"Very intense" - Kieran McKenna fired Man United warning amid interest in Ipswich Town manager | OneFootball

Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha believes it would be a gamble to appoint Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna as the club's next boss.

Speculation surrounding Erik ten Hag's position at Old Trafford continues to rumble on ahead of the FA Cup final this weekend, with United having finished eighth in the league standings this season - their worst ever Premier League ranking.

Kieran McKenna linked with Man Utd role

With ten Hag's position uncertain, one name that has been closely linked with replacing the Dutchman at Old Trafford is Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna.

According to Football Insider, for example, Manchester United have 'concrete interest' in securing his services this summer, with the club said to have been hugely impressed by the job he has done at Ipswich Town.

As such, the above report claims that McKenna is a 'strong contender' to be the club's next manager.

Of course, McKenna has previously spent time at United and been a part of their coaching staff at both first team and academy level.

Most recently at Old Trafford, the Northern Irishman was an assistant during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's reign.

Louis Saha discusses McKenna, Man Utd links

With the links to United in mind, former United striker Louis Saha has been discussing McKenna as a candidate for the manager's position at Old Trafford.

Whilst Saha is very complimentary about McKenna, ultimately, he feels appointing the 38-year-old would be a gamble.

"Kieran knows the club and it’s an appointment that could be well received," Saha explained to FLW, via Betfred.

"However, he would provide doubts because he’s never managed in the Premier League before and has never held a job as big as the Manchester United manager’s job.

"We know about his qualities as a manager and how good he is tactically, but being the manager of Manchester United is very intense and can be tiring if you don’t have the right infrastructure.

"Hopefully under INEOS, Kieran would be protected and have less responsibility on his shoulders if he gets the job.

"I still believe the appointment would be a gamble though."

McKenna would be a risk for Man Utd

It's hard to disagree with what Louis Saha has said above, to be honest.

Hiring a manager that has just won promotion from the Championship at the age of 38 would be a gamble, even the biggest advocates of McKenna would probably not argue that fact.

McKenna has no managerial experience in the Premier League, never mind at a club as big as United, and it would be an unprecedented move almost for a club of United's size to make this hire.

However, if Man United are serious about hiring a young, hungry and dynamic head coach should ten Hag leave, there are surely few better candidates than McKenna himself.

Not only has he shown his ability as a head coach at Ipswich, guiding them to back-to-back promotions and a Premier League return, he also knows Manchester United inside out, having worked there for several years previously.

That latter fact surely gives him the edge over a load of other potential candidates, and if INEOS truly believe he is the man to guide them to success in the future, they should trust their instincts.

At the end of the day, any appointment is somewhat of a gamble as nothing is guaranteed to work out.

It just may be that McKenna is more of a gamble than a more established name, but at the same time, he could be worth that risk.