by It takes little effort for Kieran McKenna to remember his first Manchester United match. He was about to turn eight when his father took him to Old Trafford in May 1994 and, while a goalless draw against Coventry might not have been exciting on the surface, there was the considerable upside to see Sir Alex Ferguson’s team celebrate their march to the title. Growing up in County Fermanagh, you supported United or Liverpool: young McKenna made his choice and those links grew stronger over the next three decades.
On Sunday, however, United travel to McKenna and his impressive Ipswich side. It will be a fiery baptism for Ruben Amorim at Portman Road and, had it not been for the Portuguese’s lengthy debut, history would have squarely taken place at home. McKenna never felt the need to hide his affection for United and, from the outside, it looked like a gamble when he left their coaching staff for a drifting League One club almost three years. But now he can face them with the realistic prospect of a positive result and that is a measure of how far he and Ipswich have come.
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“A great moment, a nice little milestone in our journey and my journey,” he said Friday, lightly protesting invitations to delve into the past without resisting every bait. The double promotions obtained at Ipswich, both convincing, could have taken him straight back to United in a parallel universe. McKenna was on their list of candidates when they were hesitant to replace Erik ten Hag in May; a decision was never particularly close, but it speaks volumes that he was in the mix and that there were firmer opportunities, all missed, to leave during a period of frenzied speculation that briefly threatened to wipe out Ipswich’s celebrations.
Both Brighton and Chelsea have gone further than United in their interest. McKenna could have left and never denied it. “Every season I’ve been here I’ve had the opportunity to leave for a club that was higher in the table,” he said. “I decided that the most meaningful thing for me was to get this club back to the Premier League. We don’t think we’re at full capacity here in any way.
There will almost certainly be more eyes on this match than any other match at Ipswich’s home ground. McKenna presented the occasion as vindication of his determination to stay. “One of the reasons I wanted to be here this season is days like this, which are really special and fantastic,” he said.
There are close links between configurations at every moment. Ipswich’s Axel Tuanzebe, who looks to be one of the best defensive right-backs in the division and is finally delivering on his early career promise, has come under McKenna’s wing at academy and first-team level of United. McKenna’s assistant Martyn Pert was in Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s set-up and offensive coach Lee Grant spent four years there as a backup goalkeeper. Ten members of United’s current squad, up to Kobbie Mainoo, have worked with McKenna in some capacity. Members of both camps are in regular contact and the good feeling will survive whatever happens this weekend.
“There are great people there, great relationships, and I’ve received a lot of good messages over the last couple of years as we’ve achieved our milestones and successes, up until last weekend. [when Ipswich won at Tottenham on 10 November]” said McKenna. Former colleagues such as Solskjær and Michael Carrick remain close friends, but there are also a few secret Ipswich admirers in United’s current set-up.
Bruno Fernandes, who remains particularly close to Pert and Grant, is one of them. “A very good professional and a very good human being,” McKenna said of the United captain. “I know he has followed our progress very carefully over the last two years. It’s not always that you leave a club and feel so much affection for the players and staff. I will enjoy seeing him on Sunday, but only after the match. It’s an eyeful trying to stop him from being at his best.
Many of the tools that will be deployed for this purpose have been perfected at United. McKenna was promoted to the first team by José Mourinho, developing further alongside Solskjær and briefly absorbing Ralf Rangnick’s Red Bull methodology. He named them all, along with current Middlesbrough head coach Carrick, as vital contributors to his journey and prospects. Ipswich certainly cannot be pigeonholed. Although they are renowned for their edge, they are capable of a harder, more pragmatic advantage than some casual observers realize.
This could give them a chance to shake up the narrative after Amorim steps out into the spotlight. In 2000, Ferguson spoke admiringly of the influence of the Portman Road crowd after newly-promoted Ipswich held United to a 1-1 draw. United’s latest starter will receive his own welcome in Suffolk, orchestrated by a counterpart who many suspect would not look out of place in his seat.
“We worked really hard to get a game like this,” McKenna said. “We certainly don’t intend to go into this with a lot of fear and restraint.” The boy who eulogized Ferguson’s heroes in the mid-1990s will not be so admiringly this time around.
