Kieran McKenna was going to be 'someone special'.

[hallamblue]

“We thought he could be someone special' - ……….Comolli on McKenna's start in coaching.

Renowned football strategist Damien Comolli says he could see very early on that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was going to be 'someone special'.

McKenna came through the youth ranks at Spurs, but was forced to retire at the age of 22 due to a chronic hip problem. He immediately switched his focus to coaching, soon being named Tottenham's Under-18s boss, later getting poached for the same role at Manchester United, then getting promoted to the first team coaching set-up at Old Trafford before recently being head-hunted for the Ipswich job at the age of 35.

Comolli was director of football at Tottenham when McKenna's playing career came to a halt in 2008. The Frenchman, who went on to work for Liverpool, looked back on that time during a recent interview for the Football Journeys podcast.

"There are some kids I see now, in academies or first teams, that I'm thinking 'you could be a great youth coach in the future'," said Comolli, who is now the president of promotion-chasing French second-tier side Toulouse FC.

"I always come back to the example of Kieran McKenna. When he was at Spurs he was a great kid, great commitment, a great pro, but he was not getting in the first team. But he was bright, he wanted to learn, he was proactive.

"I remember very well John McDermott, our academy director, the reserve team coach and myself sitting down, when Kieran had all his injuries, and us saying 'we have to find a way to keep him in within the club' because we thought he could be someone special.

"Believe it or not, four or five years ago, maybe more, the FA got in touch and they said that all the cohort of Pro Licence people were being sent down to Marseille for the Toulon Under-12 tournament. They asked if I would come and speak to them and I said 'of course'.

"So I came in and who is there? Kieran. I was so happy to see him. I started by saying 'I am so happy to see you here because you are the perfect example of us planning for you without you knowing what you could do in the future'. I was delighted. I was so happy."

[barmy billy]

High praise indeed. Let's hope it comes true his sake & ours.

I'm sure it will.

[Bluemike]

Quite a coup bringing him here.

[marko69]

Yep, and this in itself should pile some form of much needed pressure onto current crop of players. He has praise from A LOT of respected people……. WHY would he suddenly not know what he’s doing at Ipswich Town? (By the way, I’m not saying anyone said that…… its my own question)

Over to the players to carry out the ideals & visions of the young, respected boss.

[hallamblue]

If he can bring consistency ( of good form) to this squad , we’ll have a good shot at promotion…. Next season .

[jimmyt]

If he can bring consistency ( of good form) to this squad , we’ll have a good shot at promotion…. Next season .

Yes we are consistently inconsistent..

What do you think though Hallam? It can't be just a physical issue as clearly this squad of players has a decent skill level. So is it a psychological issue and can you look to address that through a sports psychologist. Does ITFC use a SP?

Or is it just pseudo-science and not much use?

[hallamblue]

All the top athletes ( in any sport), will have some interaction with sports psychologist at some point , if not regularly.

You can have all the tacit physical skills your sport requires to be very good at your sport, but what separates winners from the also rans is their mental approach, mental strength and application during their performances.

For instance last week against Bolton, I think our players didn’t know how to deal with the high press they were facing, either individually or collectively. So they played it safe and kept possession mostly in our half. Using Burns as just one example, Why didn’t Burns take on his opponent? Was it that he didn’t believe he could beat him on that day. When in other games he’s ripping the left back a new one. You can call it self belief, but it’s a subliminal mind set isn’t it. I5 takes mental strength and an application of that self belief. Athletes can get psyched out of their event before they even take to the pitch/ court. Famous incident is how Wimbledon’s crazy gang for the fear of god into Liverpool players before they even left the dressing room , by hammereimg on the wall and creating an almighty din playing music very loud. It Worked a treat.

Town players throughout the years have rarely demonstrated a strong mental approach. We failed time and again in play offs. Not because we were technically inferior, but because we “ bottled it” ….we repeated this and in the end it was a massive barrier mentally for our players to overcome . McKenna comes from a winning background in that 5he players he coached are at the top of the pyramid….. there will be techniques to draw or install that mental approach in a player. I think Town does have a sports psychologist in the ranks. They either need to get another one or use him more ( if they are not currently doing so ). But sports psychology is vital to get over that line IMO .

[Chrisfsi]

All the top athletes ( in any sport), will have some interaction with sports psychologist at some point , if not regularly.

You can have all the tacit physical skills your sport requires to be very good at your sport, but what separates winners from the also rans is their mental approach, mental strength and application during their performances.

