Blues chairman and CEO Mark Ashton admits he was concerned by the interest in manager Kieran McKenna at the end of last season, but at the same time couldn’t envisage him anywhere else at this stage of his career.

As the dust settled on Town’s promotion back to the Premier League after 22 years away, speculation grew regarding the Northern Irishman’s future.

McKenna is understood to have come very close to joining Brighton while also holding talks with Chelsea and Manchester United, where he was a first-team coach prior to joining Town.

Ashton says tying McKenna down to a new multi-million-pound four-year deal was the club’s best signing of the close season.

“I think it always was going to be,” Ashton told Life’s a Pitch TV. “He’s been instrumental to the rise of this club since the day he joined.

“We work as one. The two of us are the same, we’re just totally obsessed with it and as I’m given the oxygen to do my job by my owners, my job is to put a bubble round Kieran and give him the oxygen and let him do his job unhindered.

“I’m not at the training ground every day, I don’t need to be at the training ground every day, that’s his office. He doesn’t need to be in my office every single day.

“We know what we’re doing, we trust each other and he was the best and the key signing of the summer because once we’d done that, we could all take a deep breath and move forward again.”

Ashton confirmed that the interest from other clubs was very real: “Absolutely. Was I concerned by any of them? I think I was concerned before then because I knew what was coming. When you’re in the game long enough, you speak to people, you hear the chatter, you know what chatter to trust and a couple of people in the industry had called me and said, ‘’I’m giving you a heads-up, you’ve got a problem coming’.

“And the problem was that he was an attraction to bigger clubs than probably most would have expected at that point of his career.

“But back-to-back promotions and a very, very talented manager was always going to draw attention.

“As I’ve said before, my job wasn’t to try and persuade Kieran to stay, my job was to sit down with him, look at the pros and cons of each one, then say ‘You take it away, you then have to make your call’.

“But I am going to give you hard, cold facts of why Ipswich, where we were at, what we can become, what we can do together, this journey’s not over.

“And then he called me one Saturday morning, we’d spent most of the time at my house discussing all this, and said, ‘Can I come round and see you?’ and I said yes.”

But he says he believed it wasn’t the right time for McKenna, still only 38, to move elsewhere.

“I just had faith in him,” Ashton reflected. “In my mind, I couldn’t picture him at that point anywhere else other than with us.

“I thought he handled himself extremely well, it’s not easy when you’ve got adulation and people want you and big sums of money and it’s life-changing. I thought he was calm, focused, the professional Kieran we all know and love.

“I’ll be honest with you, he came in, he didn’t sit down, he put his arms round me, gave me a hug and said, ‘I want to stay’.”

Looking back at the transfer window, in which the Blues signed 12 players, the first in the Premier League since the disastrous summer of 2001, Ashton added: “The process is the same but we’re now fishing in a very different pond with a much bigger set of numbers. You make mistakes with that set of numbers, you’ve got a problem.

“So the due diligence and the detail has to be more and we work as a really close-knit unit and that close-knit unit is really me, [chief operating officer] Luke [Werhun] and Kieran, that’s the tip of the sword, the three of us.

“Kieran will be the last call I have when I go to bed and he’ll be the first call when I wake up.”

He continued: “You mind-meld into one, you shut the outside world out and it is call after call after call. I’ve literally today got a new mobile because at the end of the transfer window, the other one just burnt out.

“You can’t not take any call and I think we probably were at a 70/80 per cent hit-rate of our number one targets. There were a couple that we moved on and you get down the line and you realise that it isn’t going to be doable and you have to change direction.

“It’s not easy and I have to manage the noise, I have to put the noise out because we’re linked with everybody. You have to understand, when we’re linked with someone, we’re linked with them for a reason; their agent is doing it to create a market, the club is doing it because they either want to sell or they want to buy, an agent is doing it to upset another agent to pinch the player.

“And my job is to get underneath that spider’s web with Luke to understand the real state of play and what’s going on. It’s a spider’s web that moves every hour and you’ve got to stay ahead of it.

“It’s tough, it’s been tough for every window, we’re going into January which will be tough and I think the other thing is that we have Financial Fair Play and we pushed to the limit.

“You talk about the transfer market, the transfer window was tough but remember two weeks before I’ve got to re-sign my manager and I’ve got some big dogs trying to steal our manager, so that had to be dealt with first because if I’m trying to sign a player, if he doesn’t know who my manager’s going to be, he’s not going to make a decision until we’ve got that done. There was a sequence of events, which were a natural process.”

He says the atmosphere at Portman Road has raised eyebrows from visiting clubs up to now.

“Premier League clubs who have been to us thus far this season are surprised. It’s not what they thought, they though, ‘This is little Ipswich’,” he said.

“You can’t tell me that the atmosphere at Portman Road is not better than we witnessed at Manchester City, than we witnessed at West Ham etc. It’s electric.

“And this is the rallying call, we need it. This is going to be absolutely key to keeping us in this division.

“Portman Road has to be a fortress. Not just at the start of the game, at the start of the second half, it’s got to be as noisy again.

