and we first talked about him joining this football club. He has just been incredible from day one. I’m so proud of him.
“Dedicating the award to all his staff and family is typical Kieran, but ultimately he’s the leader of that football department, he’s the one that sets the tempo, he’s the one that sets the standards, he’s the one who drives it forwards, he’s the one who’s in first and leaves last every single day.
“Whatever happens at the end of the season, this is a great accolade for him and the football club. I’m absolutely delighted for him.”
Asked what his initial impression of McKenna had been in that aforementioned first interview, which came days before an embarrassing FA Cup exit at League Two club Barrow, Ashton said: “My instinct was really strong on his values. I’d done my homework on the football side of him – the technical, tactical piece – so there was literally no discussion on that because his pedigree was there for us to see very clearly.
