"I think he goes" - Stephen Warnock delivers Ipswich Town advice amid Kieran McKenna to Man Utd links | OneFootball

Former Liverpool, Aston Villa and England defender Stephen Warnock believes Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna should remain at the club for another season, despite the fact Man United would be too difficult to turn down.

Ipswich have enjoyed an outstanding first season back in the Championship after their promotion from League One, spending much of the season in and around the top two.

The Tractor Boys took a big step closer to promotion to the Premier League with a 2-1 win over Coventry City at the CBS Arena on Tuesday night.

Ipswich made a strong start to the game, and they took the lead in the eighth minute when Kieffer Moore fired home after being set up by Wes Burns.

Coventry equalised in the 64th minute through Haji Wright, but Cameron Burgess restored the visitors' advantage just five minutes later, and despite 11 minutes of added time, the Tractor Boys held on for a crucial three points.

Ipswich currently sit second in the table, three points clear of second-placed Leeds United, and they just need a point against Huddersfield Town, who are all but relegated due to their inferior goal difference, at Portman Road on Saturday to secure promotion.

McKenna's excellent work in Suffolk has not gone unnoticed, and Football Insider claimed last month that the 37-year-old is in the frame for the Manchester United job, with Erik ten Hag under increasing pressure at Old Trafford.

United are not the only top flight club to have been linked with McKenna, and The Sun reported in December that he was on the radar of Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace.

Palace have since appointed Oliver Glasner as their new manager, but Roberto De Zerbi's future at Brighton is uncertain, and the Seagulls could make a move for McKenna if the Italian departs.

Warnock: McKenna should stay at Ipswich Town for another year

Warnock believes that it could be tough for McKenna to turn down the United job, but he says the Northern Irishman should remain at Portman Road for now.

"If it's Manchester United, I think he goes, and that's not being disrespectful to Ipswich, but how often does the Manchester United job come around?" Warnock said to FLW via NewBettingSites.uk.

"The other club I've seen him being linked with is Brighton, which would almost fit into that mould of the way he manages or coaches, and then working within the constraints of what Brighton do and the recruitment they do, would that be almost the next step to him to then progress on to a Manchester United?

"I think that's the difficult thing that he has to work out, what does he want to do?

"I think back-to-back promotions, no matter what level you are at, is quite incredible, but to do that from League One into the Championship and then Championship into the Premier League, if they do attain that, would just be phenomenal. "Then what is his emotional attachment to the club? "Does he feel like he wants to then try and take them into the Premier League and try to achieve a top 10 finish, or would it be more appealing to him to take one of those bigger jobs? "We don't know, we're just guessing at what we think he might do. "I think the old saying comes in that the grass isn't always greener sometimes, and when you've got an ownership and a set of players who understand your values, to go into a Premier League team and try and change that straight away or try and implement that into a team, how difficult is that going to be?

"If I was him, I would probably stick for another year, and just see where it takes you from there."

Kieran McKenna must be cautious over potential Ipswich Town exit

Given the remarkable job McKenna has done at Ipswich, he is likely to have no shortage of suitors this summer.

Warnock is right that McKenna could be tempted by the United job, but he would face some big challenges at Old Trafford, and many high-profile managers have struggled at the club in the last decade.

A move to Brighton could be a more sensible option, but with Ipswich closing in on promotion to the Premier League, there is no reason for McKenna to depart Portman Road.

With ambitious owners and vast financial resources, there is plenty more that McKenna can achieve with the Tractor Boys, and he must be careful not to leave too soon.