Town CEO Mark Ashton says extending manager Kieran McKenna’s contract will “take care of itself at the right time” but wants the Northern Irishman to remain at Portman Road for the “foreseeable future”.
McKenna, 36, was appointed Blues boss in December 2021 on a three-and-a-half-year deal and has been a big success with Town currently third in League One only three points off the top two with nine matches left to play.
Speaking to TWTD as part of a lengthy interview we’ve been running over a number of parts since the end of last week, Ashton was asked whether there had been any talks regarding extending the Northern Irishman’s Town terms.
"I think we all want to see Kieran here for the foreseeable future,” he said. "He’s happy, he’s got a job to do.
"We don’t really talk about it. That will take care of itself at the right time. But I think one of our biggest strengths is our stability.
"I think you’ve seen me now, I’m not wild in my decision-making, we’re processed, we try and be methodical.
"That steady calmness of the overall club is key and I think if you look at both the Championship and the Premier League this year, they’ve been wilder than I can remember, wilder than I have ever seen before.
"There are a number of clubs who have appointed two managers in quick succession. Are they appointing a young manager? Are they appointing a coach? Are they appointing a more senior manager? What’s the DNA of the football club?
"And I think as a manager, and I’m not talking about Kieran specifically, just a manager, sometimes it’s not about the club, it’s about the people. And I think here, you’ve got a blend of both.
"You’ve got an incredibly historic, big, passionate football club with solid rock steady people, who are going to steer a steady ship and give the manager, as I say to Kieran, the oxygen to do his job.
"I’m not at the training ground every day. He never gets a conversation with me about picking the team, it’s his domain.
"I know what my role is, he knows what his role is and we work professionally together to get the best from the football club, that’s exactly the way it should be.
"He doesn’t need me watching training every day, although he happily says to come and watch. But I’ve got all this to do. We’ve got professionals there to support each other. I’d like to see him and his staff here for the long term.”