Paul Stephen McKenna (born 20 October 1977) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

Career

Preston North End

Born in

Eccleston, Lancashire Eccleston is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. It is beside the River Yarrow, and was formerly an agricultural and later a weaving settlement. History Its name came from the Celtic word ''"eglēs"' ...

, after making his debut in 1997 he soon became a fixture in the Preston North End first team. His appearance tally was 427 at the end of the 2007–08 season. This puts him at number nine in the all-time record appearances for the club. He has worn the number 16 shirt since squad numbers were adopted by

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

. The 2006–07 season ended in disappointment for the Chorley-born player, not only at missing out on the Play-offs but at missing the last two months of the season with a groin problem. However, he recovered from the injury in time to make a first-team return in October 2007, and was named club captain in one of Paul Simpson's last acts as manager. McKenna has missed just one game since being handed the captain's armband. McKenna scored the winning penalty in the penalty shoot-out of the 2000–01 Division One play-off semi-final second leg between Preston and

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

at Deepdale, which saw ''the Lilywhites'' head to the Millennium Stadium for the final. McKenna was voted PFA Player of the Season at the end of the 2004–05 season after 35 appearances and 3 goals. He signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Preston in November 2005.

Nottingham Forest

McKenna signed for

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

on a three-year contract for a

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in cont ...

of £750,000 on 20 July 2009. He was immediately installed as

club captain The team captain of an association football team, sometimes known as the skipper, is a team member chosen to be the on-pitch leader of the team; they are often one of the older or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavi ...

. On 19 December 2009, McKenna scored his first goal for Forest against former club Preston with a 25-yard shot into the bottom left hand corner. However, he refused to celebrate the goal, showing restraint as a mark of respect to the Preston fans. Forest went on to win the game 3–0.

Hull City

2011–12

On 1 July 2011, following speculation that he may rejoin his former employers Preston North End, McKenna joined

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

on a two-year contract on a free transfer. He made his debut in the first game of the season on 5 August 2011 at the

KC Stadium The MKM Stadium (also known as the Hull City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations) is a multi-purpose facility in the city of Kingston upon Hull, England. The stadium was previously called the KC Stadium, but was renamed the KCOM Stadi ...

in the 0–1 defeat to Blackpool. McKenna enjoyed a strong season as a regular in central midfield in the club's push for promotion.

2012–13

McKenna was sent off on 27 August 2012 in a

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

game against

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

for kicking out at Doncaster's Rob Jones. For the remainder of his time at Hull he was mainly named as a substitute by manager Steve Bruce. On 25 January 2013 McKenna was loaned to

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...

for the remainder of the 2012–13 season. On 16 May 2013, Hull City announced that McKenna, along with 11 others would be free to leave the KC stadium, as they prepared for their first season back in the Premier League.

Bamber Bridge

McKenna signed for Northern Premier League side

Bamber Bridge Bamber Bridge is an urban village in Lancashire, England, south-east of Preston, in the borough of South Ribble. The name derives from the Old English "bēam" and "brycg", which probably means "tree-trunk bridge". The population was 13,945 at ...

on a free transfer in September 2014. He retired in December 2015.

Longridge Town

In January 2016 McKenna took up a coaching role at Longridge Town alongside former Preston North End teammate

Lee Ashcroft Lee Ashcroft (born 7 September 1972) is an English former footballer and football manager who manages North West Counties Premier Division club Longridge Town. An England under-21 international, the striker began his playing career at Pre ...

. McKenna played in one fixture but said his main priority is coaching.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual *

PFA Fans' Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Fans' Player of the Year (often called the PFA Fans' Player of the Year, or simply the Fans' Player of the Year) award is given to footballers in the top four flights of English football, the Premier Leag ...

: 2004–05 Championship

References

External links

*
Paul McKenna
at pnefc.net {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Paul 1977 births Living people People from Eccleston, Lancashire English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Preston North End F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Bamber Bridge F.C. players English Football League players Longridge Town F.C. players Footballers from Lancashire