One of the Premier League’s all-time legends will have been watching on with pride as Kieran McKenna led Ipswich Town to promotion.
The former Manchester United coach has achieved success at Portman Road in his first full season in management, ending the Blues’ four-year stay in English football’s third tier.
McKenna coached under Jose Mourinho and then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford, with the former United striker immediately impressed with what the Northern Irishman had to offer and trusting him to prepare his side for games.
“Kieran was a surprise to me when I got to United,” Solskjaer said, in an interview with The Athletic.
“He’s the most thorough and analytical, step-by-step, process-driven coach that I’ve worked with. He makes it so easy for the players to see and understand what we wanted from them. He’d do that the day before a game and his memory was also fantastic, his eye for detail too.
“One of his strong points was defensive organisation and I let him be in charge of that in training. I learned from him about defensive shape and how not to concede. So I wasn’t surprised that he went nine games without conceding this season. Not one goal. Then they conceded one horror goal (at Cheltenham), before carrying on keeping clean sheets.
“Kieran would have unit meetings with the players and go through videos. He was more focused on when the team didn’t have possession, whereas Michael (Carrick) was about when the team did have possession. They gave the players the detail I wanted them to have before a game.
“I encouraged them to offer their personal views in meetings, then I’d make the decision. They walked out of the room and went with what I said. They were loyal, they’d convince the players that what I’d said was the right way to go forward.”
McKenna, Solskjaer and Carrick remain in regular contact, with the latter currently in charge of a Middlesbrough side who are entering the Championship play-offs. Both Solskjaer and Carrick were in the stands for Ipswich’s win at Doncaster last season.
“Kieran is still young, yet already experienced,” Solskjaer said. “I played against him in the final of the reserve league in 2006: Spurs at Old Trafford. We won 2-0, I scored and Gerard Pique. Not bad, eh? Kieran played right-back for Tottenham and we swapped shirts after the game, not that I can remember that. He reminded me.
“Kieran had a bad injury that stopped him playing, but he’s so determined that he made a success for himself in coaching.”
McKenna’s Town assistant, Martyn Pert, is another man Solskjaer knows well.
The two first crossed paths on a coaching course before coming together at Cardiff in 2014, with the Norwegian eventually bringing the current Town No.2 to Old Trafford.
“One of the first things I look for when I take someone on is integrity,” Solskjaer said.
“Martyn and I did the Pro Licence coaching badge together. When I got the Cardiff job, he was there with Malky Mackay. I thought ‘I’d really like to work with Martyn.’ But after a few days, he came to me and said: ‘I can’t do this. I’d love to work with you but my loyalty is with Malky.’ I liked that about him. It wasn’t right for him and I respected that.
“So when I had the chance to bring him to United, I did. I never forgot. He’d been around in different levels and in different countries. He speaks several languages so for me to have a coach who could communicate with players in their mother tongue was important.
“Michael, Kieran and I didn’t speak Spanish or Portuguese, though I wish I did, and sometimes you get that extra detail when it’s in their own language.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here