McCarthy: Players "Irked" By Douglas Abuse Monday, 3rd Apr 2017 15:11 Town boss Mick McCarthy says the abuse aimed at midfielder Jonathan Douglas “irked” his team-mates as it would anyone else in a similar situation. Veteran midfielder Douglas was controversially recalled to the team which drew 1-1 at Portman Road on Saturday with fans reacting angrily to his inclusion. McCarthy says his players aren’t down about the current atmosphere at Portman Road but are frustrated with themselves as they shouldn’t be where they are in the division, 17th, six points off the relegation zone with seven matches left to play. “Not down, I think they’re a bit pissed off with it, not down,” he said. “Maybe pissed off at themselves more than anybody else because we know we can do better and we should be doing better. And the only way you get crowds to support you is by playing well and winning games. “Sheffield Wednesday’s U23s are here today, I believe their manager Carlos Carvalhal is getting grief, he’s been the hero for a long time up in Yorkshire but they’ve just dropped to seventh and suddenly the atmosphere’s changed, that’s what happens. “It’s down to us. You keep asking me questions all the time about the crowd and about what they want, it’s purely and simply down to us. “They sell pies and pints and shirts and everything else on the back of good performances. They get people in the ground by having a good team and good results. “And nothing else, I’m not bothered what initiatives you can try and use, they’ll all help when you’re doing well but you’ve got to be doing well. “Otherwise the crowd get pissed off and sing shitty songs at the owner, the manager and probably the best player on Saturday, strangely enough. “And I don’t give a shite what anybody thinks about that, he was good on Saturday, Dougie, and it was a shambles that the shouted that at him.” Does that sort of chanting affect the other players? “It irks them, definitely. You try going out with your mates or your family and see one of your family or friends get pilloried. “I’d like to think it would upset you. And if you’ve ever been in a team of any sort then you don’t like that, that’s not good. “They have a siege mentality and they don’t like anybody being singled out, it’s horrible.” Did the players rally around Douglas, who has been on the end of criticism from fans from virtually his first game for the Blues after joining from Brentford in the summer of 2015, following Saturday’s match? “They all kissed him afterwards and he felt a lot better!” joked McCarthy, who says the 35-year-old never let it get to him: “He kept wanting the ball and kept having it and he played well.” He added: “It didn’t affect him on Saturday, he took it in his stride. He’s such low maintenance. He’s been here two years and however many games he’s played. Whenever he plays he just gives his lot and he’s a great character and I don’t think he’s that sensitive.” Are situations such as that where you see players’ true characters emerge? I’d turn that around, we weren’t in the best position on Saturday, players had been away and it was fortunate that we had Dougie, who came in and was as solid as he was, certainly when Skusey went off. “Anybody that’s reading this, and if you write it just exactly as I say it, all them that were screaming at me and ‘Why should he be on the pitch…’, well I think you know what they can do.” They should ‘Foxtrot Oscar’, as he previously put it? “That’s a good thing that if you want to put that, that you said they should do that, that’s great. Thank you. I would never have used that, personally!”
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