“And we’ve got to find ways to really raise the roof, because when Portman Road is rocking, it’s some place.”

Regarding Town’s start, which sees them sitting in 17th, outside the relegation zone by a point but still without a win from their first seven games, he added: “I think the first two games are almost like fantasy football. You get anything out of them and you’ve shocked the world.

“After five minutes, we’re 1-0 up at Man City and I’m thinking, ‘this is [great]’, but actually we just poked the bear.

“The home games, the atmosphere and the performances have been outstanding, we’ve looked like what we are as Ipswich but you’ve got 12 new players falling into a system, learning how Kieran wants them to play.

“We have international breaks, we’ve now got nine away, so Kieran can’t have them every single day as he would have done, so it’s going to take a little bit of time.

“As someone who was at West Bromwich Albion for 16 years, we don’t lose against the Villa, that’s not acceptable.

“We probably should have won the game, their board said to me after the game that they felt they’d got away with that one.

“West Ham was a bad day at the office, I don’t think we’ve had too many of those under Kieran.

“But we’ll do from that and what he always does is he learns. He learns and he adapts, so I’m sure that’s what we’ll do and we’ll go again.

“It’s going to be a tough season and I am utterly convinced this team will be competitive right to the death.

“We’ll go again in January, that’s what we do, but we’re building and we’re learning, we’ve got to do that pretty quickly.”

Photo: ITFC

ElephantintheRoom added 12:33 - Oct 10 No amount of stuff coming out of a bull’s rectum can disguise the fact that McKenna talked to three different prospective employers before the promotion bids had parked up - and that £5 million a year for a disloyal bloke who has yet to win a a Prem game is something of a gamble
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Andy32Cracknell added 13:03 - Oct 10 ^^^^^^ soo is this plum above ^^^^^^
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Andy32Cracknell added 13:03 - Oct 10 * who
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SpiritOfJohn added 13:17 - Oct 10 When I read the interview with Mark Ashton discussing the details of his close working relationship with Kieran McKenna, I was surprised by how much he was prepared to reveal about what goes on behind the scenes. Not sure how anyone can interpret that as BS? Takes all sorts I suppose...
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Dissboyitfc added 13:31 - Oct 10 Sometimes I read a comment and I wish I could down vote it more than once! I for one felt on reading about the hug, sincerity honesty and loyalty I felt no BS or disloyalty!
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JewellintheTown added 13:34 - Oct 10 Two decent, honest, 100% committed blokes, doing an extremely tough job, with tough rules & constraints as best they can. They add massive value to everything they work on for us. The team behind them, both on & off field are fully behind them. They're working their socks off, day & night for us fans & club, revealing everything they can to include us while balancing saying too much to upset or overstep. I cant fault them. If fans aren't 100% behind them & trust them to get us there in the end, then we don't deserve them. McKenna would have been a fool not to hear any job offers out over summer, for his family & career. We'd all do it for the increased numbers, but he chose us. Remember that. Ashton knows the temptation & wise enough to know its not his time to move on yet. Lets enjoy the ride, ups & downs, and get 100% behind the club staff & team. We could, and have done so in the past, much worse.

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naa added 13:51 - Oct 10 Wow, that first comment is quite special in how apalling it is! If other companies came to you and offered you a job are you saying you'd just say no and stay with your current employer without talking to them or seeing what they had to offer? I very much doubt it. To call it disloyal is pathetic. Firstly, he has no ties to us as a club or town, he owes us nothing considering he's already repaid our gamble on him by getting us from league 1 into the premier league and, finally, he chose to stay here. The fact he talked to them and still decided to stay with us is surely an even better sign than if he hadn't talked to them.

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Suffolkboy added 14:00 - Oct 10 Not sure what ‘jungle’ Elephant inhabits, but it’s very far from the green pastures of Suffolk and ITFC — and I’m sure most would find the assessment unpalatable .let alone disturbingly off key ! Fascinating insight ,perhaps confirming what many may have deduced ,but telling us of two dedicated and enthusiastic leaders ,of whom we should be proud ! COYB
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essexccc added 15:00 - Oct 10 Its difficult to ignore an animal as large as an elephant but we must try with this one.
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Jeff added 15:11 - Oct 10 Definition of Loyalty - "Failing to be loyal to a person, country, or organisation to which one has obligations." - So not quite sure how staying with your current employer, can be termed "disloyal" by someone on this forum.
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oldbri added 15:27 - Oct 10 A nice thought out piece from Mr Ashton and a piece of thoughtless crap from elephantine the room. Obviously a Norwich supporter that can write. Not many of them about.
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Karlosfandangal added 15:46 - Oct 10 Still feel KnK will be gone at the end of the season….which will be a shame…. If he keeps Town up he will be in big demand and if Town go down he will want to stay in the top flight.
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Bazza8564 added 15:55 - Oct 10 I love reading Marks interviews, he fills me with hope and faith. Am i bothered that KM talked to other teams? No, he is human. What makes it all the more special is that KM looked at fruit dangled by other clubs and weighed it up, took the tougher option and stayed with us, and with Mark. And i honestly think he was always going to, sure he used the situation to get a better deal for himself, but if we are now using players like Phillips who are on 150k a week at City, how much is it worth to keep the guy who keeps it glued together. And frankly, Ashton should be on that because losing him would be even worse

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Northstandveteran added 16:01 - Oct 10 No matter how loyal you are to your employer, if another firm offers to double, treble, quadruple your wages, you're going to have a chat with them. I totally understand why Kieran went to see what was on offer. A chance to manage a club of Manchester Utd's stature is the opportunity of a lifetime. But people, do remember. In this day and age the only loyalty to ones club comes from supporters. Hence the reason clubs ( whichever team you support ) fleece you of your money at every opportunity.

