| Reflections on KM 17:37 - Jun 11 with 1910 views | jasondozzell |
He walked into the freezing dressing room blowing on his hands and looking so fresh faced and young that his tie (not quite done up fully - this would become a familiar sight on award evenings etc.) gave him the look of a reluctant sixth former having to suffer a suit in an interview. But he was quietly confident and the answers to the questions were thoughtful, considered and gave you the immediate impression of a man who had a method he believed in.
He spent Christmas holed up in the Salthouse watching video after video of us. The club released a video of him in his first coaching session (talking to Chappers on that strange hill at Playford Road on the walk to the pitches) and the enthusiasm and energy was there immediately. Crouched to the ground, stopwatch in hand, conducting the players. Here was a coach who thrived on being on the grass. Echoes of Burley.
The effect was immediate. The second game away to Gillingham sticks in the mind. Suddenly a Jekyll and Hyde squad under Cook was playing total football in a matter of a week or two. Movement and passing almost unrecognisable. KM had his bash brothers playing like Brazil. I remember writing on here that at the end that he was immediately on the pitch talking about finer points of the game with Lee Evans. A football obsessive. And something very Ipswich about him. Dignified, polite, enthusiastic and a gentleman. Robson like.
After the dour 'he'll do for me' of the later Mick years, the panic of Hurst, Lambo's early demonstrative touchline presence and promise petering out, it was refreshing to have something entirely new. A scholar of the game watching calmly, then walking back to watch key moments back on the iPad set on a tripod. An entry made in the notebook. A mental note. Always seeking improvement.
Other things changed too. The coach arrival was one of the first things. Morsy would speak of it later: 'He said this was a big club and we were going to begin to behave like one again.'
Here was a man who was methodical but imaginative. Brave yet calculated. A football romantic who has done the hard yards of studying and learning and adapting. His brand of football summed him up. Front foot, attacking, but with control. We began to learn the language: 'find the spare man', 'play through the pitch', 'vertical movement', 'finishers'. A 'random low scoring event' where if you do the right things enough times eventually you will get your rewards.
Doing the right thing at the right time was a McKenna maxim and he was the embodiment of it.
Everything was done properly. The football obviously. But everything else that comes with the demands of that role too. Media duties? Calm, reasoned and willing to explain everything to supporters. Every question given a thoughtful answer. You could tell that media wasn't really what he was interested in ( I always enjoyed his wry smile when faced with the latest gushing hyperbole from a Sky presenter) but if he was going to do it, he was going to do it properly. Fans forums? Putting the room at ease with a joke, never patronising, always seeking to meet the questions with respect. Players? They knew how much he cared. From the start he kept everyone onside. Macauley Bonne's description of the conversation KM had with him when he left was a good example. Classy.
The football was magical. Even though we fell off short of the play offs and drew gamesn in 21/22, you could see the patterns and play getting stronger and stronger. It was so exciting. It felt like our own little secret. We were a way off selling out the ground, the promotion hype, the PL noise, but for the fans who had kept faith during the Evans disaster, you just knew this was different. People from the outside thought we were just continuing to slope along in league one but those following knew this was the real deal. The final away game to Crewe and then that final home game against Charlton. Something was happening.
The rest is history.
It's somehow entirely fitting that he now leaves us as he does. Just like at the beginning, a thoughtful decision, not rushed or impulsive but considered and sensible. Bowing out on a high with the club restored to where it belongs and in fine fettle and giving himself a chance to recover from 5 years of service and create a new pathway eventually for the ambition that has always burned brightly within him.
He doesn't look quite as fresh faced now as he did on that cold day in the dressing room in December 2021. He looked exhausted at the end of this season, a season that had taken everything out of him. I think it will remain his greatest achievement considering the challenges.
He leaves a big club that believes in itself again.
Ramsey, Robson, Burley and McKenna.
Thank you, KM.
[Post edited 11 Jun 17:52]
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| Reflections on KM on 19:21 - Jun 11 with 295 views | seblue78 |
| Reflections on KM on 18:30 - Jun 11 by BackToRussia |
Wow, a lot of too cool for school kids in this thread. |
I bet they don’t rate the Beatles 😂😂😂 |  | | |
| Reflections on KM on 19:22 - Jun 11 with 290 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
| Reflections on KM on 19:16 - Jun 11 by FrimleyBlue |
it's more that people are acting like we woke up to news that he had passed away.
He hasn't, it may not be long until he;s in the opposition dug out, and people are gushing like mad.
