Town boss Mick McCarthy admits that the ongoing rift between him and supporters will come into his thoughts when he decides on his future in the summer. The 59-year-old’s Blues contract is up at the end of the season and he recently revealed he had begun discussions with owner Marcus Evans - who has an option to keep him at Portman Road for two further years - regarding what might happen at the end of the campaign.

Yesterday, McCarthy issued an apology for swearing as he celebrated Town’s goal at Norwich but denied he was directing his comment at the travelling Blues’ support in response to earlier derogatory chanting, as had been widely interpreted at the time.

“Yes, I guess so,” he said when asked whether the schism would come into his thinking. “But I’ve not given that too much thought, I have to be honest, since [Sunday]. I always say I’d like to win tomorrow and then my relationship is a lot better, it always is.”

A shame that the rift has developed? “I prefer it when they’re supporting the team and if it’s me being here that is affecting that, that really is sad.

“But, I’m here for the next 14 games at least, and I’m at pains to say at least, and I’m going to try and do as well as I can.”

McCarthy says despite the weekend furore, he has no problem staying focused: “Oh yes, absolutely. I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve had ups and downs throughout my career and, yes, I do manage to focus on it. All I am is focused on the Cardiff game.”

Regarding the apology, he said: “Listen, people saw me swearing on television. It was at nobody but I was pumped up for that game, really pumped up.

“I said when I was sat here last week how much it meant to the fans and that I was quite aware of it. I was desperate for a win, sadly I didn’t get it.”

Was he concerned when he saw how it had been interpreted? “Not really, people can interpret it however they want. But listen, I’ve jumped up and done that before, so it was a really good moment, I thought we were going to win the game.”

Does he believe he’s entitled to celebrate a goal in any way he likes? “Well, maybe not when people are watching it with the bad language that I used. But when I jumped up I’m not thinking I’ve got the cameras on me because I’m not that bothered, to be quite honest.

“But I think it’s a shame actually that you [the media] are running the story and carrying on with it, to be honest. It’s just prolonging it. It’s such a shame that we should stop talking about it, I guess.”

And if he’s getting stick from fans, isn’t he entitled to hit back in kind? “I wasn’t giving them stick back. You’re misinterpreting it. I was pumped up and I said here, I was desperate to win.

“Pumped up and delighted we’d scored, thought we were going to win. And that’s the end of it. You’ve seen the website and you’ve seen what I’ve said, so as far as I’m concerned it’s finished with.”

Does he believe it’s possible for a club to be successful over a longer period if there is such a rift between its manager and its fans? “Let’s hope so. I keep saying, I’ll just keep doing my job. I’ve got Cardiff to play tomorrow night.

“I’ve had a great relationship with the fans actually, for the most part. And I think if we win tomorrow night we’ll get cheered off as we normally do.”

Can it have an impact on the players during a game? “You’d have to ask them. I don’t think so actually. I think the atmosphere does and I’ve said in the past that I think that fans come along and cheer the team because that’s what they are, they’re fans, and they come and support us.

“And that’s what they do generally and if we’ve won we get well supported, if we’ve lost, like any other club, like any other team, you get the bird when you’re going off.”

Asked again about how his relationship with fans might affect his decision in the summer, he added: “I’m concentrating on tomorrow. Effectively, the only way I can [improve] it is by winning games and playing well.

“We played well on Sunday and we should have won that game in the end. You can argue that Bart made two good saves. I think their keeper made some good saves, I thought we played well and were the better team in the first half.

“We had to withstand a bit of pressure from a very good Norwich side, but in the end we scored and with 30 seconds to go we should have won the game. I’m hoping that we can replicate the performance but win the game instead.”

McCarthy refused to blame ill fortune or referee David Coote for his side not being able to hold on for the remaining seconds.

“It’s not bad luck and it’s not the referee,” he said. “It’s not him adding five minutes on. I don’t think the physio was on in the second half, forgive me if I’m wrong.

“There’s six substitutions, apparently that’s three minutes, there was a goal scored, that’s 30 seconds, I believe. Even if it’s a minute I still don’t know where five came from.

“But that’s the most comfortable we’ve ever been with five minutes being put up, they never looked like scoring and it’s our own stupidity that cost us.

“We’d pretty much done it. We should have run the ball in the corner and wedged it up against the corner flag and kicked it out for a throw-in and don’t let them out and then game would have been finished. But we didn’t and it’s cost us.”

“We were excellent. I thought the lads were great. If there’s ever a perfect game plan which had gone to plan and was kiboshed by some naivety at the end of the game that was it, and that’s all it was. And, of course, had we won it would have been a completely different story.”

