This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna has been in charge since December 2021, but prior to his career in the dugout, he spent seven years as a youth player with Tottenham Hotspur, as well as coaching their youth teams.
The now 39-year-old joined Spurs as a youth player in 2002, after signing a scholarship contract with the club. In 2009, at the age of just 22, McKenna retired from playing due to an ongoing hip injury.
It prevented the Northern Irishman from making a senior first-team appearance for Tottenham. After retiring from playing, McKenna started a career in coaching whilst studying at Loughborough University. During his time studying, McKenna spent time as a youth coach at Tottenham and a handful of other sides.
Upon graduating, the current Ipswich Town boss was hired as the Head of Academy Performance Analysis at Tottenham, before being placed in charge of their under-18's side. During his tenure at Spurs, McKenna guided the team to the semi-final of the FA Youth Cup in 2015.
In August 2016, McKenna left his role at Tottenham to join the academy set-up at Manchester United, becoming the under-18's manager once more. Ipswich were his first steps into a senior position of his own, despite having first-team assistant roles under various coaches at Old Trafford.
Ipswich Town verdict on Kieran McKenna amid Tottenham Hotspur vacancy
Man United recently replaced Ruben Amorim with Michael Carrick until the end of the season, whilst Spurs are now looking for a replacement for Thomas Frank following his sacking after losing 2-1 to Newcastle United.
Football League World's Ipswich fan pundit Adam Wilkin was asked to provide his thoughts as to whether there are fears Tottenham may come back in for their former coach, and if he thinks McKenna would depart the club in their current position.
"I think the two clubs I am always worried about coming in for McKenna are Manchester United and Tottenham, given his links and given the size of the clubs," Adam told FLW.
"But then, I think there have been better times for him to move to Tottenham than now. I was probably more worried at the end of the season around when Thomas Frank got the job.
"I feel like McKenna is the kind of manager who likes to finish off a job, which is something that is rare in football. But once he commits to a project, it's something that he clearly likes to follow through. So, I don't think he would leave mid-season.
"If Spurs were to get an interim style manager until the end of the season, Harry Redknapp's been rumoured somewhere - although I'm not sure how serious that is - and we're having this conversation before the beginning of next season, then maybe.
"But, for now, yeah, I don't see it. I can't see him leaving Ipswich Town this season."
Kieran McKenna is Ipswich Town's prized asset - they can't lose him now
Ipswich have many assets on the playing side of things, but the club's greatest asset is arguably McKenna.
It could be argued that he is the architect of everything the club has become. While players execute on the pitch, McKenna defines the identity and their recent trajectory.
He transformed Ipswich from a stagnant League One side into back-to-back promotion winners, which helped retore belief and unity at Portman Road, as well as an incredible style of play and elite performance levels.
His tactical clarity is what makes him a potential long-term Premier League coach, given his structured build-up, as well as intelligent rotations and use of his substitutes bench to get the most out of his squad and adapt to the opposition. That is something lacking at Spurs for some time now.
The Northern Irishman maximises individual players and consistently improves them. Crucially, his coaching raises the collective above the sum of its parts; players thrive within a clear framework and often outperform expectations. That stability attracts other suitors, undoubtedly.