Tottenham will have a big decision to make in the summer over the appointment of a new head coach and it could centre on which division they find themselves in.
Spurs are flirting with relegation from the Premier League this season, sitting dangerously close to the bottom three with just 11 games of the season to play.
Relegation to the Championship would seem to be unthinkable, but, given they finished 17th last season, having focused later on in the campaign on the UEFA Europa League, it should not be wholly surprising to see the Lilywhites down there again.
Tottenham Have Two Names In The Frame For The Summer
Igor Tudor has been handed the reins on an interim basis until the end of the season, with his mission clear - to keep Tottenham in the Premier League.
Were they to drop into the Championship, the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Roberto De Zerbi, who have both been heavily linked with the role and are the two that GIVEMESPORT understands are the leading contenders to take over, would be harder to convince to bring in, given their standing in the game.
But they could appoint someone who knows the club - and the Championship if necessary - inside out and, who probably knows Spurs better than Pochettino himself in Kieran McKenna.
The Ipswich Town boss has been linked with the Spurs job in the past, most recently during Ange Postecoglou's final few months at the club and has a strong connection with the Lilywhites. He was also heavily linked with the Chelsea job after Pochettino was sacked, and the Brighton job after De Zerbi left.
McKenna started his career in England with Spurs, joining the club in 2002 when he signed a scholarship deal at the age of 16. Persistent injuries stopped him from having a career in senior football, but the Northern Irishman went straight into coaching, playing a key role in the Tottenham academy set-up for a number of years before moving on to Manchester United.
He had various roles at United in a five-year spell before taking on the manager role at Ipswich Town in 2021, where it has been almost non-stop success since.
McKenna Is Loved By His Ipswich Town Players
McKenna led the Tractorboys to back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League and while they were relegated last season, the 39-year-old has them towards the top of the Championship once again this season and eyeing up promotion back to the big time.
Ipswich full-back Wes Burns told Sky Sports in 2024 that McKenna was "such a brilliant coach that we have 100% trust in everything he says" in a big piece with a number of Tractorboys players talking about their manager. The Guardian reported that "Ipswich believe McKenna is a world-class talent" the same year.
Tottenham legend Clive Allen saw McKenna earning his stripes at Spurs. He said: "A player and person that you know, every single day, whether training or playing, was 100% committed about everything he did.
"A determined and committed character, who is also intelligent and articulate – don’t be surprised if Kieran rises to the top of the game as a coach."
McKenna has already risen to the top and is hungry for more of it.
His teams often feature a double pivot in the midfield and he has been known to play three at the back in a 3-4-2-1 formation or a 3-4-1-2. In the second half of his first season with Ipswich in League One, he played almost solely a 4-2-3-1 formation - synonymous with a certain Pochettino at Spurs.
McKenna Could Be The Best Of Both Pochettino And De Zerbi
In an analytical piece on his style by the Coaches Voice, McKenna has also been likened to De Zerbi.
"The dropping movement from McKenna’s pivots – similar to those seen at Brighton under Roberto De Zerbi – also helps draw and drag opponents forward, centrally," the report said.
His Ipswich side are a high-press, possession-based team, building from the back and employing an intense counter-press too. His team have defensive solidity but an impressive attacking nous too. They are the second highest goalscorers in the Championship this season behind leaders Coventry and have the second-best defensive record - just one goal worse off than second-placed Middlesbrough.
Pochettino and De Zerbi are the leading candidates to take over from Tudor at the end of the season, but McKenna should not be discounted.
Ipswich have been braced for approaches for the man they believe is a "world-class talent" in the past and they should expect another one this summer.