Just weeks after clinching Ipswich Town’s return to the Premier League, Kieran McKenna has resigned as manager, the club announced on Tuesday.
The 40-year-old took charge of the Tractor Boys in 2021 when they were languishing in League One. Four seasons and three promotions later – including back-to-back rises that ended a 22-year top-flight exile – McKenna leaves Portman Road with Ipswich preparing for the 2026-27 campaign after finishing runners-up in the Championship in May.
“Kieran McKenna resigns as Ipswich manager weeks after securing Premier League promotion.”
McKenna, who had two years remaining on the four-year deal he signed in 2024, said his decision was driven by a need to step away from the game. “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. 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.”
The departure comes after McKenna was linked with the Fulham job following Marco Silva’s exit, but he insisted his focus is on family. His record at Ipswich stands at 105 wins from 222 games – a haul that earned him the League Managers’ Association manager of the year award in 2024, beating Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta after he led the club to back-to-back promotions.
Chairman Mark Ashton was blunt about the scale of the loss. “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.” He added that he was “gutted”.
Attention now turns to McKenna’s successor. Former Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil – currently in charge of Strasbourg after being appointed in January – is a contender. The 43-year-old, who spent two years as a player with Ipswich’s bitter rivals Norwich City, has admirers at Portman Road. The club remain open-minded about who will take the helm, but O’Neil is in the frame.
McKenna, born in London and raised in Northern Ireland, began his managerial career in December 2021 when he left a first-team coaching role at Manchester United to take over a struggling League One side. He ends his tenure having restored Ipswich to the Premier League – but will not be in the dugout when the season begins.