He says no blame was apportioned in the dressing room after the match: “Not at all. I don’t go around doing that, that’s for Monday morning to have a discussion with them.

“I’ve said to them today we should have learnt, we did it against Sheffield Wednesday, we continued going forward, trying to score another goal and it’s just bonkers. As far as I’m aware, and I’ve been in the game a long time, 1-0 wins it.”

He admitted the home side’s celebrations at the final whistle irked him: “It stuck in my craw, I’ve not beaten them. When we scored I thought we’d do it. But we didn’t, so it still does. I might have to come back and do it again.”

Photo: TWTD

bluejacko added 16:42 - Feb 20 Oh dear be careful of what we wish for! Onthat reasoning nothing anywhere would change! Beware your shadow is behind you be very afraid!
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DurhamTownFan added 16:45 - Feb 20 Was he concerned when he saw how it had been interpreted? “Not really, people can interpret it however they want.'' He really doesn't care at all. Feeling is mutual. For those grateful to MM: can you remember Lincoln last season? Tell me their team cost more than ours. Abysmal footballing philosophy stifling our most creative players year on year.
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blueboy1981 added 16:47 - Feb 20 ....... wouldn't it be nice if everyone could decide who they work for, and dictate their terms ? The saga continues - you couldn't make up - this man is dictating to a Club he has no feeling for at all. His only interest is his £1 million annual salary. Let him go elsewhere and see if he can dictate like this - no chance. This is the only Club he would be able to do that at, and still get support. For obvious reasons. We have become a laughing stock.

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goat_man added 16:53 - Feb 20 I think MM knows he can say what he wants and will get away with it because Evans really isn't interested and won't notice. I bet Evans has barely been around all season either in person or by phone.
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blueboy1981 added 16:55 - Feb 20 His support deserve him (and he'll be having a laugh at their expense ) - thankfully some of us have more sense than to have the p-ss took out of us by him.
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rfretwell added 16:57 - Feb 20 Amazing Midas- no football highlights from the derby. What planet are you on? Support Mick and get real.
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therein61 added 16:58 - Feb 20 Even if he had funds he would not change his playing style or his dreadful foul mouth he is just outdated in the modern game hence his blind faith in point costing favourites and if paying customers question him well we know the outcome!! please go away and let this club breathe again and let the decent players we have express themselves under a manager who has a grasp of how todays game should be played.

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blythburgh_blue added 17:05 - Feb 20 This is history repeating itself. He is has been hated by all the clubs he's managed by the end of his tenures. Is it all those fans at Wolves Sunderland and Ipswich that have got it wrong? Or is it the common denominator in all these situations, the stubborn old git suffering from narcissistic personality disorder. Mick " I think I'm doing a very good job" McCarthy. And how many times have you seen a manager shout "f** Off!" after scoring a goal? Nobody, no-one, nil. In years of watching football nobody has ever done that. What is the explanation or logic of shouting that at nobody? Please explain ................

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dukey44 added 17:07 - Feb 20 I'm sorry but all you that want him to stay are as big as muppets as he is himself? The club is in decline as the owner is unable to run us and the manager is just past his sell by date? What are you all missing?? All you muppets why is season tickets as low as they are?? ERM ......may be us because of the manager???? Hahahaha I do have to chuckle at you Mick followers!!

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blueheartXT added 17:09 - Feb 20 Marcus has an option and so does Mick Regrettably I think Mick will choose to leave and I really dread thinking sere gonna have to play two matches against one of his teams next season much like most of the other managers and teams that have done this season
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midastouch added 17:12 - Feb 20 @ rfretwell, of course I watched the derby. I'm talking the usual highlights on Channel 5 such as last Saturday against Burton. They usually seem to stick our games on near the end as well which says it all. I record it every week but lately I haven't even bothered to watch it and just delete it to save an hour of space on the hard drive recorder! Why bother watching highlights (or should I say lowlights) for games such as Burton or Sheff Utd (I was daft enough to go to that game, never again!) when we barely register a shot on target. Not for me thanks!

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cat added 17:18 - Feb 20 Based on the headline then it's definitely time to go. No one of a sound mind would question Mick's achèvements as a manager, the good signings he's made, the fact he kind of saved us in the first season, the limited budget or the small squad, but I just can't get my head round the way he sets his teams up. We have been starved of entertainment over the course of the last 2/3 seasons and that's where my problem lies. There have been slight improvements this season and I will add that talking to fellow blues when I've attended games this season, there's still plenty support left for McCarthy, but I'm definitely not in that bracket. I'm all for change, and I don't give a flying one for that much used ‘sapp' like saying “careful what you wish for”

