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Few managers have risen so dramatically as Kieran McKenna.
But then few were tipped for coaching success so young.
London-born McKenna, now 38, retired as a player aged just 22 due to a chronic hip injury.
He'd begun with Northern Irish sides Enniskillen Town United and Ballinamallard United before joining Tottenham in 2002.
But by the time he was forced to quit seven years later, he'd failed to make a single senior appearance.
However, after graduating from Loughborough University, Spurs appointed him Head of Academy Performance Analysis.
It was then, in two years guiding Manchester United Under-18 where his reputation soared fastest.
Having won the Premier League Northern Division title, McKenna was promoted all the way up to Jose Mourinho's assistant in 2018, remaining high up in the backroom under Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Ralf Rangnick.
Ipswich took the plunge on him in 2021.
And after an impressive half-season in League One, he took the Tractor Boys up in his first full campaign - repeating the feat this term to restore the club's long-lost top-flight status.
Now, one way or another, McKenna is poised for his greatest challenge in management - either keeping Ipswich up or moving to a major club.