Due to his wife’s critical remarks, the Ipswich Twon head coach has decided to end his…

Due to his wife’s critical remarks, the Ipswich Twon head coach has decided to end his…

In precisely one year, Kieran McKenna must make the most important choice of his professional life.

The Northern Irishman is finally at his dream job—coaching Manchester United’s first team—at the age of 35, having worked tirelessly for more than ten years. This is the team he grew up supporting.

A man in his position would not normally be heavily involved in an FA Cup second round replay between Barrow and Ipswich Town, televised live on ITV 4 between an episode of Giant Lobster Hunters and a showing of Conan the Barbarian, especially with the Premier League, Champions League, and Cristiano Ronaldo to worry about.

But tonight, a year ago, McKenna is very invested.

East Anglian Daily Times: Tonight in the FA Cup, Ipswich was humiliated at Barrow one year ago.
Tonight, an FA Cup match at Barrow humbled Ipswich (Image: PAGEPIX LTD 07976935738).
That’s because he had met with Mark Ashton, the CEO of Ipswich, a few days earlier, somewhere off the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester. Now, he has the opportunity to fulfill another dream of his by becoming a manager and going out on his own.

Naturally, the idea of having his first job at Ipswich Town had not always existed. That had only become apparent since Paul Cook’s dismissal a few weeks earlier. Furthermore, he could have been forgiven for believing that managing at Portman Road would be more of a nightmare than a dream come true after seeing the Blues’ appalling FA Cup loss at Holker Street.

As Town’s most recent loss was shown on TV, people close to McKenna were understandably wondering if it was really a wise career move to leave the bright lights of Old Trafford for a team humiliated by Barrow and sitting a lackluster 11th in League One. An Ipswich season that had begun with so much promise had come violently off the rails.

At United, too, those were the questions being asked. After close friend Michael Carrick resigned and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was fired, McKenna stayed on. Now that Ralf Rangnick was in command, it was said at the time that the German wanted McKenna to stay on his staff.

East Anglian Daily Times: McKenna with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick when they were teammates at Manchester United
McKenna, seen here with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick when they were teammates at Manchester United (Photo: PA Images/Archive PA)
The brightest young coaches from the biggest clubs in the country would typically start their own management careers at big sides that had dropped into the second division or at upwardly-mobile top-flight clubs. Rangnick has spent the majority of his managerial career in the Bundesliga. Watford, Sheffield United, Southampton, perhaps? That plan did not align with a third-tier transfer to Ipswich Town.

However, it’s likely that Rangnick was unaware of the extent of life that exists beyond the pinnacle of English football. And most definitely not Ipswich Town’s potential.

Thankfully, McKenna did.

The Town CEO had described his meeting with Ashton as “a meeting of minds” after finally having a conversation with the driven coach who had been circling him for two years. The meeting had gone extremely well for him. All the references he had asked for had been excellent, and United’s management had reluctantly allowed them to speak.

Ashton called Town chairman Mike O’Leary as he was leaving their late-night meeting, adamant that he had finally found the man of his dreams.