LMA Manager of the Year Kieran McKenna doesn’t rule out leaving Ipswich Town

But now, with Roberto De Zerbi gone from Brighton, Mauricio Pochettino gone from Chelsea, and Erik ten Hag possibly soon gone from United, McKenna could indeed become a wanted man. Having been named the LMA Manager of the Year last night, ahead of Pep Guardiola, certainly won’t hurt his future employment prospects.The 38-year-old (38!) was asked about the rumors at the awards gala, and he didn’t exactly dismiss them. He did try to pull the focus back in, but he didn’t shut the door. He barely even closed it, in fact.“Look, the club has had such a positive season and has such a positive future ahead. We’ve achieved so much, it’s been an incredible two years. When you have success like that there always comes speculation and things like that, we’ve seen that every summer. But I know how much everyone is looking forward to the season, the club is in a fantastic path and everyone is just really looking forward to the season ahead.’“Again, when you do well — as a manger or as a player — there’s always going to be speculation. I know what we’ve achieved isn’t a normal thing so there’s always going to be speculation. But that’s not where my focus is… tonight is about what we’ve achieved over the last couple of seasons.“It’s been a wonderful couple of years so tonight is about celebrating that. I know everyone is looking forward to next season and I know the club is going to be in a really good place going into that season.”Ironically, McKenna’s phrasing isn’t too dissimilar from the way Pochettino addressed the future over the weekend, talking about what a good place Chelsea are going to be in the seasons ahead after the foundations laid this year.

McKenna is among the four names claimed to be at the top of our initial shortlist of replacements for Pochettino, alongside Sebastien Hoeneß (Vfb Stuttgart), Míchel (Girona), and Enzo Maresca (Leicester City). For what it’s worth, those same claims also ruled out any potential reunion with Thomas Tuchel or Antonio Conte or José Mourinho, while De Zerbi (who may be heading back to Italy) didn’t even get a mention.

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