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Westy added 16:11 - Oct 10 ElephantintheRoom - are you a Norwich fan?
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flykickingbybgunn added 16:29 - Oct 10 In Bobby's book he told how he was approached many times by other, bigger clubs. But it was the support and freedom given him by the Cobbolds that kept him at Portman Road. In the end it was only the England job that tempted him. So let it be with Kieran.
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Carberry added 16:32 - Oct 10 How annoying to have the Chief Executive ring you last thing at night and first thing in the morning, that might be enough to accept an offer from someone else!
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midastouch added 16:39 - Oct 10 "We work as one. The two of us are the same, we’re just totally obsessed with it and as I’m given the oxygen to do my job by my owners, my job is to put a bubble round Kieran and give him the oxygen and let him do his job unhindered." Oxygen Addict Alert: "I’m just waiting for MA to come clean about the club's hierarchy having an oxygen addiction. "Hi, I’m Mark, and I’m an oxygen-aholic. I can’t get enough of that sweet, sweet O2!" Not forgetting Mr Ed Schwartz (CEOxygen) either. Oxygen Addicts Anonymous: Where we breathe easy and share our highs! Heaven forbid, I hope I haven't talked up an O2 scoreline in our next key game! O2 at half time would be ok as we could then come back and win 3-2, as it is Everton we're talking about! :-)

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Radlett_blue added 17:16 - Oct 10 With hindsight, these sorts of statements are very easy, aren't they?
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victorysquad added 17:23 - Oct 10 We need to support McKenna through the highs and lows and make sure we are putting in place a solid plan to move us forward next season and for the next 5/10 years. Assuming we stay up, this is the only way we can retain good managers, by meeting their ambition head on. Not entirely sure why ElephantintheRoom has not been banned / removed.
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terryf added 17:47 - Oct 10 You get some well balanced comments on here but also some very cynical glass half full merchant always looking for the negatives. Kieran has a special relationship with Mark Ashton not enjoyed by some Managers and their CEOs. Of course he was going to consider all option,s but I honestly felt that his heart was always set on seeing the job done at Ipswich. Oh yes and a massive increase in his salary over the next 4 years would have been the icing on the cake!

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IpswichT62OldBoy added 17:55 - Oct 10 I watched the show and it made me feel wonderful to hear the guy speak with such obvious love for Ipswich and the County. Kieron and he are a proper team and will be with us for some time. I marked elephant down, it felt right to, it was rude at every level.
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ImAbeliever added 18:00 - Oct 10 Elephant….. I believe it’s time to pack your trunk. Everything prior was good to read.
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armchaircritic59 added 18:11 - Oct 10 I've read quite a few posts from ElephantintheRoom and during them he has made a few fair points. However it's clear that he still inhabits the world of the Cobbolds and the only problem being if they run out of white wine in the boardroom. This is not to denegrate them, by the way, without them we probably wouldn't be where we are now, or be held in the sort of esteem we are, as a club. They are a very, very important part of our history, that we must never forget. Time moves on however, it's not the 1960's anymore, and I did watch games at Portman road many times in that decade. You can debate whether the huge sums of money sloshing around the game these days is a good thing or not, especially at the highest levels, but it's pretty much a neccessity if you want to compete at those levels. I find the interviews with MA in particular, very illuminating. He goes into the sort of detail I've never heard from any CEO's at our club or as far as I know, anywhere else. He gives us the facts, doesn't treat supporters as idiots or irritants, and is clearly very commited to what he's doing, a breath of fresh air in a world full of " tell nothing to anyone" type of people. As regards KM, I would have done exactly the same as he did before signing the new contract. His first priority is his family and of course himself. I'll bet the great majority of posters here would have done the same. Like it or not, managing a football club is a job, like any other, though unlike the vast majority of others, it also comes with the opinions of thousands of other people regularly aired for them to read, and a certain expectation of supporters for some loyalty thrown in, rightly or wrongly. We are very fortunate in these times to have them and Gamechanger at our club, there is no way we'd be where we are now, without them, either.

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Nomore4 added 18:54 - Oct 10 I do wonder how long we give KMcK to get a win….Xmas, March, the whole season? Going by the last game V West Ham….it could be a long time in coming. Football is Football. It’s a results business after all. No managers jobs safe at the end of the day. And after spending £100m plus we need points on the board quickly.
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