Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Chelsea is now in doubt. Ipswich Town’s boss, Kieran McKenna, might take over. The Guardian says McKenna did great work, helping Ipswich move up to the Premier League.
After the end of the 2023–24 season, the club will look at Pochettino’s role. Chelsea had a rough start, but Pochettino turned it around. They beat Bournemouth on the last day and finished sixth.His argument to stay at the Bridge for another season may be supported by this impressive finish.
Pochettino was heavily criticized since taking over at Chelsea but he was able to raise the team’s level of play. Though they are considering other options including McKenna the club’s management is not entirely committed to bring him. McKenna has received a lot of recognition for his achievements at Ipswich.
In addition to advancing the Tractor Boys into the Premier League his leadership has established him as one of England’s most promising young managers. Due to the interest of several larger teams piqued by his success Ipswich is finding it challenging to hold onto him.
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Pochettino’s future appears to be further clouded by reports that Chelsea has started discussions with McKenna’s representatives. Chelsea has had five different managers since Todd Boehly took over as owner demonstrating a lack of consistency in their managerial choices.
Despite McKenna’s remarkable accomplishments, Chelsea may be taking a chance by hiring a manager with little Premier League experience. McKenna previously worked for Manchester United as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s assistant coach but taking the step up to head coach in the Premier League is a big one.
A lesson can be learned from the case of Vincent Kompany. While battling relegation in the Premier League, Kompany was a standout manager in the Championship with Burnley. Similar to McKenna who obviously has potential, Chelsea needs to weigh the dangers of bringing in a relatively inexperienced manager at this crucial time.
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McKenna’s first season as a Premier League manager will be the 2024–2025 campaign so it will be interesting to watch how he performs in the top division. Even with his tactical prowess he has already shown himself to be a realistic coach but it will take time for him to produce steady results with a young team.
For the time being Pochettino has shown he can turn Chelsea around. Perhaps it would be better to give him another season while looking into other possibilities. With an eye toward the future this strategy may give the club the stability it needs while monitoring talented managers like McKenna.
