New Blues boss Kieran McKenna says his aim is to get back to working at the highest levels of the game, as he has been as first-team coach with Manchester United, and that the ultimate dream would be to do that with Town.

McKenna became the Blues’ 19th manager since they turned professional when he was appointed on Thursday.

At 35, few would be taking reins of a club Town’s side but not many his age have 13 years of coaching experience, McKenna’s blossoming career as a midfielder at Tottenham having come to an end prematurely.

The Northern Irishman suffered a hip injury at Spurs at a time when he was the captain of their reserves and on the verge of breaking into the senior side, indeed he had played pre-season matches with the first team.

Following a couple of years in which he underwent surgery and suffered setbacks before finally hanging up his boots, he quickly moved into coaching with the White Hart Lane youth set-up.

“Obviously 35 is maybe a typical retirement age, people might say,” he reflected. “I don’t know if I’d quite be at my peak but I never was too quick so I probably wouldn’t have had too much [pace] to lose.

“Obviously, for me it’s been a really good journey. I think one of the benefits, if you could call it that, of finishing your playing career, mine through injury, which obviously was an unfortunate situation, but one of the benefits of that is that you get a big head start as a coach.

“I’ve coming on to 13 years of coaching now at what I feel is a really high level, working with players, developing players, developing teams.

“I’ve put hundreds and hundreds of hours on to the grass and into developing myself, so I feel like all the experience I’ve had up to this point, the coaches and managers that I’ve worked under at Tottenham and at Manchester United, the sessions I’ve put on, the meetings I’ve taken, all of the work that I’ve done over the last 13 years, have put me in a really good position to be able to take this opportunity on.

“I know there are some other skillsets as a manager that I want to develop in myself but I feel like I have the capabilities to do so and it’s about taking the experiences that I’ve had, learning from the people who I’ve worked under but also trusting myself, trusting my own personality, trusting my own ideas and looking to go on and imprint them now as a manager. Of course, this is a great opportunity to do that.”

Asked about his long and short-term ambitions as a manager, he added: “I mean short-term and medium-term, I’m not going to be looking any further than this football club and we have to do to get it going in the right direction.

“Obviously, as soon as you come down here, you realise how much it means to people, what a fantastic club it is and the passion and the fanbase and the support.

“But also we realise where we are in the league table, it’s not been a successful couple of years, there’s a lot of work to be done behind the scenes in all aspects that need to be improved.

“So short-term, my focus is on Gillingham coming up on Boxing Day but also on making the immediate little improvements I feel can be made around the training ground and around the building to improve the environment.

“As I say, it’s been a difficult season so far for the team, but we feel that the season is still alive and we want to improve, we want to pick up results and we want to focus on improving the performances of the team as quickly as we can and hopefully results come from that.

“I think with the quality in the squad it’s possible that we can put a run of results together and if we do that then let us see where we are at in a couple of months.

“So the immediate focus at the moment is really around the team and the club and what differences we can make straight away.

“In terms of the longer-term focus for the club, I think everyone knows that the owners are coming in with big ambition. They have invested a lot in the squad, they’ve invested in myself and my staff, and the ambition is to get Ipswich back up towards the top levels of English football where it was and where we feel it belongs and where everyone wants to see it.

“And again, for myself longer term, I’ve worked well enough to get myself to a really, really high level as a coach in the coaching profession. I worked at the highest level in the Premier League and Champions League and coached Champions League games at 32 years old and worked at that level and enjoyed it.

“And that’s definitely an aspiration to be back at that level as a manager, and of course, the ultimate goal and the ultimate dream is to do that with Ipswich Town.

“But look, we know it’s step-by-step, there’s a long way to go. It’s nice to have long-term goals and long-term ambitions and to feel the passion of everyone at the club to get this club back up to the very top, but the most important thing now is the day to day and getting to work.

“It’s step-by-step improving the team, improving the club in every little way that I can and that was a big part of the conversation with [CEO] Mark [Ashton].

“We feel that if we put the right things in place if we work day by day, then with the support that we have and with the investment that we have, that eventually the success and moving up the leagues will come, but it will come as a product of the things that we do day today.”

McKenna is aware that the Blues have ground to make up if they’re to achieve promotion this season.

“Yes, we do,” he admitted. “Of course, there’s expectation here and rightfully so because we feel like we are a big club and the club has invested in the squad.

“But there’s no guarantees in this league. I’ve seen enough of it already to know that there are no guarantees.

“There’s other big clubs in the division, who also feel, and their supporters probably feel, that they belong in a higher division and they deserve to be in a higher division, and they want to be in a higher division. But it doesn’t guarantee anything, in the end it doesn’t mean anything.

“The only way that we’re going to win games and the only way that we’re going to climb this league is first of all by starting on the training pitch, doing the right things, setting up the team in a good way.

“And then managing to put that on the pitch and put in some performances and pick up results.

“We want to get promotion from the league when that comes, so does every other team in the league and certainly at the moment there are some big clubs in that league, who all feel like they should be and could be at a higher level.

“But it doesn’t guarantee us anything, we need to go to Gillingham in the first instance and make sure that we do all the right things that give us a chance to win three points and then we’re going to have to do it again three days later [at home to Wycombe] and every game after that. That’s the only way to get success.

