Legend of the club - but McKenna leaves promoted Ipswich

Kieran McKenna has resigned as Ipswich Town manager, just weeks after clinching a return to the Premier League.

The 40-year-old took charge of the Tractor Boys in 2021 and guided them to three promotions in the past four seasons, two of which have taken the club into the top flight.

They will play among the elite in 2026-27 after finishing runners-up in the Championship in May.

Former Wolves head coach Gary O'Neil - currently boss of Strasbourg after being appointed in January - is one manager in the frame to replace McKenna.

The 43-year-old, who spent two years as a player with Ipswich's big rivals Norwich City, has admirers at Portman Road. The club are open-minded about a successor, but O'Neil is a contender.

McKenna was recently linked with the Fulham job, after Marco Silva's departure, but said his departure from Portman Road is because of his desire to take a break from the game and spend more time with his family.

"I feel this is the right time for me to step aside," McKenna said.

"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.

"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."

McKenna left a first-team coaching position at Manchester United to take over at Ipswich, who were labouring in League One when he was appointed in December 2021.

He led Ipswich back into the second tier of English football at the end of his first full season in charge.

He then beat Manchester City's Pep Guardiola and Arsenal's Mikel Arteta to the League Managers Association's manager of the year award in 2024 after back-to-back promotions took the club into the Premier League after a 22-year absence.

McKenna who was born in London and raised in Northern Ireland, had two years remaining on his contract at Ipswich after signing a four-year deal in 2024.

He won 105 of his 222 games in charge, and chairman Mark Ashton said he was "gutted" to be losing the highly regarded manager.

"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," Ashton said.

"The mark he, his staff and his players have made on Ipswich Town and its community will live forever. It has captured a generation."

McKenna's time in charge of Ipswich Town has been nothing short of incredible.

Just four full seasons in charge have brought with them three promotions and a first taste of Premier League football at Portman Road in more than 20 years.

What's more, the football seen during those first two promotion-winning campaigns was the best at Ipswich Town in a generation, with a group of players who thrived under the manager's lead.

Relegation from the top flight just over a year ago, coupled with a slow start to Town's most recent campaign in the second tier, meant that McKenna had not been without his critics leading up to the new year.

However, two morale-boosting wins over runaway Championship leaders Coventry City, and Town's first East Anglian derby victories in more than a decade helped a new-look Ipswich team book their seat at English football's top table once again.

Town's travelling support have enjoyed some of the most memorable away days and Portman Road has come back to life, but as McKenna alluded to on the final day of the season and in his latest statement, it has come at a cost to him. He is exhausted and he needs a break.

The Tractor Boys and Girls will wish him well in their tens of thousands. This departure is a sad moment for them, but McKenna leaves their club in a far better place, and he leaves it a very attractive proposition for his successor.