What Ralf Rangnick and Man Utd players thought about Kieran McKenna before exit

Rangnick comments on Martial's Man Utd future amid exit talk

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Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick and players within the squad rated Kieran McKenna before his exit from Old Trafford, according to reports. The 35-year-old departed the Premier League giants in the week to take charge of League One side Ipswich Town. Yet while the young coach attracted criticism during his time working under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, some within the club are saddened at his decision to walk away.

McKenna first made his name at Tottenham, impressing behind the scenes in north London before moving to Old Trafford to work under Jose Mourinho.

When Mourinho lost his job in December 2018, he was kept on by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and given more of a senior role within the Norweigan’s coaching set-up.

Often, when results went awry, McKenna would find himself in the firing line.

Many blamed Solskjaer’s coaches for the regular defeats they experienced, especially towards the end of the 48-year-old’s time in the dugout.

However, The Athletic say McKenna made a ‘strong impression’ on Rangnick during their brief few weeks working together.

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The German took over from Solskjaer earlier this month and, so far, has won two of his first three matches in the role.

McKenna was said to have been ‘more than capable of delivering string coaching and development messages’, while also driving ‘technological advances’.

It’s stated many players will now miss McKenna and feel he didn’t deserve the criticism that went his way.

But football is a cutthroat business and he’ll now be looking to forge a name in management, with Ipswich the biggest job of his career so far.

It’s been a dire campaign for the Portman Road outfit, who have won just seven of their 23 league matches so far.

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They currently sit 11th in the table, 10 points behind Oxford United in the race for the play-offs.

And it’ll be interesting to see how McKenna fares in Norfolk, especially given all his previous work as a coach at Tottenham and United.

The 35-year-old isn’t the only coach to have left United in recent times.

Michael Carrick, after replacing Solskjaer on an interim basis, opted to leave Old Trafford to spend more time with his family.

And goalkeeping coach Martyn Pert has quit, too, to work under McKenna in his new job at Ipswich.

Ipswich caretaker boss John McGreal, meanwhile, has expressed a belief the former United and Tottenham coach will be a good fit for the team.

“He’ll be coming with fresh ideas to get us on that right track to where we want to get to,” he said recently.

“You only have to look at his track record, the players he’s integrated into the first team, the players he’s actually coached, the managers he’s coached under, it’s a quality CV and a big appointment by the club and shows what direction it’s going (in).

“I congratulated him and he’s really looking forward to it and why wouldn’t he be?

“It’s Ipswich Town, it’s his first managerial job and it’s a great job to pick up and run with.

“Kieran will have done his background, he’ll know what direction he wants to go with the club, he’ll know all these individuals, he’ll be well prepped, he’ll have done all his homework.”

Rangnick’s United are due to face Newcastle on December 27.

However, with coronavirus cases stacking up by the day, it’s possible the match will be postponed.

The Premier League are poised to talk with key figures within the game about putting the schedule on hold for a brief time.

And Prime Minister Boris Johnson could introduce restrictions again to try and prevent the situation from spiralling out of control. 

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