I was bitterly disappointed when I heard all this football gossip about McKenna going to Brighton, then Chelsea, and then, Manchester United. The rumour mill was in full swing, and the centre of attention always seemed to be our manager Kieran McKenna!
When highly respected papers like The Guardian suggested he was destined to depart, I sat up to attention! This was not your popular tabloids talking, so there had to be some substance to it. I was filled with rage. How could he leave us like this?
I could understand that he had a family to care for and massive ambition, but would he really do a Graham Potter, and abandon the project that had brought this club so much success? It was looking that way, and I let my heart rule my head and in my daily vlog on Being Frank On Ipswich Town, I said as much! I considered it to be a betrayal.
In the end, all this paper talk was exactly that. Although he rightly reviewed his potential options, he decided that at just 38, he was still serving his managerial apprenticeship, and the club had granted him his every wish. New multi-million pounds under-soil playing surface with a plan already in motion to improve the training facilities and aim for Football Academy Category One! McKenna wisely decided to stay. And perhaps, just as importantly, assistant manager Martyn Pert, first-team coaches Charlie Turnbull and Lee Grant and head of goalkeeping Rene Gilmartin have also extended their Town contracts as well, with improved deals until 2028! We are where we are because Mckenna and his team took us there. This is not a coincidence and if he and his team had moved to pastures new, our chances of surviving our first season back in the Premier League would have diminished. Now we stand a real chance!
