In an exclusive interview with Nick Ames of The Guardian, former Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna discussed his reasons for voluntarily leaving the team this summer, his current break, and his future coaching plans. The 40-year-old McKenna stated that he is not in a hurry to return to management and hopes to use this rare sabbatical to spend time with his family, continue learning, and prepare for the next challenge in his career.

The following is a translation of the original text.

The early May sun shone on Portman Road Stadium. Ipswich had just achieved its third promotion in five years, and McKenna was immersed in the joy of relief. It was at that moment that he realized the time had come to leave. In fact, earlier in the season, a thought had crossed his mind: this might be his last season managing Ipswich, but the long and brutal Championship journey temporarily pushed that idea to the back of his mind. "But when I stood there, I felt like it might be time," McKenna recalled the moment after his team defeated Queens Park Rangers and secured their return to the Premier League. "It was another big win, the stadium was packed, my family and the fans were all there. To be able to leave on such a high note was really great."

Five months later, McKenna does not regret his decision to temporarily step away when everything was going so well. The golf bag outside his garage indicates that he is enjoying this break, and it also represents something more significant. His son recently developed an interest in golf, and spending time with family, whether playing golf together or traveling along the East Anglian coast in an RV during the summer, was a significant reason for his decision to pause his rapidly ascending coaching career. McKenna, at 40, has been involved in coaching for 20 years, and he feels it is time to rediscover the most important things in life while continuing to improve his coaching abilities at his own pace.

As in the past, McKenna was linked with other clubs at the time, so when he finally decided to voluntarily step down from coaching in June, many outsiders found it difficult to understand. "For people outside, it might be difficult to understand," he said. "But those who know how I've come this far, who understand my values, and those close to me who truly know me, I think they all understood why I wanted to step away for a while, and they also knew the benefits of having such a period."

However, not everyone in the football world thought this way. McKenna had already received offers for his next job, but he said those invitations "came too early, especially considering how I left Ipswich." Being able to leave a club gracefully through the front door is a rare privilege for a football manager, and it makes him proud. He is in no hurry to return to work. "I'm certainly not in a hurry," he said. "I'm enjoying the time I have now and hope the right opportunity will eventually come along. I probably know what that right opportunity will feel like, but football doesn't always go according to your plans."

Since early September, McKenna has gradually returned to work mode. He has resumed watching and analyzing matches, and has visited Bayern Munich, Wigan Warriors rugby team, and Colorado Rapids, whose head coach is his friend Matt Wells, for exchanges. He has also been learning foreign languages and continues to improve his already good Spanish. This week he is visiting some clubs in Spain, and next week he will work as a UEFA technical observer for the first time when Shakhtar Donetsk plays AEK Athens at Stamford Bridge. "I want to give myself the best possible learning opportunities before taking on the next challenge," he said.

McKenna has repeated more than once what he said after his promotion in May: the 2025/26 season was the most difficult season in his four and a half years managing Ipswich. During this time, he led the team from League One quickly to the Premier League, becoming one of the most sought-after young coaches in European football. The pressure last season was particularly immense: Ipswich was expected to return to the top flight immediately after being relegated from the Premier League, but the core members of the tightly-knit team who had helped them achieve consecutive promotions were gradually leaving. In a sense, McKenna actually led two different squads to the Premier League.

"You can see that things could have gone in two completely different directions," McKenna said, comparing Ipswich to Luton's rapid decline after a brief return to the top flight. "There was a feeling internally that if we didn't work very hard to bring everyone back together, things could very easily go in a negative direction."

Ultimately, McKenna led Ipswich across the finish line, and also reached the end of his own journey. He had been close to leaving more than once before, but if he had chosen to jump ship earlier, he would have felt it was inappropriate. "I've had many different opportunities to leave, and in many different situations, I could have chosen to leave," he said. "But I always knew very clearly that I wanted to leave in the best possible way. I wanted to leave when the club was at a high point, had returned to the Premier League, and had a very good foundation to build a future that I hoped would truly be successful."

McKenna explained that one of the most difficult things on the day of his departure was delivering a five-minute farewell speech to the fans in front of the cameras, and he did not try to hide his emotions. He then listed a long line of coaching staff members and other colleagues, and the goodbyes with them were moving, meaningful, and joyful. Many friendships will last a lifetime, especially with the members of the team he described as "really, really special," who achieved consecutive promotions together. Just the night before this interview, McKenna spent most of his journey home from London on the phone with one of them.

