All I want … is to focus fully on the job in front of me. That appears to be the clear message from Kieran McKenna, who has been the driving force at Ipswich Town in recent seasons. With reports swirling around his name and the vacant Celtic job, the Northern Irishman has sought to take control of the narrative by stressing one thing above all: his commitment to his present club.
McKenna’s rise has been rapid. After spells at Tottenham and Manchester United in various coaching roles, he took over at Ipswich and oversaw back-to-back promotions to get the club back into the Premier League. That pedigree has attracted attention far and wide, and when the Celtic manager’s post became available following Brendan Rodgers’ departure, McKenna found himself firmly on the shortlist.
But the question he faced was simple: how does he respond? And his answer has been consistent: “My focus is here.” He admits he knows how big a club Ipswich is, how special the job is. He acknowledges that other clubs will always take notice when you’re doing well. But he also says that right now, in this moment, there is no place for thoughts of leaving, no time for distractions. “I work here as if I am going to be here forever,” he said.
When asked about Celtic specifically, McKenna didn’t deny the links – instead he treated them with professional caution. He said it’s not something he’s given any thought because his seat is already full: “I have a really special job here at a massive football club.”
So beneath the headline-chasing rumours, McKenna is putting forward a very clear vision of what he wants: stability, progress, and loyalty to the project he has helped to build at Ipswich. That vision is rooted in the idea of long-term development rather than short-term jump-jobs. He speaks of building the club structurally, of the cranes outside Portman Road representing every part of the club being under construction. In his words, “We’re in the middle of that.”
“All I want …” then carries a double resonance. On the one hand, it’s what McKenna wants: to build, to stay, to deliver. On the other, it is perhaps what every club wants from his kind of coach: clarity, ambition, and a refusal to be drifted away. His message is urgent: I know the job ahead. I know what it demands. And I’m here for it.
It is also a subtle warning. As much as clubs like Celtic might knock at the door, they must meet the demands: compensation, contract, readiness for the step-up. McKenna has a deal with Ipswich that runs until 2028, and the compensation necessary to extract him would be substantial. His stance is: don’t assume I’ll leave just because the name is big. It takes the right fit and context.
In modern football, where managerial moves are frequent and loyalty sometimes fleeting, McKenna’s approach stands out. He isn’t simply saying “I’ll never leave.” He’s saying “I’m not thinking of leaving right now.” That matters. Because when one makes a vow not just of presence but of purpose, the promise is stronger.
So: “All I want …” is to finish what I have started. To raise Ipswich, to build, to commit, to keep the focus narrow and the ambition real. And let anyone else wait their turn. Because McKenna knows the privilege of the job he holds—and for now at least, he intends to stay holding it.
Be the first to comment