Just weeks after guiding Ipswich Town back to the Premier League, Kieran McKenna has resigned as manager. The 40-year-old, who took charge in 2021, led the Tractor Boys to three promotions in four seasons – an achievement chairman Mark Ashton described as placing McKenna “in the same breath as the legends of this club.”
McKenna said his departure, announced before the club’s top‑flight campaign, was driven by a desire to take a break from the game and spend more time with his family. “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.”
“Kieran McKenna resigns as Ipswich Town manager weeks after leading them to Premier League promotion.”
McKenna left his first‑team coaching role at Manchester United in December 2021 to take over an Ipswich side labouring in League One. He led them into the Championship at the end of his first full season, then orchestrated back‑to‑back promotions that ended the club’s 22‑year absence from the Premier League. In 2024 he was named League Managers’ Association manager of the year, beating Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta.
He won 105 of his 222 games in charge and had two years remaining on a four‑year contract signed in 2024. 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. The mark he, his staff and his players have made on Ipswich Town and its community will live forever. It has captured a generation.”
Ipswich are now searching for a successor. Former Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil, currently in charge of Strasbourg after being appointed in January, is one contender. 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 the appointment, but O’Neil is firmly in the frame.