Kieran McKenna

McKenna began his footballing career as a youth team player at Northern Irish sides Enniskillen Town United and Ballinamallard United. He joined Tottenham Hotspur as a youth player in 2002, after signing a scholarship contract with Spurs. McKenna represented Northern Ireland at both under-19 and under-21 level. He was made captain of Northern Ireland's under-19s side at the 2005 UEFA European Under-19 Championship by coach Mal Donaghy. In 2009, at the age of 22, McKenna retired from playing due to an ongoing hip injury which prevented him from making a senior first-team appearance for Tottenham.

Early roles and development

After retiring from playing, McKenna started his career in coaching whilst studying a sports science degree at Loughborough University. During his time studying, McKenna spent time as a youth coach at Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, and Canadian side Vancouver Whitecaps.

Tottenham Hotspur

Upon graduating from Loughborough University, McKenna was hired as the Head of Academy Performance Analysis at Tottenham Hotspur. He was offered the role of Academy Coach at Liverpool, but remained at Spurs, coaching various age groups at the Tottenham Academy set-up, before being placed in charge of Tottenham Hotspur's under-18s side. During his tenure at Tottenham, McKenna guided the under-18s to the semi-final of the FA Youth Cup in 2015.

Manchester United

In August 2016, McKenna left his role at Tottenham to join the academy set-up at Manchester United, becoming the club's under-18s manager. In his second season in charge of the under-18s, McKenna guided Manchester United to the Premier League Northern Division title. Along with former United player Michael Carrick, McKenna was promoted to the first-team coaching staff and replaced Rui Faria as José Mourinho's assistant manager, ahead of the 2018–19 Premier League season. Following a poor start to the 2018–19 season, Mourinho left United on 18 December 2018, and was replaced the next day by former United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who was appointed as…

Ipswich Town

On 16 December 2021, McKenna was appointed as manager of League One side Ipswich Town, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. He officially took charge on 20 December, alongside his newly appointed assistant Martyn Pert. McKenna's first game in charge of Ipswich saw his side win 1–0 against Wycombe Wanderers at Portman Road. McKenna's first away game in charge was a 4–0 win against Gillingham. McKenna's arrival saw a quick upturn in Ipswich's form, winning seven of his first ten games in charge, keeping seven clean sheets in the process. Under McKenna, Ipswich went 11 matches unbeaten through February and March, including setting a new club record for not conceding a goal, surpassing the previous record of 547 minutes. Despite the improvement in form, Ipswich failed to reach the League One play-offs, eventually finishing in 11th place in League One. Ipswich ended the 2021–22 season with a 4–0 home win against Charlton Athletic on 30 April. During the 2022–23 season, McKenna was awarded the EFL League One Manager of the Month award for March 2023 as his side maintained their automatic promotion push. On 29 April 2023, Ipswich secured promotion to the EFL Championship after beating Exeter City 6–0 at home, with five of those goals coming within the first thirty-two minutes. He was later awarded Manager of the Month for April. Ipswich finished the season in second place in League One to gain automatic promotion to the EFL Championship, following a…

McKenna was born in London, and was raised in the Northern Irish county of Fermanagh.