Ipswich Town is keen on keeping current manager Kieran McKenna at the club, however, CEO Mark Ashton says his contract will “take care of itself at the right time”, in an interview with TWTD.
Fighting for promotion at the top of League One, McKenna has had a successful time with the Suffolk side during his first spell in senior management.
The Northern Irishman signed a three-and-a-half-year deal back in December 2021, with two years still remaining come the end of the season.
Formally manager of Manchester United U18 and assistant manager of the first team under Jose Mourinho, McKenna has built a healthy reputation over the years which has seen him lead teams to success.
Taking over the Tractor Boys midway through last season, the 36-year-old brought immediate results to the club, winning seven of his first 10 games in charge. During that spell, Ipswich also kept seven clean sheets and went 11 matches unbeaten throughout the early months of 2022.
With his first full season underway, McKenna currently has the Blues third in League One with a close battle for automatic promotion in their sights.
Just three points behind 2nd place Sheffield Wednesday, eight points separate the top-four teams, however, with games in hand on each other, there are still twists to be had in the race.
Currently, on a six-game winning streak and unbeaten in 10 matches, McKenna has been crucial for Ipswich and trying to get them back into the Championship.
Speaking in a lengthy interview with TWTD, Ashton wants to keep McKenna at Ipswich but will negotiate when the time is right.
He said: “I think we all want to see Kieran here for the foreseeable future, he’s happy, he’s got a job to do.
“That steady calmness of the overall club is key and I think if you look at both the Championship and the Premier League this year, they’ve been wilder than I can remember, wilder than I have ever seen before.
“I know what my role is, he knows what his role is and we work professionally together to get the best from the football club, that’s exactly the way it should be.
“He doesn’t need me watching training every day, although he happily says to come and watch. But I’ve got all this to do. We’ve got professionals there to support each other. I’d like to see him and his staff here for the long term.”
Writer’s View
Kieran has shown to be a fantastic manager during his time at Ipswich and it would be wise for them to lock him down for the long term.
Seeing as there are still over two years left on his current deal there shouldn’t be much rush, however, I assume teams in the Championship will be keeping a close eye on the situation, so rewarding him will be important to stop his eyes steering elsewhere.
As for Ipswich, I do see them sneaking into one of the top-two promotion places and if they manage that, McKenna should be applauded for his work.
