Town have confirmed that boss Kieran McKenna has signed a new four-year deal, tying him to the club until the summer of 2028 with his staff also extending their Blues contracts.

The news ends two days of waiting as lawyers worked on the minutiae of the terms with the deal having been agreed early in the week.

“I am extremely proud to have signed a new contract with the club,” McKenna told the club site.

“We have enjoyed incredible success together over the last two seasons and I’m excited to have the opportunity and responsibility of leading this fantastic club into its first season in the Premier League in 22 years.

“Preparation and planning for the challenge ahead has been ongoing since we won promotion at the beginning of May, with plenty of work still to do before the start of the new season at what is such an exciting time for everyone at the club.

“I am so happy to have committed my future to taking the next step with Ipswich Town and I am really excited for what's ahead as we continue this journey together.” 

Town CEO Mark Ashton added: “We are delighted Kieran has further committed his future to the club.

“Success brings its own challenges and there has been considerable speculation in recent weeks, but Kieran and I have continued to communicate throughout, often several times a day, as we plan for the club’s first Premier League season in a generation. 

“For Kieran to have signed a new contract is a significant boost, heading into such an important campaign, as we continue the hard work in preparation for the coming season.”

Assistant manager Martyn Pert, first-team coaches Charlie Turnbull and Lee Grant and head of goalkeeping Rene Gilmartin have also extended their Town contracts.

The improved and extended deal, McKenna was previously contracted until the summer of 2027, follows feverish speculation regarding his future for the last fortnight with Brighton initially looking his likely destination before Chelsea and Manchester United also held talks with his representatives.

As TWTD reported just over a week ago, despite speaking to McKenna’s people, Leicester’s Enzo Maresca was always Chelsea’s top target and the Italian is now understood to be close to being appointed at Stamford Bridge.

The Red Devils, who beat Manchester City 2-1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday, are set to hold an end-of-season review which mean their management situation - with Erik ten Hag currently still in charge - not likely to be settled for a little while yet.

Early last week, until Chelsea made their interest known, Brighton are understood to have thought the Blues boss was ready to join them.

As no progress was made in the following days and as the situation developed, the Seagulls put a deadline of Wednesday of thise week for the Northern Irishman to commit to a move to Sussex.

But, as was the case with Crystal Palace when they showed interest in February, a switch which it has now emerged came closer than believed at the time, McKenna ultimately preferred to remain at Portman Road.

While the speculation regarding the other clubs continued, the Blues pulled out all the stops to try to keep hold of their manager with TWTD revealing on Friday that Ed Schwartz, the CEO of ORG, the US investment firm which manages funds on behalf of the Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS), the club’s majority owner, flying over from the States to hold talks with CEO Mark Ashton and McKenna.

Those talks were evidently a success and Town will have their talismanic 38-year-old boss still in charge when they make their return to the Premier League after 22 years away in August.

Photo: ITFC

Bert added 17:09 - May 30 All good things are worth waiting for. We may never get to know the ins and outs of the past few weeks unless KMck chooses to answer what he will inevitably be asked. In any industry, the ifs and buts remain unsaid and whilst we supporters have a thirst for knowledge, that’s probably how it will remain.
3

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 17:27 - May 30 Yep! I confess I was beginning to get worried, but now we can all relax and move on! Great news! COYB!
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Lord_Mac added 17:32 - May 30 Well, it played out as I thought it would, but I must admit I was getting a bit shaky this afternoon. A great year in prospect. But let's not forget that this will come up at the end of the season again, regardless of where we finish. We'll be lucky to hang onto him next summer, whether we get relegated or qualify for Europe, or anything in between. The irony is that our spending will still be limited to less that we can afford this year by FFP rules, whereas for the 2025-6 season, the income will be much higher and we will be able to bed in long-term as a premiership club. Always assuming we don't go straight down of course. The dice are still loaded against newcomers. Will we be able to hang onto McK for two seasons in the PL? We need to have contingency planning in place, and with Ashton at the helm, no doubt we do! If we lost both, that would be a challenge! Onward....

5

Flight_of_Shefki added 17:39 - May 30 Fantastic news, and for me, never in doubt. The show goes on.
1

IpswichT62OldBoy added 17:40 - May 30 Lets enjoy the ride into Europe. Next season I think worst we will do is 9th , my hope absolute hope, 5th
1

tetchris added 17:47 - May 30 Considerable speculation but was he ever in the running for any of the jobs or was it just paper talk/hype?
0

wkj added 17:49 - May 30 I like that Kieran McKenna is the manager of Ipswich Town Football Club.
3

therein61 added 17:52 - May 30 Job done Mr Ashton!! i would love to have been a fly on the wall in their discussions as i think Ashton won't be p1ssed about and gave K.M a deadline(while of course sounding out a possible candidate or two) now K.M can get his head down for what is to be a very exciting and challenging season to come!! C.O.Y.B
2

oldelsworthyfan added 17:55 - May 30 This is the right decision for McKenna (let alone us!). He will start life in the Premiership with his own team, not one where most of the players were someone else's signing. No over-hyped, overpaid, full-of-themselves, premiership types. Personally, I don't think Man U will be right for McKenna, ever (just look at the state that club is in! His next job will be England. No rush for that either. In the meantime I would love Omari to be back here. Plus two good defenders. With the way we attack we have half a dozen goal scorers (not just one or two).

7

Gazelle added 18:06 - May 30 I couldn’t think of any reason why he’d want to leave so I wasn’t worried.
3

Stato added 18:08 - May 30 Great news but we do have to mentally prepare ourselves for his departure and no complaints from me if he keeps us up for one season and then goes for champs league footy. If he had left this summer I think it might of condemned us to a bottom 3 finish.
1

HatStand added 18:10 - May 30 Back of the net
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HatStand added 18:11 - May 30 Back of the net.
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Runner added 18:18 - May 30 A new Bobby Robson in the making.
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Europablue added 18:38 - May 30 Runner He could be a club legend if only he wants it. Winning the league with us would make him manager of the century!
0

terryf added 18:45 - May 30 Great....deep breath and relax!!! Now lets get back to the fun bit of trying to guess who's on the shopping list and who's coming in!!!
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Lightningboy added 18:47 - May 30 Fantastic to see him extend his deal. Now,if all the "picking their Kieran-replacement,sh1t-stirring,bed-wetters" could disappear back under their rocks,the rest of us would be very grateful.
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Carberry added 18:54 - May 30 Now let's get some players in, we're going to need them.
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atty added 20:26 - May 30 Well whatever our individual views on this soap opera, it’s done, so we must move on and give our Club, the manager, the staff and of course the players out utmost support during the forthcoming and no doubt challenging season.
1

MVBlue added 20:52 - May 30 Happy days. The manager is the most important thing, until you have a group of really top players who love the club, there will be no continued success until the platform is built. ORG and the owners know what they are doing here, pulling out all the stops so the project can continue, Kieran is the lynch pin for the project now. Amazing season he gave us, never seen a manager more influencial to a club than he was 23/24. Setup, transfers, guidance & player development, substitutions (wow) and presence, he has it all.

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Normandyblue added 22:56 - May 30 He is the Messiah. He’s not a naughty boy.
2

Nomore4 added 13:02 - May 31 Had top 2 in L1 and Championship. Taken 150/1 for Premier League top 4 finish. Get on it!
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BlueSince93 added 15:22 - May 31 Signing of the summer!!
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