From Wikipedia: Following his arrival at Manchester United's under-18s as their new manager, Indy Boonen, who was a teenage player for United at the time, praised McKenna, stating, "He changed everything. The way we trained was how the opponent played on the Saturday. If you played against West Brom, you trained how they are and focused on their weaknesses."[5] Jim Magilton, the Irish Football Association's elite performance director, agreed with Boonen's appraisal of McKenna, commenting, "He is a meticulous planner yet every session is spontaneous. Nothing is set in stone. He adjusts the session to how the players are and gets what he wants out of the session. Everything is linked and game related. Nothing is for show — it has to be about the game."[5] After claims that McKenna's coaching methods "lacked continental expertise", some Manchester United supporters backed the coach, with them believing that McKenna is one of the greatest young coaches in England.[10] It was claimed that players were not convinced about McKenna's coaching, though manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær and fellow assistant coach Michael Carrick trust him.[10] United insiders, employed by The Times, stated, "McKenna [is] to be one of the best young coaches in England — and [is] one who will only get better. He helps on the pre-match preparations, [he is] determined to get United the best possible chance of tactically outclassing their opposition. And McKenna reportedly spends every plane or coach journey going over footage of matches, pouring over data and relaying it to his superiors."[10] | |