Ipswich boss passes on words of football wisdom

Hat-trick: Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna has collected an honorary doctorate from the University of Suffolk

Ipswich Town Football Club manager Kieran McKenna told graduates to heed a training ground "mantra" as he collected an honorary doctorate.

McKenna advised students getting degrees from the University of Suffolk in Ipswich to "follow the process".

He said Ipswich coaches and players tried to take themselves "away from the results".

McKenna said they tried to focus on the things they could "control".

McKenna made a speech and passed on words of football wisdom to students

McKenna has overseen Ipswich's rise from League One back to the Premier League after 22 years.

The club has yet to win this season and are lying near to the bottom of the top division.

The university announced that the manager had been awarded an honorary doctorate in September, with McKenna describing the honour as a "proud moment".

Kieran McKenna told students to control what they could control and 'follow the process'

McKenna told his audience at Monday's ceremony about "our mantra" at Ipswich's training ground.

"Our mantra on the training ground is, follow the process," he said.

"Focus on the process."

He added: "You cannot always hold yourselves accountable for the outcome."

McKenna, 38, who was born in born in London and raised in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, said it was advice he often gave to Ipswich's players.

"We really try to take ourselves away from the result," he said.

"Take ourselves away from the outcome on any given week and really try to focus on the things we can control."

McKenna told students that he had considered becoming a teacher

McKenna, a Northern Ireland youth international, was a midfielder at Tottenham.

A hip injury forced him to retire in his early 20s - before making the first team.

He became a coach in academies at Tottenham and Manchester United before becoming part of United's first team coaching staff.

He began his first managerial job at Ipswich in December 2021.

McKenna guided Ipswich out of League One and into the Championship in his first full season.

Then, in 2023/24, he took the club back into the top flight for the first time since 2002.

McKenna told students how he had considered a career as a mathematics teacher and a sports physio after his playing career ended.

Sophie Peskett, Ipswich's first professional female player, also collected a BSc (Hons) degree in Sport and Exercise Science

Sophie Peskett, who became the club's first professional women's player in the summer of 2021, also graduated from the University of Suffolk on Monday.

She collected a BSc (Hons) degree in Sport and Exercise Science, after three years of study.

The 21-year-old midfielder says she is now looking forward to focusing on her football at Ipswich.