Just weeks after securing a return to the Premier League, Kieran McKenna has resigned as Ipswich Town manager. The 40-year-old, who took charge in 2021 while the club was in League One, guided the Tractor Boys to three promotions in four seasons, including back-to-back promotions that ended a 22-year absence from the top flight after finishing runners-up in the Championship in May.
McKenna, who left a first-team coaching role at Manchester United to take over at Portman Road, won the League Managers Association’s manager of the year award in 2024, beating Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta. He won 105 of his 222 games in charge, signing a four-year contract in 2024 with two years remaining.
“McKenna resigns as Ipswich Town manager just weeks after securing Premier League promotion.”
“I feel this is the right time for me to step aside,” McKenna said. “I do so with great pride at the incredible progress we have made and with huge hope and optimism for the future of the club. After giving so much to the role over the previous five seasons, I now look forward to taking a break from management and dedicating some time to my family.”
Chairman Mark Ashton described himself as “gutted” to lose the highly regarded manager. “Achieving three promotions in four seasons, in what is your first role as a manager, is an achievement which means Kieran is now rightly discussed in the same breath as the legends of this club,” Ashton said. “The mark he, his staff and his players have made on Ipswich Town and its community will live forever. It has captured a generation.”
As Ipswich prepare for their Premier League campaign in 2026-27, former Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil – currently boss of Strasbourg after being appointed in January – is one manager in the frame to replace McKenna. The 43-year-old, who spent two years as a player with Ipswich’s big rivals Norwich City, has admirers at Portman Road. The club remain open-minded about a successor, but O’Neil is a contender.