Kieran McKenna has resigned as Ipswich Town manager, just weeks after guiding the club back to the Premier League, ending a remarkable four-season reign that yielded three promotions and a place among the legends at Portman Road.
The 40-year-old, who took charge in December 2021 when Ipswich were labouring in League One, leaves with the club preparing for a top-flight campaign in 2026-27 after they finished runners-up in the Championship in May. His decision, which he said was driven by a desire to take a break from the game and spend more time with his family, came with two years remaining on his contract – a four-year deal he signed in 2024.
“Kieran McKenna resigns as Ipswich Town manager 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, who have been with me every step of my career so far.”
McKenna left a first-team coaching role at Manchester United to take over at Ipswich. He led them back to the Championship at the end of his first full season, then in 2024 won the League Managers’ Association manager of the year award – beating Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta – after back-to-back promotions ended the club’s 22-year absence from the Premier League. He won 105 of his 222 games in charge.
Chairman Mark Ashton said he was “gutted” to lose the 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.”
McKenna had been linked with the Fulham job after Marco Silva’s departure, but insisted his exit was about family, not another club. Ipswich are now searching for a successor, with former Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil – currently Strasbourg boss and a former player for Norwich City, Ipswich’s great rivals – among the contenders. The club are open-minded, but O’Neil has admirers at Portman Road.