Town manager Kieran McKenna has sensationally decided to step down from his role at Portman Road and take time away from football management, the club has announced.

After a remarkable four-and-a-half-year spell in which he has taken the Blues from mid-table in League One and into the Premier League twice, McKenna, who turned 40 last month, has decided he needs time away from the game.

“It is with a mixture of gratitude, pride, sadness and contentment that I have decided to step down from the honour of managing this historic football club,” he said.

“When you have the connection that we have built at this club there is never a good time to say goodbye. However, having achieved a second promotion to the Premier League last season, with another memorable final day in our stadium, and after reflection over the last couple of weeks, I feel this is the right time for me to step aside.

“I do so with great pride at the incredible progress we have made and with huge hope and optimism for the future of the club.

“To manage this club has been an absolute privilege. Over the last five seasons we have been on an incredible journey that has brought so many of the best experiences in my professional and personal life.

“After giving so much to the role over the previous five seasons, I now look forward to taking a break from management and dedicating some time to my family, who have been with me every step of my career so far.

“There are so many people I would like to thank who have played their part in this journey. Firstly, to Mark Ashton and the board for giving me the opportunity, at 35 years old, to manage such a massive football club, and for the unwavering support and trust they have shown ever since.

“To my coaching staff and all the wonderful staff at Portman Road and our Playford Road training centre, who work tirelessly to progress the club in every way. To all of the players who have represented the club with professionalism and passion over the past five years.

“Most importantly, thank you to the amazing fans and supporters of Ipswich Town. You have followed this football club through wonderful highs and difficult lows.

“I will be forever grateful for the way that you welcomed myself and my family, both to the football club and to the county of Suffolk. I will cherish the memories that we have shared together for the rest of my life. Ipswich Town will always have a special place in our hearts.”

Blues chairman and CEO Mark Ashton added: “The job Kieran has done at this football club over the last five years is simply incredible.

“When I first spoke to Kieran prior to appointing him, I knew we would be getting an extremely bright, hugely driven coach who craved the opportunity to make his own mark on a football club as a manager. To say he has done that is an understatement.

“Achieving three promotions in four seasons, in what is your first role as a manager, is an achievement which means Kieran is now rightly discussed in the same breath as the legends of this club. The mark he, his staff and his players have made on Ipswich Town and its community will live forever. It has captured a generation.

“It’s been a true honour to stand side-by-side with Kieran over these five years and watch him grow and achieve so much. I know just how much of himself he has given to his job and he should be incredibly proud of all he has achieved. I know I am.

“Like so many, I am of course gutted that our journey together has come to an end, but I understand and respect the decision he has made after five incredibly intense years.

“Kieran will be greatly missed but he and his family leave us with our immense gratitude for all he has done. He will always be welcome at Portman Road. Thank you for everything, Kieran. It’s been an absolute pleasure.”

McKenna leaves the club having become the first manager to lead the Blues to three promotions and the first to secure two to the top flight.

After taking over in December 2021, the Northern Irishman went on to take charge of 222 matches - the eighth-most in the club’s history - winning 105, drawing 64 and losing 53, a win percentage of 47.3.

Since the Second World War, the only permanent manager with a higher win percentage is Sir Alf Ramsey.

It’s understood that while McKenna has no plans to immediately take another job, the Blues would be protected with regards to compensation should he do so within the next year.

Only McKenna is leaving the club with his assistant Martyn Pert and the club’s other first-team staff remaining on the staff as it stands, although that may change once a new appointment is made.

Town have known about McKenna’s decision for a couple of weeks and Ashton will have begun work on finding the man to replace him.

Former Bournemouth and Wolves boss Gary O’Neil, currently with Ligue 1 Strasbourg, began circulating as a potential successor on social media yesterday when McKenna was erroneously linked with the Fulham job, while the likes of Scott Parker, who left Burnley earlier in the year, and former Blues loanee Liam Rosenior, who departed Chelsea after a short spell in April, seem likely to be among those the bookies may list as leading contenders.

One intriguing possible candidate might be Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, McKenna’s former boss at Manchester United, while England assistant coach Anthony Barry was believed to be on Town’s list of potential new recruits when it seemed likely McKenna might move on two summers ago, but may have slipped off the radar and wouldn’t be available until after the World Cup finals.

Wherever the Portman Road hierarchy look for their next manager, today’s news marks the end of one of the most successful managerial spells in the club’s history with only Ramsey, Sir Bobby Robson and George Burley - and that’s perhaps arguable given the three promotions - having achieved more in their time with the Blues.

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