Kieran McKenna became the 19th permanent Manager in the history of Ipswich Town, following his appointment in December 2021. 

Since then, he has quickly moved the Club forward, providing stability and installing an attractive playing style during his first six months in charge, before securing promotion from League One during his first full season. 

The campaign saw Town finish extremely strongly, winning 13 of the final 15 games of the season to secure promotion in style, as victories at Bolton, Derby, Peterborough and Barnsley were topped off by a 6-0 success at home to Exeter to complete the job.  

Promotion was followed by a new contract, as Kieran put pen-to-paper on a deal to the summer of 2027, before then reaching 100 games in charge of Town during the visit to West Brom in November 2023. 

Born in London but raised in County Fermanagh, Kieran’s playing days saw him progress through the youth ranks at Spurs.  

In 2009, aged 23, he was forced to retire from playing due to a hip injury. Kieran had captained Northern Ireland at every level from U17-U21. 

He started his coaching career in 2009 immediately upon retiring from playing before leaving for United, where, prior to being named first-team assistant manager by Jose Mourinho, he was in charge of the U18s - a side he guided to the Northern Premier Division title in just his second season. 

Kieran, 35, worked under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford, helping the team to consecutive third and second placed finishes in the Premier League in 2019/20 and 2020/21 respectively.  

He stayed at United following the arrival of Ralf Rangnick as a key member of the interim manager's backroom staff, before making the move to Ipswich.