“We aren’t going to get out of this league because we have a big fanbase or a big support, that certainly can help, it can help the club move forward but it’s going to be up to the players on the pitch and the staff around them to put performances on that are going to enable us to get those results.”

Photo: Focus Images/Daniel Hambury

chrismakin added 16:34 - Dec 20 "I worked at the highest level in the Premier League and Champions League and coached Champions League games at 32 years old" “I've put hundreds and hundreds of hours on to the grass and into developing myself, so I feel like all the experience I've had up to this point, the coaches and managers that I've worked under at Tottenham and at Manchester United Lambert Germany history lesson on the cards.

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churchmans81 added 16:47 - Dec 20 Chris Makin 🥱
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markchips added 16:51 - Dec 20 Let's see how we get on shall we ?
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Suffolkboy added 16:55 - Dec 20 Quietly confident to outline his work ethic, his dedication to self- education and a logical objective assessment of what's needed and what's to do ., I like very much what I read and the manner of delivery ; can't see him indulging in hyperbole or loosely thought through comments ; looks like and speaks like a true professional who knows his business ! COYB
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ArnieM added 17:00 - Dec 20 I think we're going to see a significant step up in effort by this squad now as they will all want to be part of this new era ( as it takes yet another twist and significant upward trajectory). It will be interesting to see which players in this squad fall by the wayside ( I've got my list already formulating in my head ) , as the qualities expected as the “ norm” will now be substantially raised I feel . I'd say NOW the Gamechanger era really begins …. COYBs 👍

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Gforce added 17:17 - Dec 20 Sounds like an unbelievably meticulous guy which is great to hear.Ive got a good feeling we may finally have made the right appointment, to take the club forward,after many years of decline. Best of luck Keiran, we're all behind you.
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chopra777 added 17:34 - Dec 20 He sounds like he is hungry for success, unlike the bunch we have had since Jim Magilton who were hired by their manargerial past which they could not replicate. If he is anything like Eddie Howe who drove Bournemouth up the leagues we have a diamond.
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miltonsnephew added 18:05 - Dec 20 Looks like Cole Skuse 😂
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ringwoodblue added 18:31 - Dec 20 That photo of McKenna is the happiest he's looked in any of the photos I've seen. Hopefully he will be smiling when we beat the Gills!
2

Blandford73 added 18:31 - Dec 20 There are many positive ideas and comments made during this interview but the point that gives me the most hope is his understanding that no club has a right to be in a higher division because of their fanbase or history, and that hard work and the right attitude are basic yet essential requirements to success. Too many people (myself included) from fans, to players, to management and owners have thought we have some sort of right to be higher up the league structure than we are, and this attitude has created complacency and poor results. I wish Mr McKenna well and hope he can convince the players, who definitely have the talent, that hard work is required every minute of every game. Hears to a brighter future.

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Suffolk_n_Proud added 18:31 - Dec 20 At last a manager who is honest to the fans about expectations and how a big club with lots of fans doesnt mean you should be in a higher league
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Nesspointrunner added 18:49 - Dec 20 He may be able to train players and play them but can he BUY them. We need defenders who can keep the ball out and bringing in a smattering of odds and sods while hoping that one works is not the answer. Robson bought 13 players in 13 years. Let's have the same precision.
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SheptonMalletBlue added 09:17 - Dec 21 I feel confident and excited about this appointment, but, chrismakin does have a point!
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bobble added 10:05 - Dec 21 he is 35 , most likely done bugjer all, but hopefully he will do more than the other losers we have hired recently...
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Ipswichbusiness added 10:20 - Dec 21 As Nesspointrunner observes, neither McKenna nor his assistant seem to have any great transfer experience. They are coaches not traditional style managers. That means that we are even more reliant on Mark Ashton. Let's hope for the best!
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dirtydingusmagee added 10:26 - Dec 21 good players are not necessarily good managers, i'd rather have a good coach at the helm than a good ex player. His coaching cv is good, If he can command the respect of the players, and get them motivated ,the coaching aspect should be in good shape . With his staff , i think he may just turn out to be the man . Im more hopeful than ive been for quite sometime .

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oldegold added 10:26 - Dec 21 The best o' luck to you...hopefully we can turn rounds 16 years of under achievement and get back to where we belong...
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dirtydingusmagee added 10:34 - Dec 21 hopefully our ''scouting '' will be addressed as part of the rebuild. And players signed for what they can bring to the team , not the ''cronies of the past'' ''good blokes ''and ''chums ''.
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exeterblue10 added 10:38 - Dec 21 Bobble, Sir Bobby was 36 when he became Town manager, Sir Alf was 35. They did alright…
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Linkboy13 added 10:38 - Dec 21 A lot will depend on the players he brings in. I hope he signs players rather than go down the loan route . Players in general who come here on loan from academies don't really want to get injured in case it jepertises their careers. This might be why young Barry has not been in the first team reckoning.
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ArnieM added 10:42 - Dec 21 Barry's loan move coincided with the arrival of Celina and Edwards … a lot of competition !
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