Kieran McKenna has resigned as Ipswich Town manager just weeks after guiding the club back to the Premier League, saying he wants to take a break from the game and spend more time with his family.
The 40-year-old, who took charge of Ipswich in 2021 when they were languishing in League One, leaves after an extraordinary four-season spell that delivered three promotions. His crowning achievement came in May when Ipswich finished runners-up in the Championship, securing a return to the top flight for the 2026-27 campaign after a 22-year absence.
“Kieran McKenna resigns as Ipswich Town manager weeks after guiding them back to the Premier League.”
McKenna had been linked with the Fulham job following Marco Silva’s departure but insisted the decision to step aside was his own. “I feel this is the right time for me to step aside,” he 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.”
The Northern Irishman, who left a first-team coaching role at Manchester United to take over Ipswich, beat Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta to the League Managers’ Association manager of the year award in 2024 after back-to-back promotions. He won 105 of his 222 games in charge and had two years remaining on his contract.
Chairman Mark Ashton described himself as “gutted” to lose McKenna. “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.”
McKenna’s departure leaves Ipswich searching for a new manager before their Premier League return. Among the contenders is Gary O’Neil, currently in charge of Strasbourg after leaving Wolves last season. The 43-year-old, who spent two years as a player with Ipswich’s bitter rivals Norwich City, has admirers at Portman Road, though the club are said to be open-minded about a successor.