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Kieran McKenna, a former coach of Manchester United, led Ipswich Town to an unexpected Premier League comeback.
On the last day of the regular season, the Tractor Boys defeated Huddersfield Town 2-0 at a lively Portman Road to secure second place in the Championship and a position in the top flight for the first time since 2002.
With 96 points from 46 league games, the Suffolk team has joined Leicester City, the victors, in earning automatic promotion.
One of Leeds United, Southampton, West Bromwich Albion, or Norwich City—who will compete in the play-offs—will win the third and final promotion spot. The club will be revealed to us on Sunday.
It’s a tremendous accomplishment for McKenna to have managed Ipswich to two consecutive promotions. This season, the team features former Reds defender Axel Tuanzebe and Brandon Williams on loan from United, and the Northern Irishman’s backroom staff includes custodian Lee Grant and our former coach Martyn Pert.
In his second season in charge, Kieran led the youthful Reds to the Premier League Northern Division championship after joining from Tottenham as our Under-18s coach in 2016.
After that, he was elevated to our first-team coaching staff and worked under Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Ralf Rangnick. In December 2021, while Ipswich was still in League One, he left to become the manager of that team.
Even though their performance improved, the Tractor Boys did not recover enough to make it to the play-offs that season. However, the next year, they performed even better, going undefeated for 19 games to claim second place and earn McKenna a new four-year contract.
This season, Ipswich’s accomplishments have been genuinely astounding, with survival being the primary goal. Throughout the campaign, they have witnessed McKenna win two monthly honours in addition to Championship Manager of the Season.
“It means a lot, mostly seeing how much it means to everyone – the players, the supporters,” Kieran said to Sky Sports when asked what winning the Premier League means to him as a manager. It’s an incredible day and one in which everyone engaged is incredibly proud to be one of the leaders in that.
“It’s a fantastic accomplishment that we achieved with a great deal of work, sacrifice, and support from many people. In a few days, I’m sure it will become clear. Of course, there will be a lot of work to be done at the football club, but it will be a great challenge. It will be a huge personal challenge for me, and one that I’m looking forward to.
The last time the Reds played Ipswich was a 3-0 League Cup victory in 2015. The Reds have faced the team 57 times in total, winning 29 and losing nine.
The most well-known encounter took place in 1995 at Old Trafford when we won 9-0, tying the record for the most wins in Premier League history.
Ipswich 0video Supporters of United will be closely examining the 2024–25 schedule to determine when we will play McKenna and Ipswich again.
The timetable is scheduled to be revealed on Tuesday, June 18, at 09:00 BST, so we won’t have to wait long. We’re excited to see Kieran and Ipswich Town again next season! Congratulations on your well-earned promotion!
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