For instance last week against Bolton, I think our players didn’t know how to deal with the high press they were facing, either individually or collectively. So they played it safe and kept possession mostly in our half. Using Burns as just one example, Why didn’t Burns take on his opponent? Was it that he didn’t believe he could beat him on that day. When in other games he’s ripping the left back a new one. You can call it self belief, but it’s a subliminal mind set isn’t it. I5 takes mental strength and an application of that self belief. Athletes can get psyched out of their event before they even take to the pitch/ court. Famous incident is how Wimbledon’s crazy gang for the fear of god into Liverpool players before they even left the dressing room , by hammereimg on the wall and creating an almighty din playing music very loud. It Worked a treat.

Town players throughout the years have rarely demonstrated a strong mental approach. We failed time and again in play offs. Not because we were technically inferior, but because we “ bottled it” ….we repeated this and in the end it was a massive barrier mentally for our players to overcome . McKenna comes from a winning background in that 5he players he coached are at the top of the pyramid….. there will be techniques to draw or install that mental approach in a player. I think Town does have a sports psychologist in the ranks. They either need to get another one or use him more ( if they are not currently doing so ). But sports psychology is vital to get over that line IMO .

I found this very insightful, and agree whole-heartedly. I started supporting Town in the mid 70's. In those days, the joke was that the definition of a crisis at Portman Road was that the white wine was not cool enough. ITFC were the epitome of the gentleman amateur. You almost get the feeling in play-offs that opponents loved getting drawn against Town as they know we will bottle it. Sports psychology has grown enormously in importance in recent years. As a young coach, and having worked with some of the the best players in the UK, I would hope that McKenna will be acutely aware of its importance. At the very least he will be aware of what best practice in the industry is, rather than relying on the "This is way I've done it for the last 30 years" type of approach. Which said approach was (possibly) valid 30 years ago, but is almost certainly not what's appropriate now. Given United (in their glory days) were renowned for not giving up right until the last whistle (and won many an encounter in injury time), lets hope some of that mental strength will rub off. And yes, I know Roy Keane played for United as well, but McKenna has a brain...

[MasseyFerguson]

All the top athletes ( in any sport), will have some interaction with sports psychologist at some point , if not regularly.

You can have all the tacit physical skills your sport requires to be very good at your sport, but what separates winners from the also rans is their mental approach, mental strength and application during their performances.

For instance last week against Bolton, I think our players didn’t know how to deal with the high press they were facing, either individually or collectively. So they played it safe and kept possession mostly in our half. Using Burns as just one example, Why didn’t Burns take on his opponent? Was it that he didn’t believe he could beat him on that day. When in other games he’s ripping the left back a new one. You can call it self belief, but it’s a subliminal mind set isn’t it. I5 takes mental strength and an application of that self belief. Athletes can get psyched out of their event before they even take to the pitch/ court. Famous incident is how Wimbledon’s crazy gang for the fear of god into Liverpool players before they even left the dressing room , by hammereimg on the wall and creating an almighty din playing music very loud. It Worked a treat.

Town players throughout the years have rarely demonstrated a strong mental approach. We failed time and again in play offs. Not because we were technically inferior, but because we “ bottled it” ….we repeated this and in the end it was a massive barrier mentally for our players to overcome . McKenna comes from a winning background in that 5he players he coached are at the top of the pyramid….. there will be techniques to draw or install that mental approach in a player. I think Town does have a sports psychologist in the ranks. They either need to get another one or use him more ( if they are not currently doing so ). But sports psychology is vital to get over that line IMO .

I found this very insightful, and agree whole-heartedly. I started supporting Town in the mid 70's. In those days, the joke was that the definition of a crisis at Portman Road was that the white wine was not cool enough. ITFC were the epitome of the gentleman amateur. You almost get the feeling in play-offs that opponents loved getting drawn against Town as they know we will bottle it. Sports psychology has grown enormously in importance in recent years. As a young coach, and having worked with some of the the best players in the UK, I would hope that McKenna will be acutely aware of its importance. At the very least he will be aware of what best practice in the industry is, rather than relying on the "This is way I've done it for the last 30 years" type of approach. Which said approach was (possibly) valid 30 years ago, but is almost certainly not what's appropriate now. Given United (in their glory days) were renowned for not giving up right until the last whistle (and won many an encounter in injury time), lets hope some of that mental strength will rub off. And yes, I know Roy Keane played for United as well, but McKenna has a brain...

Keane has a brain. He is a very bright man. His problem is that, too often, he puts his brain into neutral while his mouth is in fourth gear.

[marko69]

Brightest guy on the planet. Still is. Spent millions on Tampish Flapskin. The remainder of ALL Ipswich fans STILL cannot see how awesome that player was. But King C Word? …….. he saw it. Fkn genius.

[MasseyFerguson]

Brightest guy on the planet. Still is. Spent millions on Tampish Flapskin. The remainder of ALL Ipswich fans STILL cannot see how awesome that player was. But King C Word? …….. he saw it. Fkn genius.