Kieran McKenna and his Ipswich Town will have come away from their 3-2 defeat at Manchester United on Wednesday ruing such an opportunity to get a big result. The 38-year-old has flourished in his first managerial job since parting ways with the Red Devils, although the Tractor Boys do face the very real prospect of now dropping back into the Championship.
Rewind to the start of the 2018/19 Premier League campaign, though, and McKenna – alongside Michael Carrick – had found himself promoted to Jose Mourinho's assistant manager, and retained his place when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took the reins midway through the season. He remained at the Theatre of Dreams until December 2021, when he took on the task of managing Ipswich, who were situated in League One at the time.
While the rush of back-to-back promotions to the Premier League in 2023/24 – and being linked with the United post last year when Erik ten Hag was under pressure – will have bolstered the young manager's confidence in the world of football management, Ipswich's first season in the English top flight has been incredibly testing. They sit 18th in the Premier League, five points from safety with 11 games remaining.
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United creeped up to 14th place with the narrow win on Wednesday, despite playing the whole second half with 10 men after Patrick Dorgu's red card. The victory will help in United's quest to avoid a worst-ever Premier League finish under new boss Ruben Amorim, who replaced Ten Hag in November.
While he faced McKenna in the opposite dugout last night, what did McKenna's time in the home end at Old Trafford look like from a coaching perspective? The Manchester Evening News breaks it down...
Feelings towards Solskjaer
One of the things that most stood out about Solskjaer's time with United is how he was able to transform the changing room that he inherited from Mourinho. The team spirit was evidently lifted by Solskjaer's input, picking up the most points from losing positions in the 2020/21 campaign, with 30 points recovered after being behind in games.
The Athletic reports that the Norwegian's motto was that he would: "Rather have a hole in the squad than an a**hole," showing that he was willing to drop key players if their attitude was affecting team camaraderie and performances. McKenna, Carrick and other close staff reportedly agreed with the manager, and strongly believed in his work – as evidenced by their exits from the club in the wake of his departure.
McKenna left United and took the reins of Ipswich less than a month after Solskjaer was let go from his job in November, while Carrick remained as caretaker boss for three games prior to Ralf Rangnick's arrival, leaving Old Trafford for Middlesbrough's Riverside the following October.
A lack of respect from players
During his tenure at United, sources told The Telegraph that players felt McKenna looked out of his depth, lacked charisma and acted like a schoolteacher on the training ground and sidelines – claiming that his training sessions were more suited to the academy level he was promoted from while lacking intensity.
The criticism ultimately portrayed McKenna as a coach who knew what he wanted to do, but was ultimately unable to get it across to his players due to a lack of experience on his part and a lack of respect on theirs, as he wasn't listened to as much as he perhaps should have been.
It ultimately appears as though the critics were wrong about McKenna, however, who managed to take Ipswich from League One to the Premier League.
A warning which fell on deaf ears
Back in November, it surfaced that McKenna had warned Solskjaer not to re-sign United legend Cristiano Ronaldo in August 2021. The Portuguese forward left Old Trafford for Real Madrid in 2009 as a legend, but his second stint for the club was littered with controversy.
And it appears as though McKenna had a gut feeling that the now 40-year-old may have been an unwise acquisition prior to his return, telling Solskjaer that he would have been better strengthening another area of the team.
Speaking to NRK, Solskjaer said that McKenna had asked him regarding re-signing Ronaldo: 'How are we going to defend ourselves?' He added: "It was probably a wrong choice for all of us. But we felt it was the right decision then and there."
After falling out with Ten Hag, Ronaldo and United terminated the player's contract by mutual consent in November 2022, before he signed for Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Nassr the following year.
