7 Reasons Kieran McKenna Shows Outstanding Leadership

I joked one of the reasons I wanted Ipswich Town to win promotion was so I had an excuse to write a cheesy leadership post about their manager, Kieran McKenna.

But it turns out I don't know enough about football to write such a post, so I asked our 13 year old Tractor Boy, to write one for me.

Turns out he knows a LOT about football and he also knows a thing or two about leadership. To be fair, it's some of the best leadership advice I've ever shared on here, it's just a shame it was written by a teenager, not the leadership coach.

I'll have to start getting him up a little earlier to write my posts before school.

Enjoy the post and leave him a little encouragement, which I'll reluctantly share!

1. He learned from an experienced leader. When he started off his managerial career at Manchester United as assistant coach he had the most experienced manager in Europe working alongside him, Jose Mourinho, who has managed Europe’s top teams winning everything imaginable. McKenna would have gained a lot from Mourinho’s experience during his spell at Manchester United
2. He overcame personal challenges: McKenna was playing alongside expert managers such as Glenn Hoddle, who won the Community Shield for Tottenham as a player. During McKenna’s professional playing career he played for Enniskillen Town United (1997-2001), Ballinamallard United (2001-2002) and Tottenham Hotspur (2002-2009) as a scholar, but he never managed to play for the Tottenham senior team as he had an ongoing hip injury. He was then forced to retire from playing at the age of 22.
3. He makes best use of what he's got: He's clever. At Ipswich, he hasn’t had the biggest budget alongside the likes of Leeds, Southampton and Leicester, their promotion battling rivals, but he puts what he has to good use. For example he has loaned a lot of players in the 23/24 season who have played a crucial part in Ipswich Towns promotion winning campaign such as Omari Giraud-Hutchinson, who joined on a one-year loan spell from Premier League giants Chelsea! Mckenna signed Axel Tuanzebe, a former Manchester United player for free, in September 2023. He also signed Kieffer Moore from AFC Bournemouth on a short-term loan and Captain of Blackburn Rovers Lewis Travis also on a short-term loan. The last big signing he made was Jeremy Sarmiento from Brighton & Hove Albion, and an Ecuador international, on a loan spell. He has signed five players who are regularly in the first team line-up with not spending any of his transfer budget. But the money he spent went to good use as he signed Leif Davis from Leeds United, who racked up 18 assists in 43 matches to help the Tractor Boys get promoted!
4. He has a good rapport with his team: Kieran Mckenna has an extremely good yet unusual rapport with his players and staff. Unlike some teams, this group all seem to get along and there is never any arguments or squabbles within the team. It’s a very positive experience for the players.
5. He stays calm under pressure: Kieran McKenna is abnormally calm when his team are playing, unlike some other top tier managers he doesn’t complain or shout at the players or referees. I think this is a good trait because if he is calm I think it will be transmitted to his team. That is very important.
6. He sees potential in people. With his coaching staff, it's not what they do, but who they are. When McKenna came from Manchester United he brought Martyn Pert ( McKenna’s assistant manager at Ipswich) and Lee Grant ( one of Ipswich’s first team coaches) who both worked at Manchester United alongside Kieran McKenna. That shows that McKenna saw potential as coaches while he was in the lower ranks at Manchester United and might have had a good relationship with them while he was there. 
7. He has a plan: McKenna has an exceedingly good tactical image in the way that Ipswich Town play football especially in their attacking and set piece play structure. Whilst in league one Ipswich scored 101 goals in 46 games which was the highest in the league and just exceptionally remarkable! Onto the set pieces, last season 22% of Ipswich's goals were just from set pieces alone. This season 20% of Ipswich Towns goals were from set pieces. That goes to show how McKenna uses his experienced footballing brain to contribute to Ipswich's attacking performance.