This is a bit of a loaded question. Few of us knew too much about him when he came here but we know an awful lot about him now. Sadly, so do a lot of other football people! So the question is, will his success come at a cost to us? Can we keep him?

Town has only lost 13 times in 93 games under McKenna’s leadership, and never by more than one goal. His win ratio success rate is sixty-two percent! After automatic promotion in his first full season in charge, Ipswich are now second in the Championship table, having won 9 of their first eleven games. Town are six points ahead of the chasing pack and with  a game in hand! It is difficult to believe that this is his first managerial position, but his 13 years of experience as a coach under some of the biggest football stars undoubtedly helped! COE Mark Ashton claimed that McKenna’s judgment has been flawless and that he knew in one sentence that he was the best person for the job.

Regrettably, success has its drawbacks, and the more prosperous Town is, the more the Premier Sharks take notice. 4 million pounds is nothing to these wealthy clubs upstairs, so the decision of whether to keep him or let him go will largely be made by the man himself. Is he here for the long haul?

Actually, I am not sure for sure, but I believe he might be. In the modern game, there are very few managers who have any patience because, of course, football clubs have very little patience with them as well. Managers are frequently fired from clubs when they experience a losing streak. The difference here perhaps is, that we have only known the good times with McKenna so far and I was informed by an insider at the club that a gentleman’s agreement was made between Ashton and McKenna. It was not written into the contract, but the understanding was that this was to be a long term project. We are extremely fortunate if this is the case, as Mckenna seems to be a man of honor. Anyway, this project has only just started. This is phase one!