McKenna Outlines Plans At United

Kieran McKenna was appointed as Manchester United's new Under-18 coach earlier this month and has already overseen two impressive victories - 5-1 v Middlesbrough and 5-3 v West Brom - ahead of Saturday's mini-derby against Manchester City.

The former Spurs man granted ManUtd.com an in-depth interview at the Aon Training Complex after settling into his new role at the club.

Do you feel being a United fan will be an advantage in understanding what your job requires?
I think it is. Obviously, there are a lot of staff here who have connections with the club, whether as players or because they have been here a long time. People like Neil Ryan, whose dad Jim has a big history here. So there are people around who know what it means to be at United and to reflect the club's traditions. Obviously, I have never had the privilege of playing here but, growing up as a United supporter, I think I certainly understand the scale of the club, its importance in what it means to everyone who follows the club and I’m aware of the way United traditionally do things.

What are your earliest memories of supporting the Reds? We hear you came to the last game of the 1993/94 season…
I did come to that game against Coventry – I remember my dad brought me, my brother and a group of other people from Ireland and it was the first time I’d been at the stadium. I actually sat on the front row towards the halfway line so, as excited as I was, I couldn’t actually see anything from the other side of the pitch because there was a little bit of a slope that goes off towards the pitch. I remember the supporters but I don’t remember too much about the game! Eric Cantona had an overhead kick but I don’t think Bryan Robson played. Paul Ince, Gary Pallister and Steve Bruce did – it was a really good side. It was the first game I went to and I came over from Ireland to see plenty of games during the years after that.

Do you feel there is some synergy in the way United and Tottenham try to bring players through?
I think there is a way of doing things in youth development and Tottenham and United have very similar views on that. There is an importance placed on developing the individual and generating outstanding individuals who can play in the first team as a main priority. Also it’s a case of developing good people to go on and be successful at lower levels of football or in other walks of life. I think both clubs have got really similar underlying principles so there are also similar ways of playing and doing things. So hopefully it will not be too difficult to transfer to this job because there are a lot of shared values there.

Is one of the main challenges dealing with youngsters’ personalities? There is a feeling that young players can get too much too soon in the modern game...
I think the players have more challenges now. There are more things that can distract the players and that can take away from their football. There is different pressure on them now, certainly some of the early achievers. Having met the boys in my first week here, I think they are a great bunch who want to things the right way and are willing to learn and take on new ideas. Part of our job is keeping them humble and working hard so they don’t get ahead of themselves but it’s also about supporting them and understanding the challenges of being a 16 or 17-year-old player at Manchester United today. Some of the things that brings wouldn’t have been the case 10 years ago so you’ve got to understand what they go through and know when to bring them down to earth a little bit or provide support.

You’re still young yourself and were an Academy player at Spurs so will that background help in this respect?
It helps to have come through the system at a big club as you understand the difficulties of trying to break through into a first team that is doing so well and is so well developed. You realise the difficulties there but understand the fantastic privileges these boys have and they must grasp every opportunity they are given. Definitely having come through it myself is useful.

What is your view on Academy football and the criticism it generates in terms of the numbers of players getting through the system in this country?
I think it’s getting tougher and tougher to get young players through because the quality of the Premier League is getting higher and higher every year. Fantastic players are coming in from all over the world but great work goes on in the Academies with really good people at a large majority of the Academies doing the right things in developing players. The key bit is how the pathways and opportunities are put in place for the young boys when they come out of the system so they get the opportunities to play senior football, be that at their parent club, out on loan or in B teams or whatever way the governing bodies decide to do it. I think that’s the key but watching England’s youth teams regularly and seeing Academy football for quite a while now, the level is going up and up. Technically, tactically and physically, we’re producing better players but the key is providing that pathway so they can learn their trade by playing first-team football somewhere.

The fans feel a special buzz when a homegrown player scores, like Jesse Lingard did in the FA Cup final. Can you sense that is the case?
It is the case and I think a lot of work goes into Academies – you might have two or three clubs who haven’t had a regular first-teamer come through but, when you do get that, it’s exciting. I’ve seen it close up at Tottenham with Harry Kane over the last few years and, when you get a player like that, who has been right through the system, has the club in his blood and a really good connection with the fans, the value of that to the team and the club is tenfold to what his market value probably could ever be. So it’s important that in Marcus [Rashford] and Jesse [Lingard], United had some of that feeling last year and that is what we as youth coaches work for as well. Getting that one player through who can establish himself in the first team and be a big player for the club. It’s such an incredible thing when it does happen.

Luck obviously plays a part in terms of timing but, if an opportunity comes, do you feel any youngster has to instantly take it?
Absolutely. Realistically, we know as youth coaches that we educate the young boys that they might not be afforded as much time as players bought from outside. They might only get one opportunity or a couple of games and they need to grasp that opportunity. It tends to be a really special one who goes and does that as we’ve seen last year with Rashford. Different circumstances led to him getting the opportunity but he grasped it with both hands as a special talent.

Do you feel it’s important to allow the youngsters to experience playing in front of crowds, as we’ve tried to do at Altrincham?
The facilities at Altrincham are a really good asset that the Academy has and we’ll certainly look to have some games there. Even if there is a small crowd, it’s the feel of being in the stadium and sometimes having a later kick-off towards 3pm on a Saturday so it feels more like first-team football. Obviously, the Under-23s have a really good set-up at Leigh Sports Village. I went to watch the game against Chelsea recently and it’s a really good stadium with a decent crowd there. The FA Youth Cup and international tournaments in stadiums are really competitive games and these are the type of experiences you want them to have.

We took part in the Otten Cup this summer and that was more great experience…
That’s something I’m a big believer in. At Tottenham’s Academy, we did really well with an international games programme so we were used to playing international opposition because 70 per cent of the Premier League players are international. If our boys get in the first team, they will play against South Americans and people from all over Europe, Asia and the rest of the world so they need to get used to playing against those kind of teams collectively and also individual players. Their style of play is different to British players so the boys gained some great experience in the Otten Cup and were really unlucky not to win it. It showed some of the talent they do have and it’ll be about trying to maximise that talent now and get it out on a more consistent basis.

United have traditionally had a strong Irish connection over the years but we only have one player from the Emerald Isle in the Under-18s at the moment - Lee O’Connor. It’s good that you can boost that bond again!
United are massive all over the world and that’s certainly the case in Ireland as there are so many supporters based there. It’s been fantastic for me over the last week or so with the amount of messages of support I’ve been getting. It’s been really nice. I grew up watching the likes of Denis Irwin and Roy Keane.

Did you ever compete in the Milk Cup, the tournament held in Northern Ireland, as a player?
I played in it twice – firstly, as a 13-year-old for County Fermanagh in the Junior Section and then as a 19-year-old in the Under-20 section for Northern Ireland. We beat Brazil in the semi-finals but were beaten by USA in the final. It’s a good tournament and I really enjoyed it. It’s great for the Irish fans over there as any time United are in Ireland, there is loads of interest.

Obviously, you’ll have to work closely with Nicky Butt and Warren Joyce. The Reserves squad is quite small so do you expect to be losing some of your Under-18 group?
Well, I’m used to that in the current environment. There are shared values United and Tottenham have - if we can push people out on loan to other clubs that will massively benefit them, as clubs we will always give them that opportunity to move them forward. It means sometimes the Under-23s lack numbers though and that has a knock-on effect to the Under-18s. But everyone is clear that the priority is developing the best players and giving them the best experiences to get them to where we want to get them. You accept these things as a youth-team coach and get used to it. I’ll just do the very best work I can with the players I have with me on any given day or week.

Credit: Manutd.com