Tribal Football

Ipswich boss McKenna: Premier League approaches a regular occurence

Paul Vegas
Ipswich boss McKenna: Premier League approaches a regular occurence
Ipswich boss McKenna: Premier League approaches a regular occurenceAction Plus
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna says he's fielded plenty of interest from Premier League rivals.

McKenna was linked with former club Manchester United over the summer, which Ipswich face on Sunday.

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“I think that’s been a fairly frequent occurrence since I’ve been at Ipswich in the last three years, to be honest," McKenna admitted.

“In the summer, it was really, really public but in between every season that I’ve been here I’ve had opportunities to leave to go to a club who are higher up in the table.

“I had opportunities last season when we were in the Championship to go to Premier League clubs which were in a much, much better position that we were at that time (Crystal Palace showed interest in February). And there were opportunities and interest in the summer to leave. For me, it’s been a fairly regular occurrence.

“I think if you’re a manager who’s winning games and doing well and certainly if you’re a young manager who has had a really good impact in their first job as a manager, and I’d like to think hopefully a good impact in their previous roles as assistant managers or coaches in academy, then there’s always going to be interest when you’re team’s doing well.

“At the same time, I know that the narrative in football can change so, so, so quickly and when you’re not doing well things can change and the narrative around you will change really, really quickly.

“I’d like to think I’ve managed to stay really, really level in those circumstances, I’ve always had good communication with the club in those circumstances, my relationship with Mark and communication in those instances has always been really, really honest, really, really clear.

“That was the case in the summer, as Mark spoke about, there was nothing done underhand. We had some good, honest conversations and it was my decision that I reached that with input from Mark and other members of the ownership at the club and other people around the club, it was my decision that the thing that would be most meaningful for me this year, where I think I could have a really big impact was trying to bring this club back to the Premier League and help us to try and have a successful year.

“Of course, when it comes at the end of the season, there’s a little bit more time and you have to think about things, that’s right for yourself, but as a manager, if you’re doing well, there’s always going to be interest and we’ve done really, really well over the last couple of years and it’s been pretty constant and I’d like to think that I’ve shown a pretty consistent base of loyalty to staying here and a desire to take this project as far as I can.

“It’s a project I believed in when I came here, the club were good enough to give me that responsibility to lead that project and I want to take it as far as I possibly can and we don’t feel we’ve reached our full capacity yet by any means.”