Ken McKenna

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Ken McKenna
Personal information
Full nameKenneth McKenna
Date of birth2 July 1960
Place of birthBirkenhead, England
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing positionForward
Club information
Current team
Morecambe (Assistant manager)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1982–1983Tranmere Rovers4(0)
1983–?Telford United
?–1987Runcorn
1987–1989Tranmere Rovers16(3)
1989–1990Telford United
1990–1992Altrincham74(41)
1992–1994Barrow
1994–1997Conwy United98(89)
1997–1998Bangor City27(18)
1998–2005The New Saints[1]63(20)
Teams managed
2001–2008The New Saints[1]
2008Cammell Laird
2010–2011Altrincham
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Kenneth "Ken" McKenna (born 2 July 1960 in Birkenhead) is an English former professional footballer and manager, currently assistant manager of Football League Two side Morecambe.[2]

Playing career

McKenna started his senior playing career with Poulton Victoria and then signed for Tranmere Rovers in the Football League on a non-contract basis, making four league appearances.[3] He left the club in 1983, joining Telford United and later won a Cheshire Senior Cup winner's medal with Runcorn, returning to Tranmere Rovers for a second spell in 1987.

After a second spell at Telford United, McKenna joined Altrincham at the start of the 1990–91 season, scoring 33 goals in 56 appearances in all competitions, finishing the season with the Robins' Player of the Year award and was part of a side that went 28 games without defeat and scored in 10 consecutive games. He also managed hat tricks against Merthyr Tydfil, Boston United and Cheltenham Town.[4] He continued to score goals during his second season with the club, finishing the year with 23 goals in all competitions, despite the Moss Lane outfit barely surviving the drop before leaving to join Barrow in 1992.

In 1994, McKenna joined Welsh Premier League side Conwy United, setting a new club scoring record in the 1995–96 season with 38 goals in 35 league appearances, finishing as the league's top scorer.[5] After one year with Bangor City, during which he scoring a late equaliser in the Welsh Cup final against Connah's Quay Nomads to take the game to penalties which Bangor later won,[6] he joined Total Network Solutions and was later appointed manager during the 2000–01 season.

Managerial career

McKenna steered TNS to three runners-up spots in the Welsh Premier League before winning three successive titles in 2004–05, 2005–06 and 2006–07, as well as adding FAW Premier Cup, Welsh Cup and Welsh League Cup successes.[7] In March 2008, he left the club by mutual consent.[8]

McKenna returned to his home town of Birkenhead to become manager of Cammell Laird but left the club soon after, later becoming chief scout at Cambridge United before joining Altrincham as assistant manager. In September 2010, he was appointed caretaker-manager at the club following the sacking of Graham Heathcote.[9] Following an improvement in the team's results under McKenna, he was later handed the job on a permanent basis.[10]

On 16 May 2011, it was announced that McKenna would take a new role as assistant manager, to the new Morecambe manager, Jim Bentley.

Honours

Player

Telford United
1989
Bangor City
1998

Manager

The New Saints
2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07
2005
2006
2007

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Prior to 2006, the club was known as Total Network Solutions
  2. ↑ http://www.morecambefc.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10866~2361382,00.html
  3. ↑ "Ken McKenna". Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  4. ↑ "Alty legends section 13". Robins' review. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  5. ↑ "Top 25 individual goalscorers 1995/6". welsh-premier.com. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  6. ↑ "Bangor City 1–1 Connah's Quay Nomads". Welsh Football Data Archive. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  7. ↑ "Saints boss McKenna to step down". BBC Sport. 18 February 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  8. ↑ "Manager McKenna leaves Saints". BBC Sport. 13 March 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  9. ↑ "McKenna takes charge of Altrincham". welsh-premier.com. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  10. ↑ "Altrincham appoint Ken McKenna as manager". BBC Sport. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2010.

External links