An honorary doctorate has been awarded to Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna for leading the club to back-to-back promotions.

His success in taking the club from League One to the Premier League was recognised in a ceremony at the University of Suffolk.

Joining students from courses such as Sport and Exercise Science, Biomedical Science and Diagnostic Radiography, Kieran urged students to “go for your biggest goal”.

He said: “If you have goals in life, if you have some things you are uncertain of, if you are not sure, go with your passion. Go with your heart, go with the one that means the most for you. Go with the one you love and chase it with everything you’ve got.”

Having suffered an early setback when his playing career ended at Tottenham Hotspur as a result of injury at the age of 22, Kieran found himself at a crossroads.

But he revealed an inspiring conversation with a club medic put him onto the path that led to the success he is enjoying at Portman Road.

"It made me realise that so often in our careers, so often in our ambitions, we are limited by our own perceptions of what is possible, by our own perceptions of what we can achieve,” Kieran told the ceremony, held in a marquee on Ipswich waterfront at sunset.

“At that point in my career, to even become a community coach, a youth coach, would have seemed like an incredible achievement and would have been my absolute dream.”

Following a stint coaching at Manchester United, Kieran was appointed manager at Ipswich Town in December 2021 leading the club back to football's top tier for the first time in more than two decades.

Giving an insight into his recent success, Kieran revealed that the mantra at the the training ground was to “focus on the process”.

“For me, that is always the focus on long-running development, which is why this is an honour to stand here in an institution that believes in the same.”

Earlier this year, the club and the university signed a three-year partnership agreement, with a collective mission to inspire pride in Ipswich and Suffolk.

Kieran said: “It feels fantastic, it’s a great honour. It’s a really important place for me now, and I feel so embedded in the community here, and of course the University of Suffolk is a big part of the community, so it’s a fantastic honour and one I’m really proud of.

“Both institutions have a big part to play in the community, and I think the link with the University is really important for us.

“We need to continue to try and improve, to innovate, and develop in all areas, and of course that is a big ethos of the university as well, so it’s an important relationship for us and one we hope will go from strength to strength and we can both keep developing, both keep helping the local community.”

In a message to graduates, Kieran urged them to “let your biggest setbacks be the ones that shape your character”.

“I believe in those setbacks is where you show your true character, and where you show the people around you your true nature.”