Kieran McKenna was tight-lipped on what his future holds after he was placed on Chelsea’s managerial shortlist following the departure of Mauricio Pochettno. The Ipswich Town boss is one of a number of head coaches being considered for the role, football.london understands.
Chelsea are looking at various candidates to fill the void left by Pochettino after his mutual exit on Tuesday. The 52-year-old agreed to leave after just one season in charge despite delivering a sixth-place finish, two trips to Wembley, and qualification for European football next year.
Pochettino and the Chelsea hierarchy, led by co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart as well as co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital (fronted by Behdad Eghbali and Jose E Feliciano) ultimately came to the conclusion that they were not aligned in how they wished to move forward. The Boehly-Clearlake led consortium are now looking to appoint their third permanent head coach in under two years.
McKenna, who won promotion to the top flight with Ipswich last season, is one of many young options being pursued. Stuttgart’s promising manager Sebastian Hoeness is also admired whilst Thomas Frank is another being eyed by the club.
At 38, McKenna is the youngest of those mentioned though, even more junior than Ruben Amorim. He has impressed in his first senior role in management after spending time at Manchester United as an assistant, Tottenham’s Under-18s, and a series of other technical, sports science, and coaching roles previously.
In 2021 he was appointed at Portman Road and has since been promoted twice, in back-to-back campaigns, to deliver a remarkable achievement for the Tractor Boys. His record so far has now attracted the attention of not only Chelsea but also Manchester United.
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However, speaking after being named the League Managers Association (LMA) manager of the year on Tuesday – the same time that Pochettino exit was being announced – he kept his feet firmly on the ground. “Look, the club has had such a positive season and has such a positive future ahead,” he told Sky Sports.
“We’ve achieved so much, it’s been an incredible two years. When you have success like that there always comes speculation and things like that, we’ve seen that every summer. But I know how much everyone is looking forward to the season, the club is in a fantastic path and everyone is just really looking forward to the season ahead.”
McKenna has also been linked with the vacancy at Brighton this summer after Roberto De Zerbi announced his own early exit. “Again, when you do well – as a manager or as a player – there’s always going to be speculation.
“I know what we’ve achieved isn’t a normal thing so there’s always going to be speculation. But that’s not where my focus is. Tonight is about what we’ve achieved over the last couple of seasons.
“It’s been a wonderful couple of years so tonight is about celebrating that. I know everyone is looking forward to next season and I know the club is going to be in a really good place going into that season.”