Today marks the third anniversary of the Blues appointing Kieran McKenna as manager.
The Northern Irishman was recruited from Manchester United, where he had been a member of the backroom staff under Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and briefly Ralf Rangnick, following Paul Cook’s sacking.
Since then, McKenna, now 38, has masterminded a remarkable turnaround in the Blues’ fortunes and days and nights no fan will ever forget.
His first game ended in a 1-0 home victory over Wycombe Wanderers, courtesy of a James Norwood goal, and Town eventually finished 11th in League One in his first half-season in charge.
But in his inaugural full campaign as manager, the one-time Tottenham academy midfielder and coach led the Blues to promotion out of the third tier after four seasons, Town going on a remarkable run of 13 wins in 14 from late February to secure second place with a stunning 6-0 home victory over Exeter at Portman Road.
Last season, the Blues recorded back-to-back promotions for the first time in their history, once more finishing second having battled the three relegated former Premier League sides all season, again confirming their elevation from the Championship with another famous Portman Road afternoon of celebration, this time after a 2-0 defeat of already-relegated Huddersfield.
That success led to interest from more established clubs in the summer with talks understood to have taken place with Brighton, Chelsea and Manchester United, while Crystal Palace had made an approach even before the season’s end.
However, McKenna ultimately opted to stay at Town, signing a very lucrative new contract which runs to the summer of 2028, ahead of the Blues’ first season back in the Premier League for 22 years.
Despite an inevitably tough opening few months, Town celebrated McKenna’s third anniversary in the Portman Road hotseat by beating another WWFC, Wolverhampton Wanderers, 2-1 at Molineux on Saturday, courtesy of Jack Taylor’s last-gasp goal, and hit their manager’s three-year milestone very much in the hunt to retain their hard-won top-flight status.
Overall, McKenna’s record in charge of Town reads played 148, won 77, drawn 43, lost 28, a win percentage of 52.03, higher even than those of the club’s most successful managers, Sir Bobby Robson, Sir Alf Ramsey and George Burley.