Mick McCarthy, pictured during his time as Republic of Ireland manager

Mick McCarthy sees himself going back into international management one day

By Stuart Watson Wednesday, December 5, 2012
9:50 AM

IPSWICH Town manager Mick McCarthy admits he sees himself going back into international management one day.

The 53-year-old took over from Paul Jewell at the start of last month with the Blues bottom of the Championship table, but a return of 13 points from a possible 21 – including recent back-to-back wins against Nottingham Forest and Bolton – has seen the club move five points clear of the relegation zone.

He recently refused to discuss speculation that his contract at Portman Road includes a clause which enables him to return to his previous job in charge of the Republic of Ireland though.

“I love the club management, the day-to-day involvement with players and everything that goes with it but yes I do see myself going back if I get the opportunity,” said McCarthy, speaking in an interview with Yahoo, sponsors of the League Managers’ Association.

“That is not necessarily to the Republic of Ireland – other international jobs would appeal to me. I think it is a great challenge, great working at that level and I really enjoyed it when I did, but for now I love being at Ipswich.”

Yorkshire-born McCarthy earned 57 caps for the Republic of Ireland as a centre-back due to the fact his father originated from the Emerald Isle and was then handed the manager’s job in 1998 following his early career success with Millwall.

And after narrowly missing out on places at the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championships, he gained qualification to the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea – the nation’s first major tournament in eight years.

A public spat with captain Roy Keane may have split supporters’ opinions on their boss, but progress through the group and a narrow penalty shoot-out defeat to Spain saw McCarthy win the majority over.

Asked if there was more pressure having the expectations of a nation on your shoulders, McCarthy – who went on to earn promotion to the Premier League with Sunderland and Wolves – said: “If you stop and think about it like that then yes, but the reality is that you are thinking about your players, your team and winning games. Whether it is getting promoted, staying in a league or to qualify for a European Championship or World Cup you are effectively thinking about your team.

“Whether you’re at Manchester United or Ipswich or Brazil or Scotland there are different levels of expectancy and if you let it get to you that is a problem. You just need to concentrate on the job in hand.”

– For more insight from Mick McCarthy and other leading managers, plus exclusive Premier League highlights, go to www.yahoo.co.uk/sport.

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12 comments

So he's not staying then?

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JOHN BURLS

Friday, December 7, 2012
kevin,lucky to get that through the moderator got to mine.

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david peters

Thursday, December 6, 2012
Cant say i blame lambert either

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KEVIN FRANCIS

Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Steroo speaks about management from the wealth of experience he has gathered over the years through logging onto the internet to seek therapy on messageboards

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Tom

Wednesday, December 5, 2012
If this was a MM comment, might I suggest that perhaps he should wait and see if he is invited.

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Cyril Baker

Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Talking of famous Norfolk people, one such man springs to mind and that is Lord Horatio Nelson. Our history books show us that he was a great leader and a very courageous man. He never played football though. However some say that if he had, even with one eye and one arm, he would have had a much better chance of playing up front for England than a certain Norwich player. Keep smiling.

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NB

Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Steroo aka the 'NIKW' You have had many unimaginative plodders over the border so you should know all about them. As David Peters has correctly pointed out, Ipswich Town have been managed by the best two England managers ever produced.

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Warkys_Tash

Wednesday, December 5, 2012
"clever canary" Those two words are a contradiction in terms.

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blingo

Wednesday, December 5, 2012
So after a handful of matches MM is thinking about a return to international management & TC wants another chance to manage in his own right - both in it for the long haul then ??????? Or is this just the EADT looking to make a story out of otherwise otherwise innocuous qhotes ??

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Old Timer

Wednesday, December 5, 2012
this football club has a proud history of producing international managers two of them stand proudly outside portman road.how many have you got clever canary none says it all really!.

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david peters

Wednesday, December 5, 2012
cant say i blame him for wanting to get away. otbc

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clever canary

Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Not surprised. Being a football club manager is a cushy enough berth on the gravy train which makes millionaires out of abject failures, let alone unimaginative plodders.... and international football management is even easier - and for the lucky few failures just as rewarding for doing virtually nothing.

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Rob Steroo

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Mick McCarthy sees himself going back into international management one day

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