“I’m lost" - Pundit reacts to emerging West Ham, Kieran McKenna news | OneFootball

Kieran McKenna is being considered by the West Ham owners as a potential replacement for David Moyes.

According to Teamtalk, the Ipswich Town boss is earning admiration from the London club as they look for a possible successor to the Scot.

Moyes’ contract is up at the end of the campaign, and it remains unclear whether his future remains at the London Stadium.

McKenna has earned a lot of plaudits for his work at Portman Road, where he has guided the Tractor Boys to promotion to the Championship.

Ipswich are now seeking back-to-back promotions, with the team fighting for a top two place in the second division.

Carlton Palmer has criticised the speculation over the futures of Moyes and McKenna, suggesting it is disrespectful to their positions within their respective clubs.

He is surprised at the speculation surrounding the West Ham boss, and believes he should be retained by the London club.

“West Ham are the latest club to be linked with Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna,” Palmer told Football League World.

“I really don’t like this to be honest, where managers who are in work are being linked to jobs where other managers are in work.

“It’s just really disrespectful to the managers and clubs, it’s really unfair.

“Like I said before, the job that David Moyes has done at West Ham is absolutely remarkable.

“West Ham are eighth in the Premier League.

“Ok, they’ve lost their last two games, three of their last six, and they’re not in great form and they’ve gone out of Europe.

“The eggs are in the Premier League, where do you want West Ham to be? I’m lost.

“I know people are saying to me it’s the type of football that David Moyes is playing.

“He is playing the type of football that wins football matches.

“As it stands at the moment, West Ham have won 13 games this season, drawn nine and lost 12, which is a lot of games to lose but, as I said, they still sit eighth in the table.”

Palmer makes McKenna future claim

Palmer believes that a move to West Ham wouldn’t appeal to McKenna if promotion is secured, predicting the Suffolk outfit to go up through the play-offs.

“The job he has done at Ipswich Town, it’s fair to say that every club that is looking for a manager will be casting their eyes on Kieran McKenna,” he added.

“They’re sat in third place at the moment in the Championship, they’ve got a game in hand on Leeds United, but they’re only two points behind Leicester with three games to go, all to play for.

“I said at the start of the season Leicester and Leeds [will be in the top two], and I’m still going to stick with that, but you can’t put Ipswich out of that equation, and if Ipswich are in the play-offs I think Ipswich will go up via the play-offs.

“Those are the three best teams in the league, for me, this season.

“So, of course, McKenna is going to attract a lot of attention.

“But, like I said before, the owners of the football club are well backed financially, they moved heaven and Earth to give him a new contract to represent the success he was bringing to the football club.

“So I don’t see Kieran McKenna going anywhere from Ipswich Town unless he’s getting a top job in the Premier League, like a Manchester United or a Liverpool.

“And is it too soon for him? Absolutely not. Not for me.

“Interesting that Jason Wilcox has been brought in [at United] from Southampton, it’s interesting that Kieran has been a coach at Manchester United before.

“Like I said before, I don’t like talking about managers who are in work, but surely [Erik] Ten Hag it’s going to be difficult to see him still be the manager of Manchester United.”

Kieran McKenna's Man United links

Ten Hag’s future at Old Trafford is also uncertain, with previous reports suggesting McKenna is still admired by the Manchester club.

The Dutchman guided Man United to the FA Cup final last weekend, and has previously won the EFL Cup, but his league results have left a lot to be desired in the last 12 months.

McKenna worked as a coach under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Man United, meaning he has very recent ties to the club.

Ipswich have games against Hull City, Coventry City and Huddersfield Town to determine their final league position, with the team sitting third following Leeds United’s 4-3 win against Middlesbrough on Monday.

Promotion will surely keep McKenna at Ipswich

Promotion to the Premier League will likely guarantee McKenna remains at Portman Road, except for maybe if Man United come calling.

It would be such a great opportunity to manage the club in a third division in three seasons, so it’s difficult to see him walking away from that.

However, failure to go up could see him jump at the chance to move to the London club in order to work in the top flight.

Moyes’ future won’t be determined until after the season, with the Scot likely to make the final decision over what happens next, so we will have to wait and see whether McKenna has any chance of leaving for the London Stadium.