Thanks for doing what you were paid incredibly well for, it's about time a town manager did for a while. Cheers
Now lets getting excited for next season. |
This. |  |
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| Reflections on KM on 19:24 - Jun 11 with 284 views | Mullet |
| Reflections on KM on 19:21 - Jun 11 by seblue78 |
I bet they don’t rate the Beatles 😂😂😂 |
I don’t but that’s a different thing.
There’s no one that doesn’t rate him or isn’t grateful is there? But the bloke would dislocate his neck cringing at some of the stuff on here.
I’m not sure it’s a fitting tribute at all to his work here, it’s almost offensively bad to see such competitive nonsense all over the place. |  |
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| Reflections on KM on 19:34 - Jun 11 with 262 views | seblue78 |
| Reflections on KM on 19:24 - Jun 11 by Mullet |
I don’t but that’s a different thing.
There’s no one that doesn’t rate him or isn’t grateful is there? But the bloke would dislocate his neck cringing at some of the stuff on here.
I’m not sure it’s a fitting tribute at all to his work here, it’s almost offensively bad to see such competitive nonsense all over the place. |
As ever it’s each to their own mate. As I say, for me, he had a really positive impact at the time I started taking my young boys, both of whom found the concept of supporting L1 Ipswich mildly embarrassing to say the least; with their mates all supporting West Ham spurs or citeh etc. And for us to have had all the amazing experiences we’ve had in the past 4 years and for them to now be proud itfc fans I will be forever grateful to him. | | | |
| Reflections on KM on 20:38 - Jun 11 with 198 views | patrickswell |
Beautifully written summary. I’ve always felt that one thing that ended up being invaluable to McKenna when he arrived here was the games with Gillingham and Lincoln on Boxing Day 2021 (which should have been his first game in the dugout) and New Year’s Day 2022 respectively being postponed because they both had Covid outbreaks. It meant that in his first 3 weeks as manager, he only had one game (vs Wycombe) to deal with, but allowed him a chance to have a lengthy period of time working with the squad and to start building relationships. [Post edited 11 Jun 20:39]
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| Reflections on KM on 20:59 - Jun 11 with 158 views | jasondozzell |
| Reflections on KM on 20:38 - Jun 11 by patrickswell |
Beautifully written summary. I’ve always felt that one thing that ended up being invaluable to McKenna when he arrived here was the games with Gillingham and Lincoln on Boxing Day 2021 (which should have been his first game in the dugout) and New Year’s Day 2022 respectively being postponed because they both had Covid outbreaks. It meant that in his first 3 weeks as manager, he only had one game (vs Wycombe) to deal with, but allowed him a chance to have a lengthy period of time working with the squad and to start building relationships. [Post edited 11 Jun 20:39]
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Great spot re the COVID postponements. Mad to think he arrived in the middle of all that really. I remember Pert in a mask when they arrived!
Think you're spot on. He got across what he wanted in those early weeks and the players seemed to lock on to it immediately. | | | |
| I've gone for.... on 21:00 - Jun 11 with 157 views | olimar |
| I've gone for.... on 18:48 - Jun 11 by Bloots |
...."Good" for our promotion from the 3rd Division.
I'd say he met expectations that season, so it's "Good". Same as last season.
On average he comes out as "Good".
Which is good. |
You cant really have 24/25 as "poor" and 22/23 as "good" on the basis of meeting expectations, which he did in both really. Nobody was predicting we would stay up that season.
Against what we hoped for, he underachieved in 24/25, but he overachieved in 22/23, I think people hoped we would go up, but not that we would be 1 goal away from 100 goals and 100 points. | | | |
| Reflections on KM on 21:00 - Jun 11 with 156 views | jasondozzell |
| Reflections on KM on 19:34 - Jun 11 by seblue78 |
As ever it’s each to their own mate. As I say, for me, he had a really positive impact at the time I started taking my young boys, both of whom found the concept of supporting L1 Ipswich mildly embarrassing to say the least; with their mates all supporting West Ham spurs or citeh etc. And for us to have had all the amazing experiences we’ve had in the past 4 years and for them to now be proud itfc fans I will be forever grateful to him. |
Brilliant. And in the end, that's what football is about isn't it. Whenever you and your boys hear the name 'Kieran McKenna' in the future you'll remember those times together. | | | |
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| Reflections on KM on 21:14 - Jun 11 with 128 views | ernie |
| Reflections on KM on 17:51 - Jun 11 by Marshalls_Mullet |
He did a good job.
Hope his time off works out for him.
Now I'm excited to see what's next. |
Mr Sentiment over here. | | | |
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