Jeffrey Jude Kenna (born 27 August 1970) is an Irish football manager and former professional footballer.
Kenna played as a defender from 1989 until 2009, notably in the Premier League for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City. He was part of the Rovers side that won the title in 1995 following his mid-season transfer from the Saints. He also played in the Football League for Tranmere Rovers, Wigan Athletic and Derby County, finishing his career in England with Non-league side Kidderminster Harriers. He was capped 27 times by Republic of Ireland.
Following retirement he went on to manage Galway United and St Patrick's Athletic. In 2011, he joined the coaching staff of the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Playing career Kenna was born in Dublin, but began his club career in England, with Southampton in 1988. He made his debut on 4 May 1991 in a 6–2 league defeat by Derby County at the Baseball Ground. He became a first team regular in the 1992–93 season and remained a fixture in the first team until 15 March 1995, when he moved to Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £1.5 million, playing a part in the run-in to the club's Premier League title that year.
He had played 114 league matches for the Saints, scoring four goals.
He was a regular in the Blackburn team until the 1999–2000 season, after Blackburn had been relegated to Division One. He made his final six appearances for Rovers in the 2000–01 season. During that campaign he had loan spells with Tranmere Rovers and Wigan Athletic, before finally exiting Ewood Park after nearly seven years to join Birmingham City on a free transfer on 24 December 2001.
Kenna scored three goals for Birmingham City after their promotion to the Premier League as Division One playoff winners at the end of the 2001–02 season – their first top division campaign in nearly 20 years.
He joined Derby County on a free transfer in March 2004, and was appointed club captain 2005, but was released at the end of the season in May 2006. In August 2006 he sealed a move to Kidderminster Harriers in the Conference National. Along with Steve Guppy, he became the first player to play at both Wembley stadiums, having played twice at the old ground, when he played for Kidderminster in their defeat to Stevenage in the FA Trophy Final 2007.
Coaching career Kenna was named Galway United manager (taking over from his former Republic of Ireland U21 international team-mate Tony Cousins) in a press conference on 21 April 2008.Kenna appointed manager He lost his first match in charge 3–2 versus Bray Wanderers.Result: Galway United 2 Bray Wanderers 3
At the time taking over at United, the club were bottom of the table and haemorrhaging money. Due to league financial regulations a lot of the senior players were sold onto other clubs to ensure that the clubs salary expenditure fell within league requirements. On 15 July 2008, Kenna officially (albeit somewhat reluctantly) became player-manager at Galway United.Kenna becomes Player Manager
Galway United relied on a number of young and relatively inexperienced players during the season. However, as the campaign progressed, Kenna was credited with helping foster a strong team ethic, and the club recorded five wins, one draw and one defeat in its final seven league matches. This run earned Galway 17 points, allowing the club to narrowly avoid relegation to the First Division by finishing one point ahead of Finn Harps.https://web.archive.org/web/20081110193712/http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/soccer_tables_index.html In addition to ensuring the club's survival, Kenna guided Galway United to the semi finals of both the League Cup and the FAI Cup. Although he was understood to be under contract for a further season with Galway, he resigned during the winter period.
He took the position of St. Patricks' Athletic manager on 15 January 2009. His first competitive match was a 3–0 home defeat at the hands of his previous club whose new manager, Ian Foster, had been Kenna's assistant the season before. Indifferent league form (which included two more defeats at the hands of Galway) saw Kenna come under pressure from the St. Pat's fans quite quickly, but a run to the Fourth Qualifying Round of the Europa League (which included a victory over Russian side Krylia Sovetov) appeared to have weathered the storm.
However, a 2–0 loss at home to First Division Waterford United in the quarter final of the FAI Cup ultimately led to Kenna's resignation as St. Patrick's Athletic manager on 18 September 2009.
On 1 August 2011, Kenna joined the coaching staff at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Personal life Kenna is the brother of heavyweight boxer Colin Kenna and second cousin of football manager Pat Scully. His father Liam is an Irish former snooker international.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSouthampton1990–91First Division200000—201991–92First Division1404000302101992–93Premier League2921000—3021993–94Premier League4121010—4321994–95Premier League2805020—350Total114411030301314Blackburn Rovers1994–95Premier League910000—911995–96Premier League3202040604401996–97Premier League3702030—4201997–98Premier League3704010—4201998–99Premier League2303030103001999–2000First Division1102030—1602000–01First Division700040—1102001–02Premier League000010—10Total1561130190701951Tranmere Rovers (loan)2000–01First Division1100000—110Wigan Athletic (loan)2001–02Second Division611000—71Birmingham City (loan)2001–02First Division600000—60Birmingham City2001–02First Division1500000301802002–03Premier League3711010—3912003–04Premier League1724000—212Total753501030843Derby County2003–04First Division900000—902004–05Championship4002010204502005–06Championship1601010—180Total650302020720Kidderminster Harriers2006–07Conference National29110—503512007–08Conference National28000—10290Total571100060641Galway United2008Irish Premier Division602010—90Career total4901036026021057310
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsRepublic of Ireland U21198930199010199140Total80Republic of Ireland B199410Total10Republic of Ireland199560199690199770199840199910Total270
Managerial + Managerial record by team and tenureTeamFromToRecord Galway United 21 April 2008 14 January 2009 St Patrick's Athletic 14 January 2009 18 September 2009
Honours Southampton Full Members' Cup runner-up: 1991–92
Blackburn Rovers Premier League: 1994–95
Birmingham City Football League First Division play-offs: 2002
References
External links
Republic of Ireland profile