Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton has called back to his time with Bristol City in a new Kieran McKenna verdict, admitting he has been criticised for his managerial appointments in the past.
Ashton spent just over five years at Ashton Gate as both the Robins’ chief executive officer and chief operating officer between the start of 2016 and the end of the 2020/21 Championship campaign.
During his spell with the Reds, Ashton oversaw the appointment of Lee Johnson as Steve Cotterill’s successor. The 34-year-old had never previously managed in the Championship having only had spells in the lower leagues with Oldham Athletic and Barnsley.
Under the stewardship of Johnson and Ashton, City came close to earning a play off position but were never quite capable of making it over the finish line to book their place in the top six of the second tier.
Ultimately, Johnson was sacked in the final weeks of the 2019/20 campaign when a top-six finish was mathematically impossible at Ashton Gate and less than a year later Ashton followed him out of the door before joining Ipswich as their CEO.
The Tractor Boys have since managed back-to-back promotions to climb from League One to the Premier League under the management of former Manchester United coach McKenna and Ashton has referenced his time in BS3 when discussing the 38-year-old’s appointment at Portman Road.
“I think if you look at my CEO career, I do get criticised for my managerial appointments,” Ashton told talkSPORT on Tuesday. “I tend to give young British managers their first opportunity.
“Aidy Boothroyd at Watford, Aidy was replaced by a young coach heading out of Chelsea called Brendan Rodgers for his first job. Malky Mackay, and Sean Dyche in the stack at Watford, Michael Appleton at Oxford, Lee Johnson at Bristol, and Kieran McKenna at Ipswich Town.
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“That’s my DNA, that’s what we look for. I’m not saying it’s right for everyone but that’s our model of operation. We want someone who’s bright, up and coming, and will work as part of a collective and a team and I think in Kieran, we probably identified someone probably two years before we appointed him that we thought would fit that mold.
“Getting him out of United we thought would be a really difficult thing to do, but United were at a period of their development that we thought we could get him and the rest is history.”
Ipswich Town climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone with an excellent 2-1 away win over Tottenham Hotspur before the international break and will welcome Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United to Portman Road on Sunday as they look to put a gap between themselves and the relegation zone.
City themselves return to Championship action against Scott Parker’s promotion-chasing Burnley at Ashton Gate on Saturday.