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martin587 added 17:21 - Feb 20 It's a sad state of affairs when it boils down to this,but in all honesty you bought this situation on yourself.Sorry,but it's true. It should never get to a situation when a very big rift appears between Manager and supporters.This never used to happen at this club in such a big way. I
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dirtydingusmagee added 17:27 - Feb 20 BlueHarwich he dosnt need to be asked to stay on , he will TELL Evans he is staying on,and Evans will just say oh ok cheers Mick saves me a task ,I have better things to do than find another manager for ITFC..
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dirtydingusmagee added 17:31 - Feb 20 someone pass Gcon a tissue .
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blythburgh_blue added 17:39 - Feb 20 The only reason he has apologised is because he's staying.
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happybeingblue added 17:43 - Feb 20 if mick goes i think Gary monk would be a cracking appointment,playing out from the back like the old town way, cant believe boro let him go for dino mk2 pulis, and lets face it the leeds board are a joke.
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ArnieM added 17:53 - Feb 20 Oh I see, so it's OUR fault now is Mick ?! You arrogant pillock . Just “ do one “
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itsonlyme added 18:08 - Feb 20 Sick and tired of all those prats who say be careful what you wish for. Having a manager that is so arrogant, pisses off the fans and whose football is dire, is not what we wish for!
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Cheshire_Blue added 18:38 - Feb 20 Well said peteswindon. A breath of fresh air from the usual garbage.
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budgieplucker added 18:38 - Feb 20 On paper we had a more enterprising side out against Burton than we did Norwich,  so I don't blame Mick for his starting line up against Norwich and his tactics to nullify Norwich in the first half. Given we had opportunity to score and were the better side then ticks in the box for Mick and the boys for 45 minutes. Second half we struggled to put two passes together and this was not only hoof ball it was aimlessly hoof ball to clear the decks.  If this had been against Man City in the cup then fair enough. Two things changed the dynamics, tactically Farke managed to get the budgies to work their way back into the game.  Maddison wasn't sat on.  Gleeson and Iorfa began to tire dramatically.   Whilst, actually Iorfa didn't have a bad game he is not a wing back in my mind and to go one step further he is one of the poorest fullbacks I have seen for some time at Town. It could have been predicted that these two with lack of game time would tire,  so I think tactically MM introduced an element of risk that may have prevented the flexibility of substitution options later on in the match. I also don't consider Knudsen a wing back either.  In fact whilst I would like to see a system with wing backs (look at clubs like Spurs and Man City) I don't see any at the club,  one of the attributes of a good wing back is the ability to put good balls into the box.  Both Knudsen and Iorfa are very poor in this respect.  I think we would have better success with playing the likes of Nydam and Ward as wing backs rather than and try and convert cumbersome full backs into a position that looks particularly foreign to them. Whilst I understand Mick's comments about taking the ball into the corner in the dying minutes, a quality ball from a quality wing back to Waghorn at that particular point would have more than likely made it 2-0 game over.   Let's rephrase that, if Celina had been in the same position as Knudsen there would have been a much better chance of killing the game off, we were in their box and still had nine or ten men behind the ball.  That may sound naive especially if we lack quality in certain areas but that pretty much sums up why we will struggle to rise beyond the realms of mid table if tactically we try and hold the ball for the last ten minutes (also remember Sheffield Wednesday at home?) within a yard of the corner flag in the opposition half.  Our instinct should always try to kill the game off rather than explicitly waste time. To my mind Mick had made his mind up to accept a point during the second half when we consistently failed to win the ball and when we did we couldn't string two passes together. Chambos goal almost came as a big surprise to us all I think. I like Managers to show passion, distinguished managers like Arsne Wenger have been involved in scuffles and sent to the stand so I really don't care about the incident of Mick's celebration.  This was a tough match and we could only expect a typical Mcarthy approach to it.  Our football is limited and that will not change as things stand and will only see crowds dwindle.

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pragmatic added 18:46 - Feb 20 “Mick outers” you hav at least 14 games to suffer if he decides to go so why not try supporting the team that's always assuming you know what support is!!!!
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martin587 added 18:50 - Feb 20 Pragmatic, Everybody is entitled to there own opinion,whether you like it or not.So I suggest you just live with it.If not stop posting.
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Northstandveteran added 18:55 - Feb 20 Midastouch You're first post sums up not only mine and my ten/fifteen friends thoughts that used to attend regularly, but clearly several thousand fellow town fans. Not an opportunistic pop at Mick, not having a go at the owner, but it really isn't worth leaving the warmth of my home let alone the petrol money. Uninspiring, tedious, boring, low expectation, zero atmosphere, mid table, low quality football

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blythburgh_blue added 18:56 - Feb 20 If Mick loses half of the Ipswich fan base, how can he continue? By doing what's best for Mick McCarthy.
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