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7 months ago
39 Former Leeds United and Sunderland manager Simon Grayson says he would be surprised if Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was offered the Manchester United job this summer, but the 37-year-old has quickly become one of the highest-rated managers in the EFL.
McKenna is no stranger to Manchester United. He was part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching team along with Michael Carrick, who is now in charge of Middlesbrough, but left in 2021 after the Norwegian was sacked at Old Trafford.
However, McKenna led Ipswich to promotion from League One last season and they immediately stepped up to the standards of the Championship as they sit on top of the table after 43 matches.
Ipswich are experiencing a slump after failing to win any of their last three matches. They are still one point clear of Leicester City in second place and two points clear of Leeds in third place.
He was recognised for his achievements last weekend after being named the Championship Manager of the Season at the EFL awards.
With Erik ten Hag under mounting pressure to keep his job at United, we’ve stumbled across reports mentioning McKenna as a manager who is thought highly of at Old Trafford. He should be one they track over the coming years but there’s no way he is ready for such a job right now.
And why are people so desperate to get rid of Ten Hag?
Grayson has been impressed by the job McKenna has done but feels it is too early in his career for him to takeover at United.
“Unbelievable achievement, what Ipswich have done, and great that Kieran got the recognition of being Manager of the Year,” Grayson told East Anglian Times.
“It just shows you what can happen when you get a group together that know what they’re doing.
“They go with a care-free attitude, they’ve got a good spirit about them, they know the roles and responsibility within that group, and they’re enjoying it.
“It’s such a great achievement for what they’ve done, but they don’t want to be looking back and they don’t want to be reminded of being the team that did really well but just missed out.
“Looking at McKenna’s next move, the Manchester United job is very likely to be far too early in his managerial career, but he has done no harm in being on their radar as one to follow.
“McKenna has done a brilliant job getting Ipswich to the Championship and now to be in real contention for the Premier League, this is a huge achievement.
“But if you get offered that kind of opportunity, you don’t turn it down.
“I would be surprised if he gets an offer for that job because there’ll be a lot of other people with vast more experience than him, but you can never say never.”
McKenna has done a wonderful job at Ipswich and I’m sure he will want to remain at the club if he guides them back to the top flight.
There is no reason for him to rush a move away from Portman Road. It looks like he could gain experience as a Premier League manager by staying there.
I suspect United will continue to monitor McKenna as a coach with high potential, but he still has a lot of work to do at Ipswich.
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