Mick McCarthy celebrates his two-year anniversary as Ipswich Town boss today – and he insists he can keep making progress at the club.

The Yorkshireman dramatically turned around the club’s fortunes after inheriting a side that was rock-bottom of the Championship on November 1, 2012. After staying up with promotion form, the Blues finished ninth last season – their play-off push only fading over the Easter weekend – while they are currently just five points adrift of the league-leaders with little more than a quarter of this campaign gone.

All that has been achieved on a shoestring budget too. Restricted almost exclusively to free transfers, loans and swaps, the wage bill has also been slashed. And yet the value of the playing squad has rocketed thanks to bargain buys such as Tyrone Mings, Christophe Berra and David McGoldrick.

“We certainly made progress in the first five or six months I was here,” said McCarthy, speaking ahead of this afternoon’s match at bottom-of-the-table Blackpool.

“Last season I thought we made further progress and I think we’ve continued that this season.”

McCarthy is now the second-longest serving manager in the division behind Steve Evans (Rotherham) and Eddie Howe (Bournemouth). When asked how he assessed his two-year tenure, the Blues boss was his usual understated and pragmatic self.

“I don’t,” he replied. “We’ve done alright, we’ve done fine.

“I haven’t changed the club, I haven’t changed the history. I think I’ve made it... I was going to say ‘slightly’, but actually a considerably more happy club and a more together club over the last two years. I don’t think that’s in any doubt.

“We’re a better team, certainly. Two years ago we were rock-bottom with seven points. We’re five points off the top at the minute. Just one defeat in 10 or no wins in five, put whatever stat you want, but we’re in a decent spot.”

– See today’s EADT for full match preview. Follow @Stuart_Watson on Twitter for live match updates from Bloomfield Road.