Regarding the £200 million transfer budget Ipswich would have had this summer if he had stayed, McKenna smiled and denied feeling any regret, not to mention the club's new training ground, which he had input on during its design. These investments seem to give his successor, O'Neil, a greater chance of avoiding relegation, but McKenna believes this only proves that Ipswich has begun a new chapter. He also emphasized that his departure was not due to fear that the team's potential relegation would damage his personal reputation. "It's not about considering the worst-case scenario or worrying about what problems might arise," he said.

What truly matters is life itself. The interview took place at the McKenna family's home in Ipswich, about a half-hour brisk walk from Portman Road Stadium. He and his wife decided to stay in Ipswich, and their two children attend school there. They are no longer just temporary visitors who stay for work. Coincidentally, Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson also kept their residences nearby after leaving Ipswich for bigger stages. Today, McKenna is similarly regarded as a hero there. In this unassuming yet passionately football-loving place, even if he keeps a low profile and carefully chooses where to socialize, the deep affection for him throughout the town and Suffolk is often palpable.

"Everyone has been incredibly respectful to us. People come up and just tell us what the past few years have meant to them, their families, and friends, and then wish me all the best for the future," McKenna said. "Our whole family moved here and fully committed, truly becoming a part of this community, which is another very positive aspect of this experience. Continuing to live in the place where you once managed a team is a bit different, but at this stage, it's the right choice for us."

So, did he ever, due to "muscle memory," subconsciously drive to the training ground early in the morning? "You might think so, but it's a completely different life now. You no longer have to set your alarm for 5:30 AM and drive there in the dark. Now you wake up with the kids, have breakfast with them, and you're home when they go to sleep at night. Although the location hasn't changed, life itself is completely different."

McKenna does not believe that the immense success of the past nearly five years has changed his personality. The coaching skills honed at Tottenham and Manchester United truly blossomed at Ipswich, and the grounded character he developed growing up in rural Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, remains. "I probably feel 20 years older," he said. "But this summer, friends from back home told me I haven't changed since I was 10. Before coming to Ipswich as a coach, I couldn't have had a better resume foundation; but on the other hand, if someone had listed all the things I would have to deal with over the next five years, I really wouldn't have believed it. After experiencing so much, you mature because of these experiences."

However, one thing cannot be denied: for a coach to voluntarily take a break when they are at a stage of unlimited potential is extremely rare in the football world. Perhaps everyone should do it? "But what's right for me, after 20 years of coaching, might be completely different from a coach who only finished playing three years ago," McKenna said. "It's an incredibly demanding job. You leave Manchester United, pack your bags, get in the car, and five and a half hours later you're in Ipswich. At 35, you leave your family and move into a hotel 10 days before Christmas; for the next four and a half years, you fully commit yourself to this job, and so does your family. I now want to enjoy the time we have, use this period for reflection, and prepare myself in the best possible way for the next job."

So, in a perfect world, what would the next phase of McKenna's career look like? He has already been linked with potential vacancies at Celtic and his former club Tottenham. As clubs begin to change managers this season, his name is bound to appear frequently. However, if McKenna takes on a new job this year, Ipswich will receive a substantial compensation fee.

"I always want to go somewhere I can help players improve, play attacking football, and win games," McKenna said. "But beyond that, I'm also a coach who wants to enjoy building connections with the club and the community, and wants to work to build something that will be remembered. At Ipswich, it was a very special opportunity, and you hope to have such an experience again in your career. But at the same time, you also have to be prepared to achieve a certain level of success in the short term, no matter where you go."

Such an opportunity will almost certainly arise soon. If all goes well, it doesn't take much imagination to see McKenna on the Champions League touchline in the coming years. Until then, he will continue to improve himself, and news from Portman Road will not be far from him, as his brother and children still frequently attend matches. However, McKenna is now more inclined to look forward and is not planning to return there anytime soon. "I think that should happen later," he said. "They are continuing their season now. Nothing can diminish the pride and love I have for everything we experienced together. I hope that one day in the future, I can return to the stadium as an old acquaintance, and some people there will still remember the days we shared."

They probably won't forget. McKenna hopes that by the time he returns there, at least another group of club supporters will have felt the magic he brought.

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