How Ipswich Town players feel about Kieran McKenna leaving Portman Road this summer | OneFootball

Speculation has surrounded Kieran McKenna's position at Ipswich Town this summer

Ipswich Town players are confident that manager Kieran McKenna will only leave Portman Road for a top job.

According to Tom Collomosse, the first-team squad are still behind the Northern Irishman despite the club’s relegation from the Premier League.

The 39-year-old led the side to a 19th-place finish in the top flight, with the Suffolk outfit far from securing safety in the division beyond one year, ultimately coming 16 points behind 17th-place Tottenham Hotspur.

McKenna has been with Ipswich since December 2021, and led them from League One to the Premier League with back-to-back promotions in 2023 and 2024.

Ipswich Town players are behind Kieran McKenna

McKenna’s future at Ipswich has been the subject of intense speculation on numerous occasions since he first took over at Portman Road.

However, the players are now reportedly confident that he will only leave if a top job becomes available after he was recently linked with the Brentford role.

It was reported earlier this month by Football Insider that the Bees were preparing a formal offer to the Championship side for their manager in the event Thomas Frank left.

However, it has since been claimed by the Independent that Keith Andrews is now the front-runner to take over the top flight club after the Dane moved to Spurs to replace Ange Postecoglou.

The Ipswich players also remain behind McKenna despite their disappointing 19th-place finish in the Premier League last season.

The Tractor Boys will be aiming to earn promotion back to the top flight in the upcoming campaign.

Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich record

McKenna has been in charge of Ipswich since December 2021, and has overseen two promotions in that time.

The Northern Irishman has been in the dugout 173 times for the club, with his team winning on 81 occasions.

This is his first role in senior management, having previously worked as a coach at both Tottenham and Manchester United.

Ipswich will learn their first opponents of the new season when the fixtures are released on 26 June.

Keeping McKenna is a huge boost for Ipswich’s promotion chances

McKenna has been so important for Ipswich during their recent rise to the Premier League, and coming 19th won’t hurt his reputation within the club one bit.

Being able to keep him over this summer would be a massive boost for their promotion chances.

If they can keep him and most of the squad together, having already lost Liam Delap, then they’ll be in a strong position to finish inside the top two next season.